Category Archives: Uncategorized

Impulse or “It seemed like a good idea at the time”

Posted on by

2014 Waynesboro Veterinary Emergency Services
Impulsiveness. 

My poor dog had to have emergency surgery to remove four hair ties, a big wad of hair and the remnants of a plastic jar lid. See the above photo for the evidence of his indiscriminate eating. I’m am sure that eating these things seemed like a good idea at the time.

 Impulsive behavior has created some spectacular complications in my life, think emergency room visits, raised eyebrows, and yellow cards at parties. I am very fortunate to have an understanding partner, but many times I have given her cause to question my sanity, and her own.

Impulsiveness

Just moved into a house? Still unpacking boxes?  This old stove doesn’t work, I’m just going to rip it out right now, and build a cabinet in that space.  Wife due any day with twins? This hallway needs to be painted.  House guest? No time like the present to strip the bathroom wallpaper.  Waiting for a date, talking with her mother, see a mouse running across the floor, why not jump off the couch and catch it your BARE hands? All these stories are true.

How do I deal with my impulsiveness? Let just say that I’m much better than I used to be at controlling impulses, but I still struggle.  I also promised my partner not to start any home improvement projects without talking to her BEFORE I start.  The twins slow me down a bit, however, they dislike wallpaper as much as I do and have started their own projects!

My impulses are not limited to home improvement projects and catching critters.  Often I am gripped by impulses to start new writing projects in the middle of current writing projects.  My spiral notebook helps, giving me a place to write down my ideas for new projects. I also use word counts and timers to deal with my impulses to begin new writing projects.
 I treat starting new projects as a reward. If I meet my word count for the day on the current project, then I am allowed to start the other project.  The other strategy that I employ is the use of timers. I let myself write for a specific time on the new project before I go back to the one in progress. This works well for me. It might work for you. If you struggle with impulsiveness what do you use? Please share!

Impulsiveness.
 The source of many stories but the bane of writing them down. 
Izzy recovering

Focus and Risk

Posted on by
JeDokGeom  2014

This is a sword. Not just any sword, it is my sword, a sword that I spent four years learning how to use.  And yes, it is sharp.  What the hell does this have to do with focus you ask?

 When practicing Geom Beop, in order to not injure yourself, and others around you, and by injure I mean a visit to the emergency room kind of injure, you have to focus. Nothing makes me focus like the risk of a bad outcome.  I work in a high-stakes environment. If I loose focus someone could be injured, or die. There are no do-overs in nursing.  Again, what does this have to do with writing? Writing requires focus.

Focus is one of the most difficult issues for people with ADD/ADHD. We have the ability to hyper-focus.  When we are hyper-focused, hours can evaporate as we immerse ourselves in a project. On those days I am always surprised when my phone alarms to remind me to pick up the kids.

Other days I sit down at my desk, all fired up to write, a bird will fly by, the frost has made an interesting and beautiful pattern on my window, 

March 2014

and then it is time to pick up the kids. Just like, that my two hours and forty-five minutes to write without the distraction that comes with three year old twins is gone.  

 I made a promise to myself to not let my issues with attention, organization, and hyperactivity derail my writing projects. In order to make myself focus enough to get coherent thoughts on paper, and not waste my time, I have to remember the risks.

The risk that someone will disagree with what I have written and accuse me of being an imposter / hack/ fraud, the risk that I might offend people, the risk that my family and friends will be unhappy / embarrassed / hate what I have written, the risk of rejection. I have to embrace the risk that I may be disappointed and frustrated by my failure to keep my promise to myself.

When I feel myself losing focus, I take a deep breath, acknowledge the risks, remember my promise, and treat it with as much respect as a sharp blade.

 Make promises to yourself. Embrace your risks. Write.

Taming the Monkey

Posted on by
Hanuman / Sun Wukong

What thoughts pull at your mind like crazed Capuchin monkeys interrupting your focus?  Are they to dos? Should dos? Want to dos? Have to dos? 

Finding a way to keep you life together is challenging for those of us that deal with attention issues, flights of ideas and the intense urge to be busy doing something.  Even if you don’t have organic distraction issues, information overload, and multiple demands can distract and overwhelm the most even-keeled person.  

 In order to calm my mind, so that I can focus and write, without the thought-monkeys pulling at my sleeve, I use a three part system. It may work for your thought-monkeys too.

1.  I use Todoist (http://todoist.com) This is a free to do list app that will sync across your devices. I use this to keep track of all the little tasks that can distract me knowing that they have to be done.  I enter my daily, weekly, and monthly, semi-annual, and annual tasks.  I set the application for sounds and visual reminders.   

