Writing With ADHD - Momentum
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.If you’ve followed this series to this, the last post: THANK YOU!
It’s my first series of posts on one cohesive topic. I have several more planned with topics like:
The Basics of Scrivener
Being a Good Critique Group Member
How I Choose My Stories.
Stay tuned for these, and if there is a topic you’d like me to talk about, drop it in the comments!
Now - on to the culmination of all the organizing and planning we’ve done so far: THE ACTUAL WRITING PROCESS!
Getting Started
There is a lot of debate out there over plotting vs discovery writing when it comes to crafting the first draft of a new story. I’m not going to spend time laying out the benefits or draw backs of each. What I’ve discovered is the first draft doesn’t care. It just needs to exist. If you need the outlines, plot points, story beats, and character sheets before you begin to write, do it! If you are like me and you have a half baked plot and a few characters to toss into the blender of a blank page, go for it!
What we all need is inspiration and motivation, especially when the characters go silent, or when the plot takes a rapid left turn in a new direction. Though I do not use outlines, I do have several ways that I keep the story consistent and unified. Until a character goes rogue, but that’s a talk for another day!
One of my favorite ways to set the theme, characters, setting, and even some of the individual scenes before I start to write is with Pinterest Boards. Some of my best stories have come as I was scrolling through, and an image sparked a scene or a piece of dialog. Sometimes it’s the expression on a model’s face that begs me to create a back story for them.
My boards are fairly well organized with general inspiration images and those I associate with a specific story. The general boards I use the most are:
Faces That Inspire - this one is broken down into sub-boards of men, women, children, couples, families, etc. I pin images that catch my attention as I am scrolling through. I pin them to this board to refer to when I am building a new cast of characters, and I need a visual to help me keep the character consistent. These images don’t have a specific story tag.
Places That Inspire - Buildings, ocean views, landscapes, bedrooms and boardrooms, etc. Any image that can inspire the location of a scene.
Animals - Side kicks and pets.
Quotes - These might define a character’s actions, set a mood, or inspire a theme for an entire series.
As I find something that might spark a story later, I pin them to the appropriate boards.
Then I have my story specific boards, and these are the ones that help keep consistency, motivation, and inspiration going. For each story, I have one main board and the following sub boards:
The Story Name:
Male Characters
Female Characters
Locations
Clothing
Mood/Aesthetics
Animals (If necessary)
Quotes
In the male and female boards, I tend to have multiple pictures of the same model (or as is the case now, AI creation) in different poses, facial expressions, and clothing choices. Having multiple images helps me visualize what the MMC looks like when he scowls, laughs, or gives a sultry look to the FMC. Same with the FMC. By having different poses, I can better visualize how they stand, walk, or move. And, as I mentioned earlier, it helps keep them consistent. Sometimes I will search for a particular actor or model by name and use them for inspiration, but you cannot use them for promotion or in connection with your public posts. These boards are kept private and for my use only. If I decide to create a public pin for aesthetics or character inspo, I pay for the images using a stock image site. It isn’t worth the risk of using someone else’s copyright images and being sued.
Other ways I find inspiration is through the Bible, every day life, or a twist on a trope or plot that I find interesting. In my debut novel, I wanted to write about vampires that weren’t actually vampires. In another, I wrote about a non-conforming male who wore skirts and makeup but was a strong hetero male lead. Sometimes it’s a line from a song or the way some stranger catches my attention while I’m out and about.
Inspiration can come from literally anywhere if you let it. However, if you’re like me, getting ideas isn’t the hard part. Writing the story is!
Write What Inspires You
Until I am well underway with the plot, characters, and world building, I don’t tend to write my stories in chronological order. Especially in the beginning stages of drafting a new novel. There might be a single scene that is so vivid in my mind I have to write it, even though it is in the middle or end of the story.
I’ve learned not to fight this tendency. Some of these scenes make it into the final version of the first draft and some don’t. But what these seemingly random scenes do is help me get a grasp on some part of the story. It could be a scene that sets up how the magic works, or it might reveal a hidden pain or motive in the main character for back story. Sometimes it is just a way for me to get to know the character’s voice and manner of speaking. How forceful or timid they are. Do they use regional dialects or are they very proper?
Don’t be afraid to write scenes that may get cut later. Especially if you are a discovery writer! These random scenes become character interviews, backstory, or ways to figure out a plot hole. They can help you determine if your magic system needs consequences or if it needs more clarification. A deleted scene also makes for wonderful newsletter material later.
Linear Writing Not Required
I mentioned letting go of the pressure to write the scenes in order. This might work better for those who plot and plan a book from beginning to end, scene by scene. I can see how it might free you even more to write out of order because you already know what each scene needs to be. The ONE novel I have plotted out scene by scene is being written this way. However, there is always the risk that any given scene will take you in a different direction. Honestly, I think this can happen no matter which method you use, but it does allow you to keep the writing momentum going if any one scene goes cold.
This is how I tend to keep the words flowing. If I hit a point in the story that just doesn’t seem to be working, I’ll move onto another character POV, or change the setting for a new scene. This keeps me in the world of the story, and keeps the character voices fresh, but also allows me to explore a different part of the story.
