We all face different challenges as writers, so of course there are many different strategies you can try to bring your story to completion. If you’re a writer with ADHD, NaNoWriMo participant Lila Krishna has a few tips and tricks you can try to stay focused:

As a teenager, I’d begin a new novel once every few months. By 20, I had under my belt 17 different first chapters, around 8 second chapters—and little else. A decade later, I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Shocker, I know. 

While ADHD is one of the most well-documented mental health issues, a task like writing brings with it some unique challenges. Its unstructured nature is both a blessing and a curse for those of us who are neuro-atypical. 

Here are some common problems I came across in my journey as a writer with ADHD. These issues are some that are common across the writing community, but those of us with ADHD often need to go above and beyond commonly-offered answers to find long-lasting and sustainable solutions that make writing an easier, less-frustrating, and more productive hobby. 

Problem: Help! I go down internet rabbit holes a lot while writing! 

NaNoWriMo is coming up in November, so this September, we want to help you prep for the months ahead and develop your novel idea with our annual month-long #InstaWrimo challenge. We designed a month of photo prompts (both concrete and abstract) to get you thinking about characters, setting, and story. All you need to join in is an Instagram account!

Participating in our Instagram Challenge will also give you a sneak peek into this year’s theme! Can you guess what it is from the prompts? We’re officially launching our NaNo Prep activities (and our brand-new website!) the week of September 10, so you can find out more then! To join the Challenge, follow these steps:

• Follow @NaNoWriMo on Instagram.
  

• Use the 30 photo prompts listed in the graphic above to start thinking about your novel. We’ll post the full challenge prompt on Instagram, but it will also be available in this post if you need to refer back to it.
  

• These prompts are just suggestions—you can interpret them as literally or as whimsically as you like. You can post a photo for each of the prompts, or choose just a few. You can post one every day, or all at once. There aren’t any strict rules—the most important part is having fun!
  

• Make sure to tag any posts with the #InstaWrimo hashtag so we can find them. We’ll pick photos from the challenge to feature on our own Instagram account throughout the month. Follow the hashtag to see what our awesome community is up to, and to get inspired. You can also tag a friend you think would like to join you in the challenge!
  

• Use your imagination, get creative, and get ready to write!  
  

Sometimes, it just feels like the words won’t flow. But it’s important to remember that writer’s block is something that will pass. Today, we have a few tips from Young Writers Program participant Cassidy Pry on how to make writer’s block pass more quickly:

It’s important to keep working on your project even after a hectic event like NaNoWriMo or Camp NaNoWriMo ends. You wouldn’t want a full month of hard work to end up in your “abandoned writing” folder! However, we know the real antagonist in your project all too well—that’s right. Writer’s block! Here are some tips on defeating writer’s block once and for all.

1. Relax.

Some days are just better than others when it comes to writing. You might not always be overflowing with ideas to put in your project. Instead of beating yourself up for not knowing what to write, take a break and give yourself a high-five for everything you’ve already written! Pretty soon, an excellent idea will spark and you’ll be back to writing like there’s no tomorrow!

Sometimes, the editing process can be more intimidating than writing a novel! It’s hard to shoulder the pressure of making your writing better. Today, Young Writers Program participant Ashton Kay shares a few tips for making editing a little bit easier:

You’ve created some quirky characters to keep the story flowing, constructed a world that your characters dwell in, and you’re finally done with torturing the protagonists through a countless number of hardships and conflicts. Guess what? You’ve finished writing the rough draft! 

If you’re internally (or perhaps, externally) screaming, ‘Aaah! Editing!’ it could mean two things; you’re either eager and excited to start editing, or you’re simply dreading to go back to your draft. 

Good for you if you’re getting urges to make the rough draft better! But fear not if you’re the in the latter situation. Even if it seems like your first draft is already perfect and ready for publishing, that’s almost always never the case. There’s some room for improvement at all times. Now, stop procrastinating, and get your hands onto the keyboard. I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve that you might happen to find helpful. 

Sometimes, you just need a little reminder that you are a writer, what you’re creating is worthy, and that you should keep going! Today, Young Writers Program participant Dawnia Nosrek is here to give you that reminder:

If you asked a normal human being what they’re afraid of, chances are their response would be something other than “a blank page”. But it’s different for us writers. We are not normal human beings. We are extraordinary people, capable of snapping realities and plots and characters into existence by merely placing pen to paper. 

Of course, if you’re anything like me, you’re terrified of the piece of paper in front of you. Of the wordless, empty blank page staring you down, scoffing at the very thought that you could produce anything worthwhile, credible, or even entertaining for any common reader.

But here’s the thing: just because you have a blank page doesn’t mean you’re fresh out of novel-worthy ideas. An idea is an idea even if it sounds dumb to you at first. 

