How to Write Forward When Your Brain Keeps Pulling You Back
An honest look at ADHD, writing blocks, and the small, brain-friendly shifts that turn overwhelm into real writing momentum
For about a week, Northern Virginia appeared to be having a charming ladybug season. They were everywhere: on porch railings, windows, my hair. I felt a burst of nostalgia for my childhood, chasing these storybook bugs around the schoolyard.
Except they weren’t ladybugs.
They were Multicolored Asian Ladybird Beetles—a ladybug look-alike with a bad attitude, a penchant for invading homes, and the ability to stink up the place like they’re being paid for it.
There’s something humbling about realizing even the cute bugs are faking it.
First, we survived the summer of spotted lanternflies—tiny chaos agents that destroy local flora, dive-bomb your head, and then (for reasons unknown to me) spend hours in a torrid love affair with the infrared glow of my Ring camera. And now, as if my nervous system hadn’t met its quota for sensory overload, another invasive species shows up disguised as a harmless childhood memory.
And yet writing with ADHD feels strangely similar.
Sometimes the things derailing you aren’t the big, obvious lanternfly-level distractions—they’re the deceptively harmless ones. The cute ones dressed up in sparkly promise. The “I’ll just…” thoughts that sneak in disguised as something helpful.
But here’s the gift of understanding your ADHD: once you learn to spot what’s invasive—even when it looks friendly—you can reclaim the mental space your writing needs to grow.
Now it’s November, which brings its own kind of seasonal chaos that seems like a fun idea until you realize how devastating it can actually be… the novel writing month challenge.
If you’re not familiar this challenge, the goal is to produce a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. That means writing an average of 1,667 words a day—an ambitious, exhilarating, and downright exhausting pace for any writer, especially one with ADHD.
Every day on Threads, I see writers go from dizzying word-count highs one day to bubkis the next. From creative floods to trickles. From “I’m doing this!” to “I have no idea how to sit down and start.”
Participating in this month-long experiment can be energizing: community, gamification, the thrill of beating last year’s record. But it can also backfire, especially for ADHD writers who feel excited one moment and completely frozen the next. The desire to write is there, but motivation has quietly left the building. And as many writers know, a 50,000-word month is rarely a sustainable writing rhythm.
As I wrote in a recent essay about the myth of consistency, you don’t need to write daily to call yourself a writer. A writer is someone who returns to the practice, even after breaks, even when the page feels far away.
This year, although I write almost every day, I chose not to participate in the November novel writing month challenge. My work as an ADHD writing coach has been deeply meaningful, and I want to sustain that momentum. Last month, I launched this newsletter. This month, I’ve been creating new resources for ADHD writers, like the podcast I’m about to launch.
Supporting this community feels like a privileged culmination of my psychology PhD, decades of writing, and my own lived experience navigating ADHD. Helping other writers succeed in ways I had to figure out the hard way means the world to me.
Why ADHD Writers Come to Coaching
Most writers who reach out to me do so because something specific in their life pushed them to make a change. Working with a writing coach who understands ADHD firsthand can be both validating and transformative.
It’s hard to finish meaningful work when your brain feels like it’s pulling you in ten directions or when years of masking, overcompensating, and self-criticism have left you exhausted. Many writers feel simultaneously like they’re too much and not enough.
I know this intimately. And I help writers manage both the challenges themselves and the emotional weight that comes with them.
Here are some of the most common ADHD-related blocks I support writers with:
Self-doubt and anxiety about completing a big project
Exhaustion from decades of masking or performing
Difficulty starting or finishing—even when the desire is strong
Overwhelm about where to begin on a large project
Research rabbit holes, excessive replotting, or other forms of unproductive procrastination
Perfectionism (either rewriting the same sentence repeatedly or avoiding writing altogether)
Feeling pressure to “do everything now,” leading to burnout and avoidance
Struggles with distraction, attention, and sustaining deep focus for long stretches
In a future article, I’ll explore each of these in more depth and share practical, brain-friendly ways to navigate them.