Because of the way my brain crafts stories, I often know where the story starts and ends, but have zero clue how the two ends will meet. By writing out of order, it can cause editing issues and timeline errors later, but I find I’m usually able to stay pretty much on target because I’ve learned to trust my subconscious to know where it’s leading me.
Other times, a character will say or do something that makes me stop and re-evaluate the story. The characters do occasionally spring surprises on me. How? I have no idea. It confounds my husband also. He once asked, “How can you be surprised by something a character says? Don’t they come from your brain?!” I laugh and remind him there are many things hanging out in my neurospicy brain that would surprise both of us.
Scenes Not Chapters
You’ll notice I keep using the term scenes and not chapters. That’s because it is much easier to move a scene than it is a chapter. And sometimes, a scene spans several chapters. By not tying myself to chapters for the first draft, it’s easier to let the story take shape, then break it up as needed later. Sometimes, the scenes fall easily into chapter or section breaks. Other times the need adjusted to fit the beats, acts, and plot points. But that kind of tweaking can bog down getting the story written.
Acts, story beats, and plot points all have their place and are necessary ingredients for making a story readable and engaging for the reader. But for the first draft, I don’t spend much time worrying about them. Take side quests. Explore subplots and new characters. Don’t be afraid to write material you may not use. If you find you need more material, you can add it later. If you don’t need it, it’s easy to remove.
For those who plot everything out, this applies to you as well. If a scene or conversation is needling you, write it. It might be just what the story needs. Or it might be useless drivel that ends up in the trash.
If you get stuck, throw in an extra scene just to see how the characters would react to something unrelated to the main plot. It might show you a side of them you didn’t know existed. Play with taking them out the their world. What would happen if Yoda showed up in the middle of a contemporary romance. How would the characters react? What would your character do if they had technology they’ve never seen before? Go crazy. Ask the what if questions and see what it reveals.
The point is, don’t get bogged down trying to make the story perfect right out of the gate. One of my favorite writing quotes is from Terry Pratchett: ‘The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.’ It is you understanding where you’re going. Once that’s done, you can make it make sense for the reader.
Which leads to editing on the fly.
Don’t Get Bogged Down in the Details
It is so tempting to go back and fix bad sentences, grammar, and punctuation as you write. But resist the urge to look back. It can be a momentum killer during the drafting stage. You’ll start re-reading what you’ve already written and end up spending more time fixing it when the rest of the story might change it, eliminate it, or need it the way it originally was.
This is my biggest struggle. I LIKE my writing, so going back to re-read what I wrote feels good. But I inevitably end up spending hours editing a scene that doesn’t make it to the final manuscript. Even a developmental editor will tell you they (for the most part) ignore punctuation, spelling, and poor grammar. Fixing it before the final draft is spending time in the minutia instead of getting the big picture done. And that is all your first draft really is: The Big Picture. I have to remind myself that polishing the prose comes later. If major changes happen, make a note that you need to change a previous scene and keep writing.
My favorite way to make notes like that inline as I’m writing is to bracket the comment with three capital x’s. XXXChange the name of Sally’s baby to Winston in the daycare sceneXXX
XXXThe war started 40 years ago not 100, update the prologueXXX
I actually use this bracketing system often when drafting. I may not know a character’s name, or there might be an action scene that I just don’t have the mental energy to write. I’ll make the note inline of the scene and keep writing. XXXJackson has a panic attack during this conversationXXX
XXXAdd more sensory input - what does the magic feel like as it leaves his fingersXXX
Anything I would obsess over that is keeping the scene from moving forward, I put in the brackets and keep going. Later, I can do a search/find for XXX, and all the places I’ve made notes are easy to find. Use anything you like. Asterisks, parenthesis, em-dash, bold and italics, whatever works for you. Keeping the notes in line with the manuscript as you write prevents having to keep a separate document open that forces your attention away from the scene you’re writing.
This technique is also messy. It keeps me from seeing the scene as needing to be perfect before I move on. I know I’ll need to go back to edit those sections already, so I’m less likely to try to edit the rest of the scene. Intentionally making it messy to head off the perfectionist in me is a trick I apply often.
Then, when I go back and search for the brackets, it is easier to focus only on what needs added per those notes. And when the final draft is complete, I go back to the first scene and look for all the brackets. They become my built in round one edit.
Takeaways
Once you have an idea for a story, don’t worry about immediately trying to make it fit into a perfect story arc mold. Get the gist of the story out. Use bullet points for the major scenes, or sketch out a character through a random scene. Explore the world by making a Pinterest board for ideas and inspiration.
If there is one particular scene that is vivid in your mind, write it! Don’t worry if scenes are written out of order. You can fix them later. Assigning chapter numbers comes after all the scenes are written. You might need to break up a particularly long one or combine several short ones. The chapters are place markers for the reader, not targets to hit while you’re writing!
Lastly, eliminate anything that hinders getting words on the page. Make a note of something that needs to happen, a description that needs expanding (or cut), or note that a character needs a name. Let the mistakes happen because they can all be corrected later. The first draft is simply getting the full story out of you! It’s not going to be perfect.
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