18 months, 100,000 words...
...and NINE unfinished novels?
Back catalogue: post originally published on my previous Substack, ‘First-Time Writer with ADHD’, on 9 May 2025.
I’ve started writing a new fiction novel. The idea came to me while on holiday a few weeks ago and had me completely hooked. I made copious notes on my phone, and when I returned home—in true Amy style—I put digital pen to paper and started writing from chapter one. No planning, no outlines, no further thought. Just a ‘good feeling’ about it. Is this instinct? Who knows. It’s me. I’m impulsive. It’s what I do.
For two weeks, I was sucked into my newly created world, with its cast of characters that magically appeared before me, as if they’ve been waiting in an unwritten universe for their moment to shine. It’s a genre I haven’t written in before, so I was surprised by its appeal. Before I knew it, I’d written over 8,000 words and felt it had promise.
All the while, I was very aware that I could lose interest at any point. (Hello, distracted ADHD brain!) Plus, it was easy to start, which makes it just as easy to stop. So, I decided to use the novel as an experiment: what can I do to ensure I don’t give up? Because, let’s be clear, I don’t want to give up. I want to see something through to The End.
Here are some ideas I brain dumped:
While writing this novel, could I be continually reading a novel in this genre? (Plus, somehow, all the other books I want and need to read, of course.)
And could I have this novel on my desk to act as an encouraging reminder from the corner of my eye as I type?
Could I find a piece of music that represents my story and play this while writing? Or play it as I sit down at my desk, to encourage me into the right headspace, and out of my daily initial procrastination/paralysis mode?
When I originally planned this post, I was going to explain where I’m at and ask for other hacks that could keep me on track.
But guess what happened next? Before I’d even had chance to finish this post or to officially start my ‘experiment’, my interest in the story waned. That pull to get sucked into my fictional world lessened.
It dawned on me that the novel’s idea kernel had stemmed from a very short-lived hyperfixation on the cosy romance genre. This had been generated by an ‘easy-going’ audiobook I’d been listening to get me to sleep. So then I started to overthink it: What if there’s something better out there I should be writing? What if an idea should never stem from a hyperfixation? What if this story is just average, and I’m wasting my time? Plus, the biggie, what if I stop this, start something else, and then stop that too? For time ad infinitum?!?!? Arrgghh!
So, what do I do?
Behind me sits a shelving unit, and on that, a row of notebooks that contain every story idea I’ve had, plus each novel I’ve started writing since November 2023, and at some point, ditched. I realised I was fed up with their lurking—it was time to stare each of these lost projects in the eye. On a piece of paper, I worked through each notebook and its associated online manuscript and noted down each story’s broad topic, its genre, and the number of words I had written. I then totted it all up…
18 months spent
100,000+ words written*
Nine novels started…
…across seven genres
With three topics researched in greater depth.
In this time frame, and with this word count, I could have easily written a whole novel!
It hit me, in that moment, that I have to finish this one. Come hell or high water. I have to break this cycle. I have to be an author. Otherwise, I’m just the ideas gal, which is not a means to an end. It’s just a fun place to inhabit.
And so, back to my experiment. This is it. Starting. Officially. Now.
I don’t want my next post to say, “I gave up. I’ve started writing something new,” so instead, I pledge that I will let you know how I’m getting on, and I will still be working on it.
[Comment from future Amy, July 2026: I’m not still working on it. I put it down (see below post). But for good reasons—it had its day and I learned so much. This is a great opportunity to reflect!]
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