I talked about what I’ve learned about attention deficit disorder overnight and a discussion I had about social marketing over on WDG.
And promptly forgot to post it when I got home.
Tara Li is probably right — ferrets.
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Interesting. I would suggest you check out the autism/asperger’s spectrum of disorders, as well. The locking down to focus on some things strikes me as characteristic more of an Aspie. Still, I am not sure psychiatry is well enough developed yet to really get this stuff correct.
People just don’t seem to get that what the fans want is to know the author. Not just read the author’s writings, but to feel like they know something about *why* the author has written something, or what the stories mean to them. All these authors posting about writing technique, or pushing their newest book with links to “See my new book!” are wasting their time. They’ve be far better off posting comments about “This scene mutated from something my great-grandmother told me about…” or “I know he’s a right bastard, but I like my character Sleeky the best. There’s something about his earnest desire to take you out, without anyone knowing he’s done it, that…” or perhaps “About 100 light years from Frabjous is the planet Callooh. Now, Callooh doesn’t actually have any real relevance to any of the stories I’ve written so far, other than a mention Wocky made in The Wabe, but it’s really a nice planet…” and after a rambling description of the planet, ends up with “Who knows? Maybe there’s a story there to be written one of these days.” Even backstory on characters that isn’t in the book, and is sketchily lined out would be better than “NEW BOOK! NEW BOOK! NEW BOOK!”
Gabor Mate is Canada’s ADD guy and he brings both the medical and the systems perspective to the issue. All of his books are great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqiYJCX_lWg
A few weeks ago I started feeling the need to understand why it is that I leave things hanging and have piles of things I want/need to do. This is not the first time I’ve considered it, but this time I was struck by a course coming up online on Mathematical Thinking. I started it and I learned that I really do not want to take time to think about something for very long. This course requires that and the payoff for actually doing it is a very good feeling.
This morning I saw a post “8 Daily Rituals You Can Create To Boost Your Geeky Productivity” http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-daily-rituals-can-create-boost-geeky-productivity/ Some of those things resonated – like writing in the morning and taking a little time for gratitude. I’m beginning by incorporating one thing. Some of these, you are already doing which maybe has been part of your management. I got a sample of a book recommended there and it looks like it might help get at the underlying problem–Flow: The Psychology Of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I think the key for me is going to be getting that payoff in feeling happy with the doing of things rather than whatever it is I’m doing that gives an empty sort of rush. I can’t name what the false thing is that I do, but I think I can find the real thing and make connections with other times I’ve been there. I get the sense that there is some building to be done.
I don’t know if any of this relates to your experience, but there it is.
Sar, Some people are just life long teachers whom see someone on the internet without knowledge and want to give them the benefit of their learning.
Books are the worse place to get a self assessed medical profile . And seriously you have had a hard year and maybe a little bit of being scattered is to be expected. You have a lot on your shoulders, and maybe its just you need to give yourself a break. Yes, see someone whom can do some sort of definitive test. But until then keep your chin up, give yourself a break and know that you have a lot of internet people you have never met whom follow you for your insights, humour and the odd rant at something or someone that does need a good telling off.
Darren
🙂 Thanks, everyone.