Writing With ADHD - Burn Out
In February of 2025 I was clinically diagnosed with ADHD Inattentive Presentation, Anxiety Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder. I write to process my feelings, struggles, and lessons. I shared more of my initial diagnosis in THIS article.
In this series, WRITING WITH ADHD, I share some of the processes and coping strategies that keep me productive and focused.A Recipe For Burn Out
While on a conference call with my business coach, we were talking about what my next project would be. I just completed a manuscript for a contemporary romance that is heading out for the final touches before publication next year. We discussed timelines for publication, and she asked if I had another contemporary romance ready to work on.
I laughed. She didn’t.
She reminded me that I need to have a plan for what comes next. Marketing, Social Media content, Newsletters, Publications, all of it. I need to know where I’m going next.
After she emphasized the reality that I needed to know ahead of time what was coming next, we spent some time talking about how many projects I have in the pipeline. And honestly, it’s a lot. Coming up with ideas has never been an issue for me. I also write in three very different genres.
Contemporary Romance - I currently have 5 manuscripts.
Fantasy / Paranormal - I currently have about 15 manuscripts.
Christian Non-fiction in the form of Devotionals - I currently have 2 manuscripts.
By the time this post is live, those numbers will probably be higher. (Yep. I’ve added two more! Oops!)
Her advice was to pick one project and work on it until it is finished.
I laughed again. She still didn’t.
There are times my hyper focus will accomplish huge amounts of writing in a very short period of time, but I have learned the hard way that I can’t rely on that particular super power to kick in on command. I’ve tried putting myself on a dead line, setting a timer, joining writing sprint groups*, and if my brain doesn’t want to write that project - it’s not happening.
Case in point. As I am writing this article, I have three of four books to my designer for new covers and interior formatting. The fourth book isn’t finished yet, and I’m stuck on the story. Originally, this book was intended to be a full length novel, but it’s being cut down to an origins novella. Which means, the general outline and purpose I had for the novel has to be scrapped and a new story line written. I need to get it written, edited, and sent to her in about 60 days. I’ve already been wrestling with it for over a month with little to nothing written on it.
In the meanwhile, I’ve written 5 of these articles, done a basic outline for another fantasy novel, written three scenes for an existing fantasy novel, and finished a critique edit on the book that will be published next year. The novella should have been done already, but my brain is having trouble letting go of the original story and doesn’t want to create a new one.
This is why getting all those other things done first helps, even if it tightens my deadline.
Breathing Space
Because I self publish, I work on my own timelines for completing stories. It’s one of the reasons I don’t think I would ever agree to sign a publishing deal on a book or series that isn’t fully written. Some of the manuscripts I’m working on now have been on my hard drive for a very long time, and I can take years to finish a story without holding anything up. It gives breathing room for the stories to develop and for my brain to figure ways out of plot holes or situations the characters find themselves in that I didn’t originally account for when laying out the story. I can take my time and let my mind wander between worlds when one becomes stale.
I have always hopped between manuscripts. When one story line goes cold or when I write myself into a plot hole I can’t figure out, I go work on something else until the same thing happens. Then I move to the next, and so on, until one of them is complete. It worked well in the past, but as I am restarting my writing career with much more intention this time, I can’t afford to be quite as haphazard.
This means my coach makes a valid point that is important to remember when it comes to keeping momentum for sales. If I had a large backlist of books already published, it would be a little easier, but I don’t. That means she’s right. When I publish my book next year, I need to already have another one I am promoting.
The solution we came up with was to pick one manuscript from each genre and move between those. Along with writing publications and articles for the magazine and creating content for Social Media, I have enough different projects to keep the creativity flowing when I get stuck on any single project. This allows me to maintain focus on the stories that are most important to complete, but also gives me the breathing room my brain needs.
Hopping Around
As I mentioned earlier, I have around 20- 25 unfinished manuscripts at any given time across three to four different genres. I also write a quarterly magazine article, a weekly Substack article, and a monthly newsletter. In order to keep things moving, maintain connection with my readers, and prioritize where I spend my time, I have a HUGE list of potential projects.
Here are the ones I am focusing on at the moment. I’ve removed the names of the book and article titles - but the genres and platforms are accurate.
I have four manuscripts (Two fantasy, one contemporary, and one devotional), two article series, and the monthly newsletter.
Chimera is a fantasy novel and the closest to being fully written. I am in the phase of writing full scenes, tweaking the story, and preparing for the first round of self edits. I’ve been working on this one for about 6 years.
Blessings is also a fantasy, and it is in the planning stages. I have a few short scenes written, but it consists mostly character backgrounds, settings, and world building notes for the lore/mythology and the magic. This one came to me in a dream a few months ago.
Hockey is a contemporary romance and is about 50% written. I’ve been working on this one for close to 8 years.
Famine is a weekly devotional companion to the title that will be released next year. I have been adding chapters to it as I study the book of the Bible it will come from.
The two article series each contain 4-6 individual posts on the topic, and as if this articles’ writing, both sets are in the drafting phase.
The newsletter is full of current events, daily writing life, promotions for upcoming events, book releases, announcements, and random time oriented things like holidays or trips.
It looks like a LOT to be working on, and when added to the graphics and scheduling I rely heavily on my hyper focus days a couple times a month to keep it all moving. But, by having so many seemingly diverse projects to work on, my brain can take a break from time to time. Writing an article like this comes from a very different part of my creative brain than world building magic, landscapes, or romantic dates for my characters. Writing a story set in a contemporary setting requires me to think about what is real, plausible, and believable. Jumping into a fantasy world allows me to play in the what-ifs of reality and believability.
Takeaways
As you can see, this gives my brain LOTS of room to roam and create but keeps me on track for where I need to be to make writing a full and multilayered career. I am writing the kind of fiction I most want to write with stories about fun characters and interesting settings. But I’m also being an encourager with the the devotionals and a bit of a teacher with these kinds of article series. All of it coming together to demonstrate my style of writing and opening multiple avenues to be discovered, followed, and hopefully, drive sales of my books.
It might seem scattered to some, but if your brain needs room to roam and create in different ways, don’t be afraid to try hopping between manuscripts or different creative venues. Just do it with a bit of planning and intention ahead of time to make sure you hit those targets you laid out in this post.
Things to think about:
If you find yourself working on multiple projects at a time, how can you narrow your focus to the most important ones?
Would this approach encourage you to keep writing on a project you’d previously set aside?
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