Sometimes, the editing process can be more difficult than writing! It’s hard to take the things that you wrote and change or get rid of significant chunks. Today, NaNoWriMo participant Rosario Martinez reminds us that it’s ok to break apart what you’ve written:

You’re finished with your first draft, and you have no idea what you wrote. You just spent a month (several actually, but who’s really counting) writing this story, and now you feel like you can’t articulate what it is that you wrote. 

This happens, and it’s okay. Take a breath, take a few days to relax and not think about what you wrote. Detach, but keep in mind a date you’ll like to return. Always keep in mind a date you will return to your story. What I find helps the most is using the calendar feature on my cell phone because I have it with me most of the time. No excuses, right? (Sort of.) 

Don’t worry, you can do this. You wrote a story, your story. It’s done. Now you have to read and fix that story. But how?

Brave the Page, our brand new NaNoWriMo handbook for young writers, is available for pre-order! Partly a how-to guide on the nitty-gritty of writing, partly a collection of inspiration to set (and meet) ambitious goals, this is our go-to resource for middle-grade writers. Check out this Brave the Page excerpt on generating novel ideas:

Idea-Catching Mechanism #1: Mine Your Life 

“You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored,” author Neil Gaiman wrote. “The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we’re doing it.”

When you mine your life, you look back through your past to extract sparkling sapphires as well as pieces of combustible coal. You dig deep to uncover experiences and emotions and memories and dreams, and then you gather them in a pile and watch as they ignite and spark story ideas. 

Sometimes, it’s easy to get caught up in the pure rush of creating something new. Later on, when you come back for a second glance, the writing doesn’t have that same sparkle. You may not want to hear this, but editing is your friend—and it doesn’t have to be a painful process. Today, NaNoWriMo participant Rebekah reminds us that editing is writing:

Editing the rough draft of a story is a dreaded part of writing.

It takes just as much, if not more time, than actually writing a draft. But never fear! I’ve created my own method of tackling the first draft that I’d like to share with all of you as you work on your stories.

I find tips easier to follow if I’m given steps, so here is a step-by-step of the process I have been following with the rough draft of my very first book.

1. Let the draft sit for at least a month. 

This means don’t touch it at all. Don’t read it, don’t do tiny edits. If it helps, pretend it doesn’t exist. Taking a break from the draft helps me distance myself from what I wrote. It makes the text almost seem like it was written by someone else, which can make it easier to critique and fix.

Sometimes, it’s easy to identify what your character’s struggle with. Other times, it’s something shadowy lurking under the surface. Today, Young Writers Program Participant Amanda Harrison offers some tips on turning that struggle into a narrative arc:

1. When you’re about to begin writing, make sure you have a plan.

You don’t necessarily have to go into it with a strict day-to-day agenda, because that can take away from the fun of writing, but it is important to have a general idea of the characters in your story and what direction the conflict is going in.

A good way to start organizing your ideas and elements of your story is to have some sort of notebook devoted to it. Having a specific place to keep everything about your book can help you straighten out any information that doesn’t exactly match up, fill plot holes, and keep track of all the important aspects of your story (characters, government and/or magic systems, places, etc.). After having everything in your story written down is when your writing becomes easier.

So, you’ve said a tearful so long to your cabin mates. It’s time to go “home” now. Camp NaNoWriMo has been an amazing experience. All your hard work has paid off. But, it isn’t over, yet. Now, comes the truly fun part—Revision and Editing! Today, YWP Participant Ana Wambeke offers some helpful hints on making the revision process less painful and more fruitful: 

I know how tough it is to write your entire first draft. 

You go over it, fix grammar mistakes, go over it again, fix more mistakes, go over it again, replace, delete, add fresh sentences, paragraphs, then fix more mistakes, and still go over it again. Then, when you think it’s in good shape, you have someone else read it only to find there are more mistakes, and some things don’t make sense. Then you have to repeat all of the above, until you finally end up with a polished draft.

We’ve all been there, chasing down some magical plot bunny, that seems to be leading us to our narrative destiny. Then, somewhere along the way, that plot bunny seems to disappear into thin air and leave us stranded on the trail to who knows where. Today, NaNoWriMo Participant K.S. Trenten reminds us that when the going gets tough, the tough… start talking to themselves:

Uh oh. You started out with a good story, it was moving forward, only now you’re not sure what to write. You’re stuck. 

How do you get moving again? 

Sometimes a simple solution is to move around. Get up. Cross the room and pour yourself a cup of coffee. Go for a walk. See if stirring from the spot you’re sitting in doesn’t shake up your imagination a bit, jarring something loose you hadn’t thought of. An idea may tumble free in the process, giving you the impetus to get your story going again. Perhaps you should pick up your writing tools and relocate somewhere else. Physical movement often gets my mind moving as well. 

Nor is that the only way to get going.