I've been coming to grips with the fact that my coping skills for my attention deficit issues are no longer effective and its resulted in my drafts being either not worked on or unfinished and its really frustrating me. I just want to be able to sit down and write for more than a few minutes at a time because my brain needs more dopamine from elsewhere.
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ADHD coping advice needed
- Thread starter Devora
- Start date
pmmg
Myth Weaver
Thats sounds like something a doctor should address.
JBCrowson
Sage
I come at this with two perspectives - as the father of a teen with ADHD; as a psychiatrist who worked with young people with ADHD in the past. These are suggestions for you to take or leave as you wish...
If you haven't had a formal diagnosis for your ADHD, get one. There are other conditions that can mimic some or many of the classic ADHD symptoms.
Impose external structure on your brain, as it will struggle to have internal structure to its workings - write in a minimalist setting free of distractors (you'll find them anyway, but don't make it too easy)
Work with your condition wherever possible - try dictating while walking around the room if sitting typing isn't working for you.
Accept the condition as a part of you, but remember it is not the entirety of your identity. The lack of linearity to your thinking can produce amazing creativity.
Good luck!
Finchbearer
Istar
Go for a walk in the woods. The story will come to you. Then go home and write the core details down. Flesh out from there.
Jackarandajam
Maester
Undiagnosed, but symptomatic.
Some things I do:
1. I Always try to stop writing while I'm still excited about it. Then, next time I sit down, I know exactly what to do first, and that can carry me through longer.
2. No filler. When the scene starts to drag, I cut it off and start another. I can go back and flesh out the scene later, when I have an idea about how to do it that I'm really stoked to write.
3. A scene outline. Sounds counterintuitive, but if I write out a list of scenes, I can be mulling them over in a background brain-tab, juicing them up into something I'm excited to write.
4. Multiple WIPS. I have several WIPS going, so however I feel I'm excited about one of them.
4. Stream of consciousness brain-fog/writers block breakers. 500-1000 words of Lewis-Carroll-esque insanity that would scare my wife to read, but it usually helps churn my brain up into some kind of writing mode.
Again, undiagnosed, but some things that I hope might help.
Some things I do:
1. I Always try to stop writing while I'm still excited about it. Then, next time I sit down, I know exactly what to do first, and that can carry me through longer.
2. No filler. When the scene starts to drag, I cut it off and start another. I can go back and flesh out the scene later, when I have an idea about how to do it that I'm really stoked to write.
3. A scene outline. Sounds counterintuitive, but if I write out a list of scenes, I can be mulling them over in a background brain-tab, juicing them up into something I'm excited to write.
4. Multiple WIPS. I have several WIPS going, so however I feel I'm excited about one of them.
4. Stream of consciousness brain-fog/writers block breakers. 500-1000 words of Lewis-Carroll-esque insanity that would scare my wife to read, but it usually helps churn my brain up into some kind of writing mode.
Again, undiagnosed, but some things that I hope might help.
Rexenm
Inkling
I had a friend, with the same problem. I introduced them to my librarian to teach him about The Thinking Hats white noise also helps.
It's good to talk with people, but there's really no substitute for professionals for something like this.
K.S. Crooks
Maester
Sometimes try changing your focus while still writing. If you get a little stuck on the plot write more about how the characters look or feel, or about their surroundings. Fill in the gaps people typically forget when we don't remember that a reader can't see all we envision for a story.
I had the same issue as you in the beginning with unfinished drafts. This changed when I didn't allow myself to start anything new until I finished what I was working on. The key to this for me was to be okay with the story not being exactly what I might want or completely happy.
I had the same issue as you in the beginning with unfinished drafts. This changed when I didn't allow myself to start anything new until I finished what I was working on. The key to this for me was to be okay with the story not being exactly what I might want or completely happy.
Prince of Spires
Istar
I sometimes try this and it doesn't work much for me. When I return a day later I'm always know I was excited to write the next bit and it was clear in my head, but I've completely forgotten what I had thought of and I have no idea how to continue... My brain is weird.
Never been diagnosed, but sometimes I wonder. Have been diagnosed with other things, but I'll keep that to myself for now.
Not sure if this strategy will work for you, but one of things I've recently done to improve my productivity was to work on multiple projects at the same time. I used to mainly work on one thing at a time, and it always seemed to move at a slug's pace. Sometimes, I'd pause to write something small and then get back to the main project which would be a novel.
About a month and a half go, I decided to try a short story in addition to working on my novel. I finished the first draft to the short story in a day, and found when I went back to the novel, things seemed to feel fresher. This was great because, I was feeling a bit down from the grind of getting that final draft done.
So, I tried working on a second short story along with the novel, while polishing the short story. While I was working on those things, I started planning a non-fiction project I've been wanting to do for ages. Each day, I would work a little on each project. I found that having to shift gears has kept each project more fresh in my mind, and I'm eager to tackle them.
I've since added another short story into the mix, and I then started thinking about what my next novel should be, so I started preliminary planning on two novels. Right now, I have 7 projects open and active. I try to nibble on 2 or 3 of them each day. I divide my writing day up into three sessions, morning, noon, and evening, and then maybe a 4th one right before bed if I'm feeling good. Each session, I work on something different. I find alternating between editing and writing prose feels the best.
In this past month and a half my word totals have been as follows, 7k, 4k, 3.5k short stories. The 3.5k story is only half done. 16k on the non-fiction project, which is still a work in progress, as well as doing rewrites and editing to the novel and short stories, which is probably another 2k+ words at least. This doesn't even count the few hundred words I've scribbled down for ideas for the new novels.
I don't know if this pace is sustainable, but it sure feels fun. Like I said, everything seems to stay fresh, because I've had time to sort of get away from it. Each individual project moves slowly, but when I've got multiple projects moving along slowly, the words tend to add up. And I"m getting more done, which feels good.
Not sure if this strategy will work for you, but one of things I've recently done to improve my productivity was to work on multiple projects at the same time. I used to mainly work on one thing at a time, and it always seemed to move at a slug's pace. Sometimes, I'd pause to write something small and then get back to the main project which would be a novel.
About a month and a half go, I decided to try a short story in addition to working on my novel. I finished the first draft to the short story in a day, and found when I went back to the novel, things seemed to feel fresher. This was great because, I was feeling a bit down from the grind of getting that final draft done.
So, I tried working on a second short story along with the novel, while polishing the short story. While I was working on those things, I started planning a non-fiction project I've been wanting to do for ages. Each day, I would work a little on each project. I found that having to shift gears has kept each project more fresh in my mind, and I'm eager to tackle them.
I've since added another short story into the mix, and I then started thinking about what my next novel should be, so I started preliminary planning on two novels. Right now, I have 7 projects open and active. I try to nibble on 2 or 3 of them each day. I divide my writing day up into three sessions, morning, noon, and evening, and then maybe a 4th one right before bed if I'm feeling good. Each session, I work on something different. I find alternating between editing and writing prose feels the best.
In this past month and a half my word totals have been as follows, 7k, 4k, 3.5k short stories. The 3.5k story is only half done. 16k on the non-fiction project, which is still a work in progress, as well as doing rewrites and editing to the novel and short stories, which is probably another 2k+ words at least. This doesn't even count the few hundred words I've scribbled down for ideas for the new novels.
I don't know if this pace is sustainable, but it sure feels fun. Like I said, everything seems to stay fresh, because I've had time to sort of get away from it. Each individual project moves slowly, but when I've got multiple projects moving along slowly, the words tend to add up. And I"m getting more done, which feels good.
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