A Kaleidoscope Coming into Focus

Life with ADHD

A Kaleidoscope Coming into Focus

Writing is introspection. I write fantasy and children’s literature. While having one of these stories reviewed at a local writer’s group, I received the following feedback —

“Your work is like a kaleidoscope coming into focus. It all comes together very well at the end.” — Peter Geer, Author.

Most of the people in my writer’s group are unaware of my ADHD. I’m high-functioning and don’t see it as a bar to success. That said, there are times when it nips me in the butt.

1. I have a really hard time focusing when other people are speaking. I often have to take notes or fidget. I have trouble switching tasks.
2. My verbal explanations can be repetitious, passionate, and verbose. I bore others as my mind strives to find some order in my complex—but it makes sense to me—thoughts.
3. I can’t figure out the ‘norm’ in a situation. Am I too much or too little? I hold back, thinking I may have overstepped my welcome.

All of this leads to a very self-aware persona. I am inconsistent. I waver between helpful, generous, and self-absorbed.

So, this feedback about the kaleidoscope struck me as spot on. My story can be complex with one too many characters. Not all of the character interactions may make sense. But then you get to the end of the story. You go, “Oh, it makes sense.”

Think Fight Club and the Usual Suspects.

Great stories written by someone with ADHD are complex and unpredictable. If I know what the answer is mid-way through the story, it ruins the tagline.

Folk who are, shall we say, non-neurodivergent will get overwhelmed and give up on the story before it has begun. I’m kidding. They’re just as enamoured by the story and holding on to their seat, wondering what will come next. These stories succeed and are valued.

Today’s 30-second pitch culture may hold us back, but we will be the winners every time.

So I turn it around. This is incredibly great feedback. I am following down the path of the masters who came before me.