ADHD MAKES IT HARD TO FOCUS ... HEY! WHAT'S THAT OUTSIDE THE WINDOW?

 I've written two novels.

The first is a young adult one set in the 1940s during the WW2 years. The location is Whangarei Heads around where I live.

I researched this fairly extensively when we first moved here about 12 years ago. I spent time in our local libraries (3) plus Auckland library checking historical facts and looking for 1940s photographs of the area that I set the book in. HERE

The other one is an adult thriller about a man who seeks vengeance for the death of his wife and the fact that the killer, a gang member is not convicted by the courts due to lack of evidence. This is gritty and yes, I spent some time researching this too. It's kind of like that Bronson film Death Wish but I can honestly say that I didn't copy this. The idea came from when I was in a van driven by a friend and a 'P' crazed maniac came at us at speed on the wrong side of the road. See: HERE

The problem is though, that these novels are still in my head. I've 'written' them while walking, golfing, driving, travelling on buses, trains and planes and while soaking in the bath but I haven't gotten around to putting the words down on paper or on the computer. While the story lines are still in place the dialogue and details that I've sketched out are fading.

Bummer!

I'm lazy.

Or, so I thought until I read this: ADHD

Each year many New Zealanders grapple with being diagnosed with ADHD. Katie Harris speaks to three women about life after finding out they have ADHD as an adult and how their lives changed for the better.

Anna Notton thought she was a failure growing up.

"Naughty, bad, lazy, incapable. I was just given labels and told that's what I was rather than being asked what I needed."

Notton grew up near Wellington, attending a traditional church school at a time where neurological conditions weren't openly discussed, let alone diagnosed.

"You're the odd one out, you're the kid that can't understand what's being said and needs things to be repeated. There was very little grace [at school]."

No one thought to question whether her constant daydreaming could be a sign of an attention disorder. Instead, Notton says she was shamed for her poor academic performance.

"My whole childhood was a complete s**t show. I dropped out of school at 15 to clean toilets, I didn't think I had any more potential."

Twenty years later, Notton holds a masters degree, has run businesses, is an accomplished social worker and has been accepted into a professional Doctorate programme.

Maybe I can blame it on having ADHD.