ADHD and writing

[alohadave]

BTW/FYI, there’s a fascinating thing called inattentive ADHD.

That's what I think I am.

 

[Statius]

Getting crowded in here. ADHD, diagnosed at 13. Was put on Ritalin ( yes I'm old, I know, leave me alone). Got off meds at 17, never went back; good and bad. Writing? It definitely affects my writing. I like the quirks in my narrative technique when I feel like ADHD is working for me, that is when I feel like I can manipulate what I know it does to me. That's not always the case though. I do also struggle with the focus aspect when my brain feels exhausted and with my actual job that's quite frequent these days. I try to power through sometimes, mostly though I sit and wait for the cylinders to start firing again. We all have different methods for coping with it. It may take trial and error to figure that out - which depends on the symptoms you have.

Side note, I am also not against meds for it, it's a personal issue for me; the Ritalin phase of my life wasn't all that healthy and it definitely affected my thoughts on the subject; again, that's a me issue, not anyone else.

 

[PennyThompson]

I could comment on that, but nobody would like it.

If you followed Thumper's Rule, I think you'd probably disappear from AH entirely

 

[KittyOfSteele]

Physical activity helps me with focus, so if I need to have a good long uninterrupted think about something I'll go for a walk or get on an elliptical at the gym. I think I would have been good at gathering herbs and berries in Ice Age times. In a writing context this is great for plotting and character development, but sadly it's not a strategy that helps with sitting down and writing. Maybe some day I'll invest in a nice desk treadmill!

Thank you, random little girl.



No joke, kickboxing and dancing helped me. Last week I managed to write a paragraph that was the start of a western while I was in my night walk. I made the mistake of not bringing anything with me to write, so I had to rush home and quickly get a strip of paper and a pen to get it out of my system. I could've stopped at my bakery and asked for a napkin, but I doubt they'll lend me a pen.

 

[Britva415]

there’s a fascinating thing called inattentive ADHD. ADHD doesn’t always mean hyperactive and fidgety.

It's almost like that's what the first two letters stand for

 

[Rob_Royale]

Back to Dave's original post. @alohadave how do you feel this is effecting your writing?

 

[Bloodandglitter]

I was diagnosed with adult ADHD and am on medication. The meds have helped me with my writing and at work. I concentrate more and can focus for the most part

 

[alohadave]

Back to Dave's original post. @alohadave how do you feel this is effecting your writing?

I'm not sure.

I'll try to lay out what I'm feeling about my writing. Some of this may not have anything to do with ADHD. I've been pretty open about my feelings about my writing, and I go through funks where I feel like I'm at the same level as when I started and that there hasn't been any improvement. It hasn't gotten easier or that I feel like I know what I'm doing.

So, is it that I'm having trouble getting motivated/disciplined because there is something going on? If so, why now? Is it that my interest is waning, and I'm moving on to other hobbies (I do hobby-hop a lot, and a year to year-and-a-half is typical for me)?

There are signs in my non-writing life that match up with what other people talk about in forums and subreddits. I wouldn't expect a magic pill to solve everything, but a little less friction would be nice.

When I do write, it's small amounts that don't add up to much. I feel blocked up, like I have an idea of where the story could go. One thing that I've known for a while is that when I think there is any chance that someone else could read it, my mind locks up and goes into safety mode. What I want to say is in my head, but --- and even writing this is something I'm forcing --- expressing it beyond a surface level is difficult even through a pseudonymous forumname. Maybe I need therapy instead to be able to let it go. Maybe I'm just putting too much pressure on myself. Maybe it'll always be this hard, and it doesn't really get any easier.

So, the short answer is I don't know and it's frustrating as hell.

 

[Statius]

I'm not sure.

I'll try to lay out what I'm feeling about my writing. Some of this may not have anything to do with ADHD. I've been pretty open about my feelings about my writing, and I go through funks where I feel like I'm at the same level as when I started and that there hasn't been any improvement. It hasn't gotten easier or that I feel like I know what I'm doing.

So, is it that I'm having trouble getting motivated/disciplined because there is something going on? If so, why now? Is it that my interest is waning, and I'm moving on to other hobbies (I do hobby-hop a lot, and a year to year-and-a-half is typical for me)?

There are signs in my non-writing life that match up with what other people talk about in forums and subreddits. I wouldn't expect a magic pill to solve everything, but a little less friction would be nice.