What I’ve Been Building for ADHD Writers
One of my main focuses this month has been developing a new 1:1 coaching program specifically for ADHD writers who feel stuck, stalled, overwhelmed, or unable to sustain momentum—even when their writing deeply matters to them.
I created this program because so many ADHD writers told me the same thing: “I need support with the executive functioning and writing-habit side of things more than anything else right now.”
Some writers even have contracts with creeping deadlines yet still can’t bring themselves to sit down and write. For the ADHD brain, deadlines don’t always spark motivation—they often trigger freeze. And then the eleventh-hour sprint begins.
This is exhausting. It’s also preventable.
That’s why I’m offering more structured support this year, for writers who don’t just want to write—they want to write forward.
Introducing: Write Your Story Forward (1:1 Coaching)
A 12-session personalized coaching experience for ADHD writers who struggle to start, keep going, or finish—and want to build sustainable, brain-friendly writing habits without burning out.
Like all my coaching offers, Write Your Story Forward meets you exactly where you are. I help you move from stuck to progressing, from overwhelmed to anchored, and from “I can’t get to the page” to “I know how to bring myself back.” Learn more here.
A Few Questions for You…
What was happening in your life that led you to this article today?
What made you click this one among all the others?
Did the title or topic make you think, “I need to make a change. Maybe this will help.”?
Maybe you’re trying to make writing a priority. Maybe you want to return to your writing practice without fighting your brain every time you sit down. Maybe you’re desperate to finish the stories that won’t leave you alone.
If you have ADHD, this becomes even harder—because traditional writing advice isn’t made for your brain.
So ask yourself: What have you already tried? What has helped? What hasn’t? What ADHD-related blocks still feel immovable?
And imagine this: If you do nothing for the next year, and you’re still in this exact place next November… How would that feel?
Now imagine the opposite:
Managing your ADHD-related blocks.
Sitting down to write without dread.
Feeling calm, grounded, and capable.
A writing life that’s sustainable, joyful, and aligned with your actual brain.
What does that version of you look like? How does imagining that version make you feel?
If You Want Support
If you’re curious whether coaching can help you reach your writing goals, you can schedule a free consultation with me here. During our conversation, we’ll talk about what’s keeping you from writing—and how I can support you as an ADHD writing coach.
If you want personalized guidance: Enrollment for my 1:1 program, Write Your Story Forward, is now open. Learn more here.
If you prefer community: Enrollment for my 8-week group coaching program is now open. The group runs January 7–February 25, 2026, and it’s a wonderful way to start the new year with sustainable writing habits and momentum. Learn more here.
Before you go, I’d love to hear from you: What ADHD-related writing blocks have you been experiencing lately? Sharing your experience might help another writer feel less alone—and that’s one of the most powerful things about this community.
Keep writing forward,
—Candice
P.S. I stayed up way too late cleaning up my website. It’s not perfect yet (is it ever?), but it would mean a lot if you took a minute to poke around: creativethrivecoaching.com. It might make this sleep deprivation worth it. 😅
P.P.S. 10/10 do not recommend pulling an all-nighter for website edits—or manuscript edits. The typos I found this morning… yikes.
About the Author
Dr. Candice Wiswell is a poet, writer, ADHD writing coach, and developmental editor living in Northern Virginia. As a late-diagnosed ADHDer with a PhD in Psychology (cognitive and behavioral neuroscience concentration), she brings both lived experience and scientific understanding to her coaching practice. Her background in psychological research shapes much of her creative work, which often explores trauma, resilience, and the complex beauty of being human—with a touch of levity.
Her poetry has appeared in anthologies and literary journals, and her scientific research has appeared in peer-reviewed academic journals. She’s currently at work on her first novel and a poetry collection. When she’s not deep in words or ideas, she’s probably dancing in the living room with her five-year-old or trying to remember where she left her coffee.
Learn more at CreativeThriveCoaching.com.
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