What to do with an ADD chapter run amok?

[Carole]

I finished another chapter and polished it till it was shiny. Unfortunately, I just re-read it and I am banging my head on the keyboard! Somehow this chapter of which I was so proud is actually a rambling mess of information.

I have a real problem with ADD and this is a perfect example. Unless I have a clear outline, I have a million tangents and apparently follow them all! The chapters that I was able to focus on and stay on topic with are fine, I think. But this darn thing is going to be the death of me.

Does anyone have any advice on how to separate thoughts and break down a chapter run amok? I am at a total loss and think I might have to scrap it.

~~Carole

[RainBrain]

your situation is probably more complex than mine. i was very happy when i reached the 43000 word mark thinking i had something. it wasn't untill i re-read the whole manuscript that I found out a number of chapters were like you put it, a "rambling mess"

i deleted about 12 thousand words and started over again. yeah i know, it was heartbreaking. lol

[aspiringwriter]

Carole...I have ADD myself and often I find myself starting something, and my mind goes off into many tangents too...I hate it, but it's something I have tried to control... For instance, I am in the process of writing a screenplay and well i've been told by many to read scripts after scripts...Well it has helped SOME...but what I read, well I read different scripts and my mind becomes confused...So don't feel bad...If you want to PM me, we can talk about this more...

~Bill~

[Carole]

Well, it's good to know that I am not alone! I have so much information to put into this book and I feel a self imposed deadline on my head. Apparently I sometimes write like I think - scattered!

As I am writing, it all seems to flow together seamlessly. In a way it actually does. But when I read this particular chapter, I realized that the further I got into it the more off-topic it became! The end of the chapter had nothing to do with the beginning, which is not good for the type of non fiction book I am writing. It's not like I am writing a novel with a continuing storyline.

I think I am going to print it out and "red pen" it. That seems to work better for me, having my hands on it and all. That way I can manually keep and toss and rearrange it until it makes sense, or else I can just deicide to toss the whole thing.

~~Carole :)

[aspiringwriter]

You are not alone....my thinking is scattered, just like my writing...I take medication and it seems to help, but no one who has this disability can't truly understand what it's like to have.

For instance, I am trying to write a screenplay and my thoughts go from one thing to the next...It's too difficult to come up with descriptions, ect... Everyone tells me to read and read scripts but I just can't do that...it's not that simple for me and like I said, no one can fully understand. Now I know there are others with Adult ADD and they cope just fine..Well everyone is different... :)

Don't toss the entire thing, i've done that WAY too many times and wished I hadn't...

~Bill~

[icerose]

I do not have your problem, but my suggestion is this, finish the book. Don't worry about individual things like this until you are finished. Once you are finished if you can't figure out what you want and don't want in the chapter get another writer to help you break it down and organize it.

Good luck.
Sara

[Carole]

Bill, I used to view ADD as a disability, but my husband is trying to change my view on that. He tells me that I should try to embrace it and acknowledge that ADD can be a gift rather than a curse. If you think about it, ADD does allow you to have many creative irons in the fire at once. If only I could keep track of all those irons! I don't have trouble with descriptions, though. If anything, I have trouble toning them down. It's almost like I am at the top of a slide and once I get on, I keep with it till I run out of slide. It just all comes out so fast that it is hard to keep up with it, and then I have a mess on my hands like with this chapter.

Supposdly there are skills which can be learned that help with managing and multitasking, but I have yet to get any of those down-pat. I have resisted meds not only because of horror stories, but also because I am afraid meds would change my personality and as a result, change my desire to create.

Sara, that is actually good advice for me. I have allowed this one chapter to halt everything else I am doing. I am putting on a pot of coffee right now and I am determined to spend the rest of this morning, at least, writing again rather than dissecting this chapter.

[icerose]

Sara, that is actually good advice for me. I have allowed this one chapter to halt everything else I am doing. I am putting on a pot of coffee right now and I am determined to spend the rest of this morning, at least, writing again rather than dissecting this chapter.

Yeah and everyone with or without these other things come across problems such as this in their writing where a chapter or section, or even a few sentences aren't what they want them to be. And if you stop and fix them first before moving on the rough draft can take years rather than a few months to a year (depending on how long it takes you).

As for medicine I understand both sides having friends and in-laws with the same issues. Sara Rachel Hope is a member on this board who wrote a book about her dealings with this and she has found natural ways to balance her body and calm the ADD without sacrificing herself or having any of those horrible side effects that are often caused by the drugs, so maybe you could contact her and see if she could help you figure something out. :)

At any rate good luck with your writing and everything else. And I do see benefits to it, those who have it are able to think in an almost 4 dimensional way, it is rather intriguing. Such as my brother-in-law, he can pick up any instrument and play it like he has played for years. So I guess its one of those take the good with the bad. :)

Sara