One of the questions I’m often asked is how did I start writing? It’s fascinating to think about, and I’m sure most writers have a similar yet different story. Like a lot of people, I was recently diagnosed with ADHD – in early 2024, in my late thirties. I’m one of those people who are supposedly part of an epidemic of overdiagnoses – who in reality, always knew they thought and felt differently from how society suggested one was supposed to think and feel, but needed a diagnosis to realise what that was. More on my writing journey after being diagnosed with ADHD later.
Another thing often asked is are writers born or created? Is there such a thing as inherent talent? I personally don’t believe that writers are born into this world with some kind of natural ability that determines their creativity. Writing is hard work, and it can be learned and honed. After all, that’s why we have creative-writing courses. Not to build up those who already have a natural talent, but to help those who have the storytelling bug and want to develop their craft and process.
That said, I think I was always destined to write, or at least to do something creative. Before I turned my hand to writing professionally, I was a musician and sound engineer. But everything I did, whether playing with toys as a child, or in my teaching, was a narrative. It just seemed natural to me to tell things as stories, that they had a journey from a beginning to an end. So, when I was teaching sound engineering, I found myself enrolling on a Master’s degree in writing – because I wanted to know how to write.
Meeting kindred spirits
I thought I would be out of place on a writing course. I have a preference for genre fiction, and hadn’t read all the classics. What I actually found was a group of kindred spirits, some of whom are now my closest friends (and ‘big sister’). I found my place there within the writing world.
I started my first novel Goodbye for Now for my dissertation project, because I wanted to push myself outside my comfort zone. I also found the structure to finish the novel there, and I was lucky enough to have it picked up by HarperCollins. That makes it sound like an easy journey. It wasn’t, but the course gave me a lot of what I needed to call myself a writer and work professionally.
Writing with ADHD
There’s a lot of writing advice out there, and one thing I often tell students is that there aren’t really any rules. What we try to teach on writing courses is how to find what works for you. So, what have I learnt about writing since being diagnosed with ADHD?
Like a lot of people with ADHD, I throw myself into hobbies. But my writing isn’t just a hobby; it is hard work, and a lot of hard work. It takes time to write a short story or novel, and then to get it to a position where you are happy to share it with people. It can be handy to have a number of projects on the go to give your mind things to jump to, but still feel productive.
However, it’s important not to overwhelm yourself. That’s so easy to do as a writer, with or without ADHD. The immense pressure of having to follow writing advice, write every day – and be seen to be a writer of a certain calibre – can be a huge amount of pressure. And while writing is hard work, it shouldn’t feel like it’s a chore and not fun.
Writing through blocks
There’s also the concept of writer’s block. This is something I feel a lot of neurodivergent people encounter, since it’s so related to other mental blocks we experience. But I believe that what most people call writer’s block is either a fear of failure, or simply not knowing what to write next.
One of the things that most surprised me about learning to write was that a lot of people write linearly, that is to say, from page 1 until they reach the end. That simply didn’t work for me. I tried it with my second novel The German Nurse, and when I got about 10,000 words in, I simply got stuck. I didn’t know what was going to happen on the next page.
How did I get out of this hole? I wrote a scene that occurred later in the book. I knew where my main character was going, I just didn’t know what he did in the middle. But that was okay. Why not jump forward and write that scene? There’s no reason I couldn’t do that, but I was trying to fit into a process that worked for other writers. It didn’t work for me.
That’s a lot of what I teach on creative writing courses; how to find your own process. Much as with neurodivergence, there really isn’t a one-size-fits-all.
When I’m feeling brain fog, or some kind of cognitive block, I like to write some bullet points on what I’m going to write next. It might not be the most shining prose, but it does feel like I’ve accomplished something, and gives me a starting point for next time.
Those who know me, know that I could talk about writing for hours on end (perhaps another ADHD trait?), so this is just a snapshot of things I’ve learnt about myself and writing, especially since I was diagnosed. My tips may not work for you, but maybe just reading this will help you be kinder to yourself when you don’t feel able to write and need to find a way through.
