Five Ways I Stay on Track as a Writer with ADD

I've admitted it before, and I'll admit it again: I have writer's ADD. I can't just write on one topic. I can barely start one novel at a time, although I'm getting better at working to completion.

So what do I do to stay on track?

 by  shutterhacks

1. Know where I'm going

I had to first ask myself the following questions:

- What are my immediate and long-term goals?
- What type of writer did I want to be?
- What type of writer didn't I want to be?

I knew that I wanted to "be a writer", which for me meant not only writing daily but actually making money from my
writing. This led me to freelance writing, which I define to include my blogs as well as article writing for Textbroker and Constant-Content. I hope to land some "real" freelance writing gigs soon, but until then the above is more than enough to keep me busy on the side. (I have a day job too.)

I know that I am a prolific writer. The problem comes in picking what I actually want to spend my time on because my time is limited. (Unfortunately). So I had to pick only a few blogs to start, only a few fiction genres, and narrow the sites I write articles at to the ones that actually pay me something.

2. Set reasonable goals

Okay, this one was and is really, really difficult for me. Sure, I can say that I want to write five Constant-Content articles a day and write until I score $30 per day at Textbroker, but it isn't realistic. I have children, an apartment to care for, fiction to write, as well as a full-time job. I just can't do it all! (As much as I'd like to!!) So the Type A in me has set more reasonable goals for my own writing speed and enjoyment. Obviously, if I have time or the inspiration to do more, great. But sometimes, enough is enough. :)

- Submit two Constant-Content articles per day
- Reach $10 in sales at Textbroker per day (this, if I do it, will net me $300/month before taxes - that's a car payment!!)
- One blog post per day at each blog (I have six); this only applies Mon-Fri
*edit: Changing this to M/W/F for my other blogs, and removing one blog (at least) to make time for fiction. 

- 2,000 words per day on my fiction and only one fiction project at a time

3. Only spend time on the good stuff

I am interested in most subjects and most fiction genres. But that doesn't mean I have to write about every subject and in every genre. It's just not feasible. So I have learned to focus on only what really interests me and leave the rest for someone else. Again, just because I can doesn't mean that I should! This also means that I have had to drop hobbies or side jobs that conflict. I can't do everything, and shouldn't. So I may really enjoy painting; I just don't have time to do it all that often. I've had to learn to accept that limiting myself is healthy - and much more productive!

4. Make it a job

I consider writing to be my second job, and make time for it. If that means that I have to bust my butt at another time to finish all my household chores, then so be it. I take my writing seriously and my job as an author even more seriously. And I refer to writing as "my job" to my family, and hope that they will eventually catch on that I do need to spend time on it. I suspect that once the bills start getting paid with writing money things will change. I hope so, anyway!

5.  Drop the guilt

It's perfectly healthy to accept your limits; we all have them. For some writers reading this blog, my goals will looks pretty lame. For others, my goals will look completely unreachable. And both responses are fine! (I hope to inspire someone, too.) I've just had to learn, as someone with a Type A personality, that it is okay to say "this is enough". It is okay to fail. It is even okay to reevaluate where you are going. What isn't okay is to give up or make excuses. I've learned that I don't have to feel guilty about everything - and neither should you.

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