ADHD & Writing

[ExpressiveChild]

I was diagnosed with ADHD back in 2006 and I was under medication for a couple of months before I decided to stop because it wasn't really helpful for me...

What I wanna know is that is it normal for people with ADHD to have writing talent? I hate reading because it takes great effort to concentrate when I try to read something but strange thing is I love writing and have been writing poems for years...

Is this common? I asked some folks and they told me its kinda unusual to have ADHD and writing as your talent.

[Tony72]

Not unusual at all. I can't say I have talent but I write, and so do other people on here.

[RicardoBogie]

Some people with adhd are writers of fiction and non fiction books.
Some popular best selling technical books are written by people with adhd.
Having adhd hasn't stopped some writers from becoming fantastic storytellers.
Some of my all time favorite books are written by people with adhd.

[dvdnvwls]

There are talents uncommon for ADHDers, but I don't think writing is one of them. I expect that quite a few great writers have had ADHD. As a general stereotype, we do tend to fail if our whole job is being manager and planner. When you're a writer, of course there's managing and planning to do, but it's often the kind you can do in sprints or spurts.

I started to say that I would expect the stereotypical writer-with-ADHD to excel in the short forms and to not be a natural novelist - but maybe not; some novelists lay out the long lines of their plots by intelligence instead of by instinct, and that would probably work fine. In other words, the ADHD novelist is really not going to have the natural instinct for how his characters will be after three years, but instinct is only one way to write, and maybe not even the best one.

[Conman]

i always hated english class in highschool and writing classes (taking the last one ever this semester actually). i find it difficult to say the right words.

however, i did start personal writing about spring of my senior year and 95% is dialogue only, only longer more character focused stories need character's thoughts. i found my writing as a form of therapy, some stuff is allegory for my social commentary on things such as life, horror movies, sex industry in one case, existentialism, etc. then alot is gonzo biographical or just fiction. it helps. put some up here elsewhere

[Daydreamin22]

I wondered the same thing when I first got on here. I think we are more creative. I think medicine effects our creativity.

But I don't like reading by itself really, I love writing, and analyzing things I've read for school. I majored in English. Now I'm reading and analyzing all kinds of stuff for a brochure I'm working on at work. I love it.

Kind of along those lines... some people with adhd find it easier to write answers while taking tests rather than fill in the blank, or multiple choice.

Actually, I don't think it has anything to do with ADHD. I was surprised to learn that.
It is interesting, though, that the majority of students in art school have a mental health issue. which says a lot about creativity.

The good thing is, we think differently, and put together connections that other people can't/won't/don't.

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/i...c314SNbqN_Yuyg

[fracturedstory]

Are we talking long or short poems here? I'm a writer, but of complex sci-fi novels and I do need my medication just to get it all out in some sort of coherent order. And even then I may have difficulties.

I have had a few hyperfocused days of writing poetry. I wrote one for my mum when I couldn't think of what to get her for her birthday.

Only thing I can do well without meds is drawing and painting, but it's usually just something I can throw together quickly. I do much better on meds. There are a lot of steps to make a fine piece of art.

I like to read (if it's not too difficult to understand - physics book ugh!) when not on meds. I feel like I can be absorbed into the story more. I'm reading The Hunger Games on meds and I'm just not feeling it. So, I believe reading is my thing. Ah, before I was on meds if a book was really interesting I could finish it in a few days. I finished His Dark Materials in a week. I like to pace myself now so I can absorb certain amounts of information at a time.

And peeps, I'm gonna write my sci-fi again. Although I think I'm more of a photographer.

Oh yeah, I'm not sure if no-meds is better than on-meds when I do my photography. Looking back at my old concert shots I can see some pretty amazing shots. Now, on meds I tweak the settings a lot, I switch the lenses and I'm not as sharp on getting the rock moves, but I'm unphased by it. But when it comes to certain musicians I really want to capture the rock moves.

[dvdnvwls]

Originally Posted by Daydreamin22

It is interesting, though, that the majority of students in art school have a mental health issue. which says a lot about creativity.

It seems to. It may actually say something about where people with a mental health issue think they will be accepted (socially or academically or both).

[Daydreamin22]

Originally Posted by dvdnvwls

It seems to. It may actually say something about where people with a mental health issue think they will be accepted (socially or academically or both).

That's very true.

[zoomman]

I'm frequently impressed with the quality of people's writing here at ADDF. Even simple little quips seem smart and well expressed. I rarely see writing that's stiff or clunky. (Compare the typical writing here to, say, that of the typical memo or email in the corporate world and ADDF folks come out WAY better. Good writing simply is NOT the norm for most people.)

I think there is an awareness of the cadence and musicality of spoken language's rhythms reflected in the writing here at ADDF. True, we're not all tuned into grammar or spelling, but that's technical details ... the words written are almost always potent and punchy, ideas well conveyed.

For my own part, I think that, because it's so difficult for me to pick up on social cues and the gist of what NTs are saying "between the lines," I've come to rely on a more precise use of language as a social defense strategy. Certainly writing allows us to stop, review, and revise what we are saying ... a luxury we don't have when we speak. So maybe there's that, too.

[Baal Moom]

Well, I've got a bit of a talent for words, I think, but I think my written expression is much worse when I'm not on meds. Like now. The words elude me.

[Plognark]

I suspect that a lot of us are probably above average writers. I also suspect that most of us are terrible editors

[dvdnvwls]

Originally Posted by Plognark

I suspect that a lot of us are probably above average writers. I also suspect that most of us are terrible editors

Why do you say that? (Not being combative, just want to know.)

I'm proud (maybe unjustifiably) of my editing.

[ADD me]

Originally Posted by Daydreamin22

I wondered the same thing when I first got on here. I think we are more creative. I think medicine effects our creativity

For me, medication helps me focus and minimizes distractions, which clears my head and allows my creativity -- for me, scholarship, and yes, there is creativity in that -- to emerge; otherwise, it would get lost in all the mental clutter going on. Or life would otherwise be so disorganized that I would never get around to it. Both of these are frequent experiences.

I don't know whether my ability to see connections owes much to my ADHD. I know that my inability to actually do much with those connections is directly related to my undiagnosed ADHD.

[Traveler5]

Originally Posted by ExpressiveChild

Is this common? I asked some folks and they told me its kinda unusual to have ADHD and writing as your talent.

I've never read anything, from supposed ADHD experts, that says people with ADHD are or are not better writers or more creative than non-ADHDers. Personally, I don't think ADHDers have something that non-ADHDers don't have that make them better writers. I don't know why that would be the case -- I don't see the connection. There are a lot of great writers out there and many of them just happen to have ADHD -- it is a pretty popular disorder to have. That's my opinion.

As far as me reading books (forget reading fiction -- way too boring), most of the time I have a hard time getting fully immersed in a book even if it's a novel. More often than not I will read a book halfway, lose interest, and the book gets shelved and forgotten. Then there are times when I can really get into a 1000 page Stephen King novel then read another one right after. Why that is I don't know, but for the most part I can't even get myself to sit down and start a book.