Cover Photo: This header image is a black and white outline illustration of two people sitting and writing. Each of them have a speech bubble above their heads; one bubble is a scribbled mess and the other shows neatly scribbled lines, like imagined text.
Illustration by Eliza Harris via Canva

How to Write a Novel (Or Anything, Really) with ADHD

Instead of fighting myself tooth and nail to subscribe to a neurotypical writing lifestyle, I’m choosing to expand upon my weird brain’s strengths and abilities.

TessaI think what you’ve been describing all these years is actually ADHD

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Learn your biorhythms.

Try “pantsing” a novel.

Get a body double.

Use a reward system.

Have lots of snacks and drinks on deck.

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For more information on ADHD, including local and national resources, please visit the Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) website at https://chadd.org/.

Tessa is a writer, an avid reader, and a working professional in the mental health field. She has written over twenty-five published articles for *CityScene Magazine*, a local publication in her current hometown of Columbus, Ohio, and is in the process of writing her first fiction novel. As an advocate for mental health awareness, she believes it is important to share her firsthand experience with mental health and neurodivergence with the hope that her story will help others feel less alone in their struggles.