Left Brain/Right Brain: The Critic and the Muse

by Enisa Haines

Image courtesy of giphy

I'm a hospital scientist by day, working in an Anatomical Pathology laboratory, and a writer by night. Two very different activities, one calling for logic, detail and factual analysis and the other creativity, spontaneity and access to emotions as I bring to life in words the stories I imagine.

Image courtesy of giphy

That I can be both logical and creative can be explained by the Left Brain/Right Brain split-brain theory. Early research showed the brain having two parts. The Left Brain is logical, in charge of reason, calculation, analysis, detail and language. The Right Brain, the creative side, deals with emotions, imagination, creativity, intuition and spontaneity.

Image courtesy of: www.pixabay.com (and enhanced by E. Haines)

So the scientist in me makes use of the Left Brain and the writer grabs hold of the imagination in the Right Brain. That makes sense. To a point.

If the writer side of me used only the Right Brain I would come up with ideas and build imaginary worlds where the characters I create come alive. But I'd have no words to write (the Left Brain controls language) and the stories would remain only imagination.

The early researchers were wrong. Later research revealed our brains are far more complex. Logic and creativity are not simply Left Brain/Right Brain. They are under the control of each side of the brain working together as a whole.

Therein lies a problem common to all writers. In the Left Brain the critic resides. That little voice that pushes you to edit what you write as you write. In the Right Brain lives the muse. The source of inspiration and imagination and high word output. And the two do not get on!

Yes, we need good grammar and punctuation and attention-catching prose but editing as you write slows the writing and your muse, so eager to create at first and now frustrated, retreats. And your writing stalls. A situation no writer wants.

Silence the critic, was advice I'd read. Easy for some, not so easy for me. My critic, so happily in tune with the scientist side of me, was the cause of many instances of creative frustration. But, passionate about writing, I now intentionally ignore my critic, and my writing flows!


Do you struggle with your critic? Or do your words fly on the page?



Love to love: time spent with family is always precious.

Love to laugh: rush-hour radio comedians make my commute to and from work such fun drives.

Love to learn: more about the brain. There's so much we don't know and don't use.