Writer’s Hacks Part One

Dear Followers,

I have ADD. I am also in the process of trying to write a fantasy novel. This post’s target audience is those budding authors who really want to devote more time to writing by overcoming distractions that prevent them from either starting to write or continuing to write when the ball is rolling. My belief is that all writer’s struggle to write wether we have ADD or not. The ADD just amplifies the struggles.

My first hack is one I try to use to get the ball rolling in the first place. Using my own jargon, I recall growing up. During my growing up phase, I hated doing the dishes. Eventually, I woudl turn on the kitchen tv and do the dishes while watching a show. I found out that when the tv is on, washing dishes takes 2 hours. When it is off, it only takes 20 minutes. The day I connected those dots, coincides with the day that I hated trying to escape by watching tv. I learned that I would much prefer to watch the same show on a big screen tv than the puny one in the kitchen. Given this, I realized which path I ought to take at that particular fork in the road. The fork is watching or not watching kitchen’s tv. In order to overcome this distractible behavior, I would tell myself, “Carlos, shut up. Quit worrying and just do the d**n dishes. They will be done before you know it.” After a month of saying this to myself, I got over my distractibility. Now, I don’t need to tell myself this slogan. I just do the dishes and get them done.