Musings of a Chocoholic Romance Author: Writer's ADHD

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Writer's ADHD

I figure at some point, I've written about this before. I seem to be afflicted with it more often than I'd like. Here are some of the signs and symptoms that Writer's ADHD has moved for a visit.

1. HGTV is always on the TV.

2. Craft projects steal writing time.

3. New characters for new stories introduce themselves and insist I write a character list for them.

4. In the middle of one WIP, stop, go back to the beginning, then, in addition to the one WIP, start a new one.

5. Taking the dogs for rides in the car. They really love that. Knuckleheads.

6. Reading binge. Yep. I read, read, read. Which is good, actually, because if you don't read, then you certainly can't write. (Stephen King said so, and I happen to agree.)

7. Housework becomes fascinating.

8. You catch up on your DVR To Be Viewed list.

9. You look at new kitchen counter top options online.

10. Facebook. You play Scrabble and Words with Friends (it's always good, though, to increase your vocabulary - yep - it's an excuse that works for me.)

Of course, when Writer's ADHD has been encouraged due to being sick for an entire week, that's another thing entirely. The important thing is to write (or get back to it, if you've stopped due to being sick), and stop beating yourself up that you're not working on the right WIP. Words is words. And sometimes, when the Muse has sent you down a rabbit trail, you just need a break from one WIP to give things a chance to work themselves out, back in the deep, dark recesses of your brain. At least, that's what this usually means for me.

Helpin' Mom Procrastinate

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Quotes About Writing

For your born writer, nothing is so healing as the realization that he has come upon the right word. ~Catherine Drinker Bowen

Forget all the rules. Forget about being published. Write for yourself and celebrate writing. ~Melinda Haynes

My purpose is to entertain myself first and other people secondly. ~John D. MacDonald

Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else. ~Gloria Steinem

A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. ~Thomas Mann

Easy reading is damned hard writing. ~Anonymous

We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to. ~Somerset Maugham

Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way. ~E. L. Doctorow

The secret of becoming a writer is to write, write and keep on writing. ~Ken MacLeod\

Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards. ~Robert A. Heinlein

Never throw up on an editor. ~Ellen Datlow

If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write. ~Stephen King

There are no rules in writing. There are useful principles. Throw them away when they're not useful. But always know what you're throwing away. ~Will Shetterly

Books are never finished, They are merely abandoned. ~Oscar Wilde

You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. ~Jack London

If you wait for inspiration, you're not a writer, but a waiter. ~Anonymous

We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. ~Ernest Hemingway

You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel that you're writing. ~Gene Wolfe