Cognitive Strategies for Memoir

Writing Through Brain Fog:

90 minute
masterclass

You sit down to write your memoir, and the words that were crystal clear moments ago vanish like smoke. Yesterday's brilliant insight about your mother? Gone. The emotional thread connecting your diagnosis story to your childhood? Dissolved into mist.

You've been told to "just push through it." To "write every day no matter what." But when your brain is wrapped in cotton—whether from chronic illness, Long COVID, medication, caregiving exhaustion, or the fog that simply arrives uninvited—that advice feels like being told to run a marathon with a broken leg.

Your brain fog doesn't make you less of a writer. It just means you need different tools.

Brain fog is hard.
So is writing.

Here's what nobody tells you: The problem isn't your brain. The problem is the writing advice.

The hidden truth about writing with cognitive challenges

Millions of writers navigate brain fog daily. We're living in an epidemic of cognitive symptoms that traditional writing programs completely ignore. Yet fewer than 5% of writing courses acknowledge this reality, leaving countless important stories untold.

Your memoir—the one that could help others feel less alone, the one that could change how the world understands your experience—remains trapped inside you. Not because you lack talent or dedication, but because you've been given tools designed for brains that work differently than yours.

The literary world is missing your voice. And I'm here to change that.

What you'll be learning

IN THIS 90-MINUTE MASTERCLASS,

YOU'LL LEARN:

Practical techniques that actually work when conventional writing advice fails. This isn't about overcoming your limitations or pretending they don't exist. It's about writing brilliantly within them.

What years of traditional writing advice couldn't: a way forward that honors how your brain actually works.

The External Brain System (Never Lose Your Story Again)

The Story Spine Document: Your memoir's GPS that remembers structure when you can't
The Breadcrumb Method: Leave yourself a trail back into your work (2 minutes that save hours of confusion)
Voice Memo Magic: Capture insights before they vanish into fog
Live demonstration: Watch me build a complete Story Spine in under 5 minutes

Focus Strategies That Actually Work

The 15-Minute Sprint Method: Why less truly is more with brain fog
Anchor Sentences: Your lighthouse when attention drifts
The Bracket Method: Keep writing when words hide [LIKE THIS]
Environment Design: Set up your space to support foggy days

Word-Finding Workarounds

Voice-to-Text Liberation: When fingers won't cooperate, your voice can
Emotion-First Writing: Start with feelings when facts fade
Movement + Memory: Why walking while dictating unlocks stories
Real examples: See how "imperfect" first drafts become powerful prose

The Three-Thread System for Narrative Coherence

Track Plot, Emotion & Meaning separately (then weave them together)
Color-Coding Made Simple: Visual tracking when analysis is impossible
Emotional GPS: Map feelings before facts to stay on course
Connection Bridges: Link scattered scenes into cohesive narrative

The Traffic Light System

Green Light Days: Strategies for higher cognitive function
Yellow Light Days: Productive approaches for medium fog
Red Light Days: Why rest is progress (and what to do instead)
Practical examples: Match your work to your capacity

Here's exactly what you'll master:

Tech tools that support (not complicate) your process

Session prep checklists for foggy executive function

Everything downloadable for lifetime access

Four essential templates that do the thinking for you

Your Complete Toolkit

@esmewwang

MEET YOUR Teacher

Hi, I'm Esmé Weijun Wang.

I'm Esmé Weijun Wang, New York Times bestselling author of The Collected Schizophrenias. I've built my entire writing career while navigating severe brain fog from schizoaffective disorder, fibromyalgia, and chronic illness.

My second book? Written primarily on my phone while lying in bed, during periods when I couldn't sit at a desk or think in straight lines. I've won the Whiting Award, the Graywolf Nonfiction Prize, and been named one of Granta's Best Young American Novelists—all while working with a brain that regularly fills with fog.

I don't teach theoretical strategies or inspirational platitudes. Everything in this workshop has been tested in the reality of:

Words that vanish mid-sentence
Memories that slip away like smoke
Days when focusing for 5 minutes feels heroic
The frustration of forgetting your own story while trying to tell it

I teach because I know your struggle from the inside. And I know what actually works.

This workshop is designed for you if:

✓ You experience brain fog from ANY source (chronic illness, neurodivergence, medication, stress, hormones, aging, or "it just happens")

✓ Traditional writing advice ("write every day," "push through resistance") makes you feel broken or inadequate

✓ You have a memoir inside you that deserves to be told

✓ You've tried other approaches that assumed consistent cognitive function

✓ You're ready for strategies that work WITH your brain, not against it

✓ You want to connect with other writers who understand without explanation

There are more Americans who say they have serious cognitive problems — with remembering, concentrating or making decisions — than at any time in the last 15 years, data from the Census Bureau shows.

Workshop Details:

📅 Date: Saturday, July 12th, 2025

⏰ Time: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM PST (2 PM - 3:30 PM EST)

💻 Format: Live online workshop via Zoom

♿ Accessibility: Closed captions, recording available, cameras optional

📍 Where: From wherever you're comfortable (bed, couch, desk—your choice)

✅ 90 minutes of practical, tested instruction (no fluff, all actionable)

✅ Comprehensive workbook with all templates and tools (lifetime access)

✅ Workshop recording within 24 hours (with captions and transcript)

✅ Private Skool community for ongoing support

Everything You Receive:

A personal note from Esmé

I know what it's like to sit at your desk (or lie in bed) with a head full of stories and a brain full of fog. To feel the crushing weight of conventional writing advice that assumes your mind works like everyone else's. To wonder if your cognitive limitations mean your stories don't deserve to be told.

I'm here to tell you: Your brain fog doesn't diminish the value of your stories. If anything, it adds a dimension of truth that our literature desperately needs.

This workshop exists because I got tired of seeing brilliant writers give up. Tired of the one-size-fits-all advice that excludes so many of us. Tired of the myth that "real writers" don't have cognitive limitations.

Your way of writing—interrupted, non-linear, supported by external systems—isn't less than. It's different. And different can be powerful.

Your stories matter. Your perspective matters. And you deserve writing strategies that honor how your brain actually works.

I hope you'll join me. Together, we'll turn brain fog from a barrier into simply another part of your unique creative process.

With understanding and anticipation,

pricing

Early Bird Special: $77 (first 20 registrants)
Basic Workshop: $97 (recording + resources)
VIP Package: $297 (includes workshop + 30-min 1:1 follow-up call with me about the workshop or about other writing-related queries)

PAYMENT PLANS AVAILABLE FOR BASIC WORKSHOP & VIP PACKAGE

Sara V.

I find [Esmé] to be a smart and insightful teacher and appreciate her teaching style, which is patient, approachable, and calm... I always prefer quiet power over noisy, frenetic instruction.

I wanted to express how much I enjoyed this workshop. Your approach and tone was surprisingly warm for a Zoom workshop—it's such a hard thing to pull off when you don't necessarily get the immediate feedback on how certain points are landing, and I felt like you pulled it off beautifully, making us feel like we were in the room with you.

Robin Y.

Kind Words