ADD

ADD is an extremely overdiagnosed disorder which has become a crutch and a pop colloquialism. ADD now means anything as simple as daydreaming, letting your mind wander, or having thoughts pop into your head. This amelioration of a real problem is annoying to me, but I have to accept that it is the common usage.

The point of that little rant is that whenever people complain about their so-called ADD and how it is such a hindrance to writing, I will always tell them that they are looking at it the wrong way. ADD only makes writing difficult if you assume writing has to be done in a certain way. If you can't work hard, then work smart.

When I write, I will keep several windows open. I know that at any point, I may lose interest in my current topic. While I could sit down and write one thing for several hours, I could just as easily stare at a screen and not write a single word because I'm daydreaming. Well, if I'm writing a story outline and suddenly I know what I want to write for a blog post, I'm going to open up my Blogger window and start writing a blog post. If I only get halfway through my blog and lose steam, I'll try my outline again. If that fails, I'll see if I can think of any funny comics to write. If nothing is holding my attention, I might just look through my lists of writing ideas and see if something catches my eye.

Now, if you have a deadline, this is a dangerous method to choose. It may put you in the mood to write. It may inspire you to write what you need to get done. But it could just as easily make you do everything except the one piece of writing you need to do. That's when a certain amount of raw fortitude will do you more good than anything else. Of course, if you have several projects that all have to be worked on, then it is a good way to make sure that no one of them falls behind or gets ignored.

Most people aren't wrong; they're just different. You are who you are. Rather than try to conform to other people's styles, just find a style that works best for you.