2.  I use a vertical weekly paper planner. I know it sounds archaic to those of you who are in love with your electronic calendars. After trying to use several different electronic planners, I understand that my brain can not visualize and process electronic calendars.  I also use my planner as a work log and diary of my time.  When I feel as if I have not accomplished anything flipping back through my planner reminds me of what I have accomplished and what is possible.  For those of you that have a business, planners can be used to as supportive documentation if you ever face a tax audit.

3.  I keep up with entries! Yes, I stop when I get when a reminder notice, email invitation, or think of something that I want, or need to do, and make an entry in the system. That postcard reminding me that the dog needs a check up?  I set a date to make the appointment. If the office is open,  I call right then and make the appointment. 

 Do I fall off the keeping up with things wagon. Yes, more often than I would like to admit. So what do I do?  A brain dump.  I grab my spiral notebook and make a list of everything that needs to be done, scheduled, etc. I don’t try and assign the items any kind of priority, I just get them out of my head. When I can’t think of anything else, I go back through the list with my planner and Todist open I enter dates in my calendar and set reminders in Todoist.  

Is this redundant? Is it really that hard to keep track of my life? Yes. Distraction issues, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity are a wicked combination.   Using this system helps me focus. I don’t worry that I am going to forget to pick up the kids, or the milk or put out the trash.   When I sit down to write I am not worried that I should/need to be doing anything else but writing. What system do you use? Do you have a system?

My desk monkey reminds me that I the only thing I should be doing is writing.

Help- My Brain is Full!

Posted on by

Koi Pond National Arboretum 2011

My brain is full. I don’t think that I am only one with a full brain. I think that most of us live like this now, whether we have organic distraction issues or not. My brain feels like the fish in the video, snapping up everything, and anything.

The world is full of shiny objects, any and all of them can trigger a desire to write a story. The young girl at the library focused on her cell phone, ignoring the eight-month old at her feet?  That is a story. The note I found in the park “I spank you car please to call may (sic)” with a phone number?  The two old dudes arguing loudly over a woman in the library?  Yep- all stories waiting to be told.

I pick up objects, print out news stories, take pictures, and collect dialogue like a pack-rat on cocaine. As a kid it drove my mom crazy. What the heck do I do with all these bits and pieces of inspiration and observations?

 I talked before about my first love- spiral notebooks. But spiral notebooks can be awkward to carry around, so when I leave the house my spiral notebook stays home.  When I am out and about I use Evernote (http://evernote.com).
Evernote is an amazing application that lets you save everything, an endless spiral notebook for your phone.  If you are not using it, you should be, and they don’t pay me to say that. Using Evernote I can take pictures, record sounds, type, or dictate a note about what I have seen or heard.

So how do I sort these images, clips,  random thoughts, observations, scraps, and whims?  First, I use letter size flat box files. Like this:

Letter size flat file boxes are not expensive, they can be labeled pretty easily, and stack on shelves. They are available in different colors so if you wanted to organize by color you could. They are portable. Each novel gets a separate box. Short Stories and Ideas for Future Works each have a box.

When I have things that are too big to photograph like maps, old postcards, prints, programs, or more tactile souvenirs from research trips, I stash them in the project box. When I am working on a project, I can pull it down and go through what I have tucked away. I print out photos from research trips and print them on contact sheets.
Sorting through the box lets me immerse myself in the details of my story, reminds me why I wanted to write it, and grounds me when I feel like the words are just there, fluttering out of reach.

Will I ever live long enough to tell all these stories?
I really hope I do. But if for some reason I don’t live to 120, when they go through my things, and find all the random stuff I have picked up and taken pictures of, at least now they will know why.

 Be a kid again. Pick things up. Write a story.

The Black Hole of Research- Are We There Yet?

Posted on by

Oahu 2013-My father-in-law was driving, ’nuff said. 

This is how my mind feels when I start researching anything.  So many roads to information. The library, and yes, I still use one, the internet, historical societies, museums, interviews, and my favorite field trips.
I always keep a journal when I travel, nothing too deep just my impressions, notes on where I went, and what I did. I treat every trip as an opportunity for research. Why?

Because everywhere is a potential somewhere in any work of fiction.  Stay with me!
For folks that write fiction, the key word is fiction, but there must be enough of what feels real to keep a reader in a story.
 I have read stories about frozen wastelands that make me want a sweater no matter how hot it is outside. The stories that make you stay up, turning pages are stories that feel so real that you are in the book.   My goal with my writing is to capture real feelings of place, creating a make-believe world as real to my readers as it is to me.

