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Writer's pictureSheila Ruby Beauty

How To Start Writing A Book When You Struggle With ADD/ADHD


I have had people make comments to me in the past along the lines of, "I want to write a book, but I am too ADD/ADHD."

As someone who was diagnosed with ADD and have struggled with it my entire life, I understand the struggle. I tend to hyper-focus and hyper-obsess over things for a short amount of time, and then I am on to the next thing that catches my attention. I will leave this disclaimer; It took my five years to write my book A Brief Silence. My ADD was a huge factor in that, because I had it all in my head but I did not have the focus to put it on paper as quickly as I would have liked to. I still got it done though!

One of the biggest things that helped me was forcing myself to write, not well, but just write. When I was going to a writers group a couple of years some of the other members suggested that I write everything down, even if it is not complete sentences or complete paragraphs. They told me to get it all on paper first, then I could go back and elaborate and put my writing style into my work. In hindsight, I probably would have benefited from doing an outline, but I never did one until the very end. I have never liked outlines, because I like to write and just see where it takes me.

Anyways, I took their advice and spent the next almost two years getting it all on paper. I took a lot of breaks and I only blocked out fifteen minutes a day where I had nothing else going on and I would just write, even it if was just memories, thoughts, or ideas. I wrote it all out and then once I got to the end, I spent the next almost two years refining it and changing the layout and really turning it into a story. Almost the entire time, I only spent fifteen minutes a day, give or a take little. I am a single mom and I work a full-time job, so there was no realistic way I could spend hours a day writing without having to ignore other things I needed to take care of.

During the times when my ADD made it difficult to focus, I took breaks. I didn't guilt myself (for the most part) about taking a month off of writing at all so I could focus on other things like watching new t.v. shows, or spending time on new hobbies I wanted to learn more about. I thought of it as a vacation for my mind and allowed myself to step away. The biggest thing I struggle with having ADD is the feeling that I need to do everything all the time at once, and then I get so overwhelmed, that I ended up doing nothing. As I have gotten older, I have learned tricks to help with that.

For example: After work, I know if I sit down, I will start thinking about everything I need to do and then my anxiety will kick in and I will spend more time trying to process what needs done than actually doing anything. About two years ago, I decided that when I come home, I will take care of one or two simple things that I know I can do in a short amount of time, like doing the dishes or laundry, or taking the kids to the park or for a walk. Sine I am doing it right when I get home, once it is done, I feel a lot more accomplished the rest of the evening and feel like I at least did something instead of just sitting and stressing about what needs done. Then, when I want to sit for fifteen minutes and just write, un-interrupted, I do not feel as guilty about not doing other things. I try to think of my ADD as a craving. It is okay to cave and let myself go off into some crazy new thing, but all good things come in moderation so I have to give myself a limit or a time frame and tell myself, "Okay, you can take a break for this week, but by this date you need to get started again, and by this date you need to have these things accomplished."

Also, huge tip! Use your calendar on your phone or your Echo device to set reminders for everything! My Alexa Echo device in home tells me when it is bed time for me, because if I don't have the reminder, I will get sidetracked and stay up to late. I am sure some of you can relate to this, so hopefully this helps!


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