Right now, it’s hard for anyone to write a set amount each day. Be kind to yourself and allow “incubation” time. Writing isn’t just putting words on the page—that’s measurable progress, but most human progress is abstract, immeasurable.
If you have ADHD (or are just feeling scattered because your routine has been uprooted), writing from home can be especially difficult.
I’ve updated my Writers with ADHD post to include a quote from Rick Hodges and his guest post for ADDitude Magazine. I hope it helps you allow yourself some inactivity.
“Some authors follow a disciplined process by writing a certain number of words or pages each day. I can’t fathom doing that. I have to write furiously when inspiration or motivation comes, followed by long periods of inactivity. Looking back, I see the lack of short-term gratification as a big drawback that caused me to procrastinate and set the manuscript aside for months at a time. I craved a quicker reward than writing a book provides. Showing my work-in-progress to writer’s groups helped to put me back on track, and when new ideas popped into my head that I could incorporate into the manuscript, it prompted me to get back to work.”
I’m also posting “motivational” quotes on my Instagram account (@larathelark) each Monday. Look for the Yoda post emphasizing the “do not” part of his quote.
I’d love to hear from you and see how you’re doing. Has time at home made writing easier or harder for you? If you have a writerly or bookish Instagram account I can follow, let me know!
❤ Lara
View original post, Tips & Tricks for Writers with ADHD
Howard Tayler, Writing Excuses Podcast:
“Word count equals motivation times focus.”
If it’s motivationandfocus I need, I thought, no wonder my word count hasn’t budged in weeks.
This past summer, my son was diagnosed with ADHD. And the more I learned about ADHD—the more I unlearned what I thought I knew about ADHD—the more I understood my own brain’s struggles with trying hard things, getting started, and following projects through to the end.
It’s not laziness. It’s not a lack of intelligence. It’s not a matter of not knowing what to do.
It’s a gift (curiosity! humor! creativity! intelligence! fervor! ) … and a curse.
Watch This is What It’s Like to Have ADHD on Facebook
Whether hyperactive or inattentive (me) or combined (my son), ADHD can make writing long works difficult and make multiple rounds of revision feel impossible. But when people with ADHD…
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Lara Willard 
I have found that the coronavirus crisis has sapped all my creative energy. Perhaps it is because writers have a great imagination, and the COVID-19 has so many what-ifs. I used the time to work through improving my skills.