So my advice about research for fiction writers:

  1. If you have started a  writing project, use your outline. ( What no outline?! Go back and read my other post.) Plan your travels. Remember you don’t need a big budget. Find something close to home that you can see in a different way. Does your backyard seem the same at night, or is it a little creepy? 
  2. Use the internet to find maps and detailed views of places you want to visit but lack the funds or time. If you are researching a historical place, local historical societies can be helpful, and may be able to help you locate old maps and images. 
  3.  Are you world building in science fiction or fantasy? Search the internet for images that can be modified or built on.  Create image files for consistency and detail in your worlds.
  4.  Treat each day as an opportunity for research. Take pictures. Take notes. Remember how the sky looked. Use it. 
The Best Research Stop Ever- Because Scotch!
The Bridge to Eileen Donnan Castle 2006

Outlines for the Attention Impaired- No Really!

Posted on by

Outlining for the Attention Impaired – No Really!

Hanoi 2009

             
What has this picture got to do with today’s topic? The branches are blocking the view, or highlighting it, or hey, is that a bud? This is how I feel when ever I start to outline a project. Outline? I can hear some of you making bad sounds and see you rolling your eyes. This is not a debate about outlines.  Some folks write very well without them. Some people scratch a few notes to themselves on the back of a cocktail napkin and call it a day.  Others make outlines that are pages long and detailed.

Things to keep in mind before you run shrieking from the room shouting that you swore you would never outline again after Mrs. Ramrod’s sixth grade essay class.

  1. Outlines do not have to be set in stone (unless that’s how you roll). 
  2. Outlines are guidelines/maps to where you want to go with your story. 
  3. Outlines are your friend, particularly if you have attention issues. 
  4. Outlines are not straight jackets for your creativity.
  5. Outlines can be used for any multiple step project, not just writing.
Creating and using outlines serves five purposes.

  1. It guides your writing so you don’t end up wandering around trying to find the point of your story.
  2. If you get lost while writing a long piece, or have to take a break from a story because life happens (job, sick kids, snow days, etc.), you can come back to the outline and figure out why you went in a direction you did and where you wanted to go with your story. 
  3. If you have to write a synopsis, you can come back to your outline for structure. 
  4. Project outlines help in planing next steps, and allows you to plan your writing time so that you don’t miss deadlines.
  5. Outlines help you to focus, allowing you to make the best use of your writing time. 

For those of us with attention issues, the very thought of outlining makes most of us freak out, and remembering how defeated we have been by outlines before. Why? Because we do not think in straight lines.  We think in circles, tangents, and broad soaring what-ifs. We struggle with ordering things. Because all of our thoughts happen at the same time, and it all seems like the first step. This does not lend itself to writing conventional outlines, all neat and tidy with everything labeled with numbers and subheadings. So what to do if we want to take advantage of the benefits of outlines? Do I sit down with a blank piece of paper and a pen, go to town, trying to force myself into straight lines and boxes? 
Nope. In the past I would use poster size paper and a fist full of markers. Lots of fun but a bit unwieldy. Now I do the same thing but I use MindNode  or Inspriation. Both of these applications allow me to capture thoughts as they bubble up and then drag them and drop them into an order that flows logically.

MindNode (https://mindnode.com) works well on my IPad and I use it for brainstorming projects, and outlining next steps for projects in process, allowing me to break a large task into less overwhelming parts.  It allows me to drag and drop ideas using colors and lines to to link thoughts as they occur.  I can add images and links to my mind map, MindNode with will automatically order my ideas. It is available for use on tablets and Macs but I prefer using my tablet version.

   When I want to outline a story,  a novel or  create a character sketch,  I use Inspiration (http://www.inspiration.com/Inspiration). Although marketed to a K-12 audience this is the best software I have found for creating outlines. It allows you to type your ideas into bubbles and then drag them around to where you want them. You can insert images, make notes, create mind maps and presentations. I have used it to write character sketches, novel outlines, and presentation outlines.
My favorite attribute of this program is the ability to move back and forth between a diagram view and a formal outline view. being able to drag and drop while in outline mode is the best thing I have found for ordering my thoughts. It even assigns numbers and letters to your outline in a way that would make Mrs. Ramrod proud.

What apps or system do you use? If the answer is none, give one or both of these a try.  If you are a parent looking for ways to help your distracted child with their writing give these tools a try.  Many schools have access to the Inspiration software. If you are a college student struggling with writing and outlines check out your learning resource centers, many have access to these programs or you may be able to be get a student discount.  In my next post I will talk about the outlining process and review some books that made me an outline convert.

Posted on by
  Hello!
Feb 3, 2014, 9:26 PMbyBrenda Murphy
 I have issues with distraction, hyperactivity and organization. I am also an obsessive reader and researcher. Sure, there are times I can really focus and get so much written and accomplished that I feel like I am really working (NaNoWriMo anyone?) And other days… Well the other days are spent trying to figure out what, of all the great story ideas, house projects, baking projects and work projects swirling in my head I should focus on. I started this blog for everyone who struggles with focus and organization and is frustrated with themselves. I will share tools, tips, and techniques that work for me and some might work for you. As I experiment and try new things come along for the ride.