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Sunday, November 15, 2009

The Inefficiency of An ADD Writer

Marcia Laycock tries to write, in spite of her trouble focusing, from Alberta Canada. She has won awards for both her non-fiction and fiction writing and her work has been broadcast on national radio. Her second novel is in process and her devotional book, Spur of the Moment, has just gone into a second print run. Visit her website - www.vinemarc.com


This one is just for fun because I think some of you might relate. :)


I start my day with a cup of coffee and think about what I should have for breakfast.

I decide on cereal but there isn’t any milk, so I find a scrap of paper and begin a shopping list.
The phone rings and I take a message for my husband, on another scrap of paper, then remember that I have to call a friend but the phone goes dead so I return it to the cradle and go hunting for the other one.

I enter my office and notice there’s a ‘note to self’ to send an email to my publisher. I sit down to do that and open my email program.

But there’s a note from my daughter so I open it and then decide to send my other daughter a note but she’s on Facebook so I click on the internet icon and open up the world of fb friends.

One of them is excited because she is having her first book published so I send her a note to congratulate her.

Then I decide to click into her site to see what the book cover looks like and notice a link about marketing that looks interesting, so I click on it and decide that it’s a great article so go to my blog to link to it.

There’s a message from a reader there so I take just a wee moment to answer it, and while I’m doing that I remember I intended to post an article to my writing blog.

So I open the folder on my computer where that article should be but it’s not there so I open another one and find a short story that I intended to send to a magazine.

So I go back to my email program and open it up and see that the four lists I’m on have all sent their daily digests so I take just a few moments to look at them.

Then my stomach growls and I realize it’s lunch time. My husband comes home and we decided to go out for a bite and then decide we really need to look at that bed we’ve been thinking about buying.

Then we see the Tim’s on the corner so decide we need a coffee.

I remember that there wasn’t any milk for breakfast so we go to our favourite, huge, all-in-one store and take just a little while to look at the laptops and cameras while we're there. To buy milk. Right. Don't forget the milk.

Suddenly it’s supper time. We drive home and throw something together to eat before heading out to our regular Bible study.

Someone asks how my writing is going.

Writing? Who has time for writing?

Oh Lord, “Teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Ps. 90:12

8 comments:

  1. That's so funny, I had a day like that on Friday . . . and thought, 'Only writers could have days like this.'

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  2. I too suffer from ADD, so I can relate to your blog. I even wrote about it on one of my blogs but I can't remember if it was my wordpress blog or one of my blogger blogs, or maybe it was an article. I should have written it down, but then I probably would have lost the note :) Happy Writing!

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  3. LOL - you've been peeking in my window, Marcia! :)

    When I was a kid, i used my creativity to play instead of write, but I made up stories for my dolls to act out. The same story could carry me doe weeks. :)

    But I was to ADHD to sit down and write them out. Now the hyperactive part has lessened with age (LOL what a benefit!) but the ADD still plagues me at times.

    When it's bad, I find writing at a coffee house works. Any goings on there are like white noise. They don't demand my attention. :o)

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  4. Oh, the fun (and craziness) of being a writer!

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  5. Same here. I have to all but threaten myself with Bruno the Enforcer to get myself to write in order to keep the 'ooh, shiny' moments to a minimum.
    My family and I all joke that we all suffer from , 'A.D.O.S'
    ATTENTION DEFICIT - OOH SHINY.

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  6. I love this! I can certainly relate. I can't count how many days I have experienced that went very much like what you have recounted. I am grinning from all angles as I write this(knowing full well that today will be just like it).

    Cup o'joy
    and a fresh taste of the bread of heaven to you...

    Lynne Hasuly

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  7. Thanks for all the comments. It's comforting to know I have so much company. :) M

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