When I do write, it's small amounts that don't add up to much. I feel blocked up, like I have an idea of where the story could go. One thing that I've known for a while is that when I think there is any chance that someone else could read it, my mind locks up and goes into safety mode. What I want to say is in my head, but --- and even writing this is something I'm forcing --- expressing it beyond a surface level is difficult even through a pseudonymous forumname. Maybe I need therapy instead to be able to let it go. Maybe I'm just putting too much pressure on myself. Maybe it'll always be this hard, and it doesn't really get any easier.

So, the short answer is I don't know and it's frustrating as hell.

First year I was on a rampage, writing non-stop. I couldn't stop the ideas; I wrote and wrote obsessively; every idea had to put down on paper, so to speak. Then nothing. I re-read my own work and hated it. Every fucking thing wrong that I didn't see while writing, the editing, all of it, stood out like a red flag. Lost all my confidence, every bit of it. Am I a good writer? No. Do I suck at it? Sometimes.

My second year was spent in review; read and finished and rewrote an existing story, it didn't do well, but I still think it's a fine piece of writing. I tried new ideas, quit at the beginning of every one of them; hated the writing, hated the ideas. You're ADHD, you know what it means to have that brief excitement, then a few days later 'what the hell was I thinking!?'.

For a year I didn't write or publish, a frigging year. Thought I was done. Tried again after reading, asking, and getting more advice than I could handle here from the amazing people in the AH ( won't, and haven't, forgotten any of you).

Then it hit me. I had too little confidence in myself, too many other people's voices in my head. Maybe that's not an issue for you, but it definitely was for me. I had to leave for a few months, so I left. Had to empty my head of writing, of the advice (not the people), but I had to isolate myself, had to let my brain rest, get distracted, and let everything from the past year take root, percolate, and grow without my thinking about it. I could not find the middle ground between what I knew was wrong with my writing, and keeping my voice, my methods. It isn't easy,

My problem was (,is) too many rules too follow; which do not matter, which do? What ideas are worth pursuing? I'm an extreme personality, all in or not at all; and I'm impulsive. Tough road to walk, especially when you're harder on you than anyone else is. You know what to do, but then you go too far- I did.

After a year I'm snapping out of it. Not there yet; my current huge project? Just made a new decision as another realization dawned on me. And that's ok that it's been a year. It's what I needed. I'm 2? Weeks into a rewrite, 5 paragraphs, that's it, and I'm burning that to the ground: why? Because because I'm unleashing ADHD brain; letting it rip, because I can, because I know now what needs to be controlled, how to edit what my spontaneous brain puts out there, and what to let fly, even if it's unusual, and breaks those writing rules. I'll edit what gets too outlandish later.

Let your ADHD brain loose. To quote Shakespeare, 'Let slip loose the dogs of war!' - my motivator right now.

If you're like me, when you let it work for you, your observations, your unique way of looking at things will show in your writing. Trust your ADHD, go back later (for me, weeks it turns out), and edit what went too far.

Find that idea and cling to it; you can control, to some extent, what you obsess over. Find your method, feel your way through it, trust your instincts. They're good. What I've got coming, what I'm working on is going to surprise everyone who's ever read one of my former works (not many), you can do that for yourself as well.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I'm not sure.

I'll try to lay out what I'm feeling about my writing. Some of this may not have anything to do with ADHD. I've been pretty open about my feelings about my writing, and I go through funks where I feel like I'm at the same level as when I started and that there hasn't been any improvement. It hasn't gotten easier or that I feel like I know what I'm doing.

So, is it that I'm having trouble getting motivated/disciplined because there is something going on? If so, why now? Is it that my interest is waning, and I'm moving on to other hobbies (I do hobby-hop a lot, and a year to year-and-a-half is typical for me)?

There are signs in my non-writing life that match up with what other people talk about in forums and subreddits. I wouldn't expect a magic pill to solve everything, but a little less friction would be nice.

When I do write, it's small amounts that don't add up to much. I feel blocked up, like I have an idea of where the story could go. One thing that I've known for a while is that when I think there is any chance that someone else could read it, my mind locks up and goes into safety mode. What I want to say is in my head, but --- and even writing this is something I'm forcing --- expressing it beyond a surface level is difficult even through a pseudonymous forumname. Maybe I need therapy instead to be able to let it go. Maybe I'm just putting too much pressure on myself. Maybe it'll always be this hard, and it doesn't really get any easier.

So, the short answer is I don't know and it's frustrating as hell.

It sounds a lot like it's stopped being fun and artistic. Like it's become work. I used to get like this when I built models. I was so very focused on building for the next contest or group project that I finally burned out and started writing smut on some weird online site. I'm not the sort to give advice, without really knowing you and your life, but it sounds like a good long break is maybe in order. It's been over four years, and I think I'm ready to break out a new model kit because it finally feels like it might be fun.