November/December 2022
Hello all! Welcome to my second ever newsletter!
Where am I?
The last few months have been a whirlwind. I spent my fall in Massachusetts and have just returned home to the East Bay for the winter. Lots of music and waltzing is ahead of me at the Great Dickens Christmas Fair in San Fransisco, California. We haven’t been able to do it since 2019, so I am so excited to return to our hovel in the East London slums.
How do I do it?
As many of you know I am essentially an ADHD poster child. The last few months in particular have been difficult for me. Nothing specific, just my executive functions working at nearly a 0. So I have decided to dedicate a little bit of this newsletter to give you some insite into my writing process.
(This is no way qualifies as writing advice. But if you feel it works for you, I expect a thank you in your debut novel.)
Some ways of dealing with ADHD in writing:
1) I tried to write an outline, since that worked great for academic papers where I knew where it was going. For a novel? Not so much. MY ADHDvise:Make a list of scenes you want from beginning to end. They can even be as vague as “Character X goes from A to B” It will help you see where holes might be and where you might need to add a scene to bring everything together.
2) Did you know some people (read: most) write their book chronologically? Man, I was stuck for a long time before realizing I didn’t need to do that! MY ADHDvise: Write whatever scene comes to mind and highlight it in your scene list (as noted above). If it isn’t there, find the spot it might fit in your story. No worries if you don’t end up using it, it will give you insight into your characters regardless!
3) Ugh. People who can create a writing schedule always make me feel impressed. I cam never carve out a specific time of day everyday for one thing. Good lord, I usually forget to take my pills every morning! MY ADHDvise: Always carry around a notebook with you. One specifically for your story. Leave a few pages at the front blank so you can make a table of contents later. Write ideas down as they come. If you are more technologically inclined, I recommend Evernote for the same thing!
4) Research, ah research! I am weird and I LOVE to research… sometime too much. MY ADHDvise: The way I have found to do research for novel writing is to read the book and merely flag a sentence that you want to make a note of. You can then later come back to it and write it down in your writers notebook! If you are actively writing and come to spot where you realize you need to do a little research, write an XX by it and write it down for later. If you try to research it in the moment, you WILL go down a research rabbit hole and not come out for hours. (Or is that just me?)
5) Don’t be so hard on yourself! I am still working on this one. I just went the last two months without barely writing a word. Like I said, it was a rough time. MY ADHDvise: Some people can pop out a novel in a few months, others need years. It’s ok to be the latter. Just keep working on it when you have the mental ability to, and it will happen! (And yes, I do frequently say this to myself)
Hope that helps any of you also interested in writing! I am not the best at always following my own advise, but as a Virgo, I am real good at dishing it out.
What am I reading?
THE CHRONICLES OF ST. MARY’S series by Jodi Taylor
Ok, this is more of a series review. I have spent the last several months reading and listening to The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series. It was written by Jodi Taylor and has a wonderful origin story. Taylor originally self published the first book fo the series One Damned Thing After Another, but a literary agent loved it so much she signed Taylor and helped get the ongoing series published! Never knock a self published author.
The series follows one Madeleine Maxwell, Max to anyone who doesn’t want to be shot, and her adventures with the crew at St. Mary’s Institute for Historical Research. Yes, they time travel. Oh, excuse me, study historical events in contemporary time. The first book is about Max’s training and initiation into the world of academic time travel (sound familiar?), introduces the big baddy, initiates love interests, and sets you in the world wonderfully. Taylor is really good as barely describing things that don’t exist, but you’ll read it and go “Oh yeah the pod need a FOD plod, totally.” Or “I totally know what a scratch pad is.”
Taylor’s characters are what make the series shine. Max, Petterson, Markham, all of them are wonderfully distinct characters. She gives them sayings (Shit, shit, shit) or actions (Petterson can never seem to land a pod gracefully) and makes you smile every time.
There are some downsides, other than the fact that the series is 13 books long and still going! Some of the plot lines get a little convoluted from time to time. The use of mythological characters can get a little off the regular story. She also sometimes repeats metaphors (Drink for every time she relates something to a Politician). Yet, I still adore these books since I have just listened to all of them twice. On that note, I highly recommend listening to the books. Zara Ramm does a wonderful job at distinguishing the characters and giving the emotion behind the words.
Where can I get this book?
I have opened up an affiliate shop on Bookshop.org! If you want to read this one or see another recommendation from me, check out my own curated bookshop and support, not only small, independent bookshops around the country, but your soon-to-be favorite author as well! (Me, that’s me.) Keep checking in as I add new reads and old favorites!
What is ADHD?
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is an executive function disorder, similar to one you might be more familiar with, OCD. It generally impacts the part of the brain that can help people focus, plan, and even affect one’s ability to sense the passing of time. It will also affect one’s ability to regulate emotions. I am essentialy a textbook case of ADHD in women. I have the inability to focus, or go the total opposite way and hyper focus. My go to reaction for happy, sad, stressed, lonely, is to cry. And I can spend time on something only to realize hours have passed. If you or someone you know are effected by this disorder, I highly reccommend checking out ADDitude Magazine’s Website!