#LuciasWritingRehab
Week 13
Counting by days got overwhelming & does not play to my strengths.
Still writing. Hit a few bumps when I got the flu in weeks 7 & 8. When I was too wiped out to write I read fiction & craft books & let ideas simmer & play in the back of my mind.
#amwriting
#LuciasWritingRehab
Day 31
The one thing I still don’t have the hang of is posting consistently on social media. I want to be part of the #WritingCommunity & I want to interact more. I also know I have limited energy, both physical and cognitive, and I still fatigue easily, so small steps for now
#LuciasWritingRehab
Day 31
Considering I almost died of sepsis, not once, but twice, a year ago, this is a fantastic recovery, and I’m full of relief, gratitude, and joy. I thought I’d never write again. I’m still scared of getting sepsis again, and I take nothing for granted.
#WritingCommunity
#LuciasWritingRehab
Day 31
I am thinking more clearly, but I don’t know which came first: thinking more clearly, therefore I can write again—or I’m writing again, therefore it is helping me think more clearly.
#WritingRehab
#WritingCommunity
#LuciasWritingRehab
Day 31
So, all in all, I’m satisfied with my progress in this writing rehab exercise prescribed & designed by an excellent occupational therapist (me 😄). It’s had a significant positive impact on my mental health and boosted my confidence.
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#WritingRehab
#LuciasWritingRehab
Day 31
Success! I have officially kept up my writing rehab for one whole month. I’ve had slip-ups, days without writing, but I kept coming back. I got back on the saddle every time I fell off. I adapted. I’ve written over 23K words this month, including 6K in a novella
#amwriting
#LuciasWritingRehab
Day 14
5-minute sprints work for me. Racing towards a deadline activates my sense of urgency & sharpens my focus.
I’m recovering joy in the writing process by not overwhelming my brain with demands for large blocks of time.
#amwriting #ADHD
#LuciasWritingRehab
Day 14
Progress! I’ve kept all my 20-minute sessions & have written over 10K words in 2 weeks. I started with stream of consciousness, then fairytale retellings, then book blurbs, and finally pantsing a WIP! I’m excited about my vampire novella. It’s dorky & dark 🧛♀️
#amwriting
#LuciasWritingRehab
Day 3
I wrote for 20 minutes and ended up with 1053 words!
This has never happened before.
Being gentle with myself and leaning into joy helped.
These are writing exercises that won’t be part of a book, but they’re helping me get ready to write another book.
#amwriting #ADHD
#LuciasWritingRehab
Day 3
Goal: 20 minutes in 5-minute sprints, stream of consciousness
I’m tired today, so I will be gentle with myself and consider it a success that I’ve sat down to write 3 days in a row. I will focus on joy and playfulness.
I can do this!
#amwriting
I end this #LuciasWritingRehab session feeling hopeful, optimistic and relieved. I was afraid I’d never regain this skill. I realize my voice is still stiff & clunky, and I’m curious to see how it becomes smoother with practice.
#WritingCommunity #amwriting
Sprinting helps me focus because I know I only have to sustain attention for a short period & there’s a tangible end approaching quickly, so time seems to fly in a good way.
#LuciasWritingRehab #WritingCommunity #amwriting #RomanceWriter #ADHD
My experience when writing my novels has often been one of frustration at being a slow writer and struggling to get my ideas out, barely squeezing out 200 wph
When I give myself a solid hour to write, I tend to zone out.
#LuciasWritingRehab #WritingCommunity #amwriting #RomanceWriter #ADHD
I’m trying to teach myself that I CAN write fluently. If I can train myself to notice, experience, and accept that I can write quickly and coherently in this context, I can transfer that knowledge, confidence, and courage to my creative writing.
#LuciasWritingRehab #WritingCommunity
This is recovery. This is me getting my butt in the seat and my fingers on the keyboard and creating my raw material that I can shape and edit, or that serves as warm-up or exercise to strengthen my writing muscles.
#LuciasWritingRehab #WritingCommunity #amwriting #RomanceWriter
#LuciasWritingRehab
Day 2
Total word count for 20 minutes (4 five-minute sprints):
901 words! 😃
I’ve been barely writing 100-200 words an hour, and I haven’t been able to focus. This is unprecedented for me 🥹
#WritingCommunity #spoonie #amwriting #RomanceWriter
#LuciasWritingRehab
Day 2 goal: write 100 words or for 20 minutes, whichever I can manage.
Stream of consciousness brain dump, just let the words flow
Background music
5-minute sprints
#amwriting
I’ve written four novels. Two of them have made it all the way to acquisitions in trad pub. I’ve come close and I won’t be discouraged. I can try again. My first big goal is to write a 20K novella.
This is the last step in my cognitive rehabilitation process.
#LuciasWritingRehab #WritingCommunity
I’m an occupational therapist, & I’ve worked on my physical, vocational & ADL rehabilitation for over a year now. I’ve come a long way and am happy with my progress. I can take the same systematic approach to recovering my writing ability.
#LuciasWritingRehab #WritingCommunity #spoonie
Week 1 plan:
Stream of consciousness. Just reactivate getting words out.
Start with 100 words per day (wpd) or 20 minutes, whichever I can manage.
Jan 1 goal: 100w
20-minute session results: 700w! 🎉😊
#LuciasWritingRehab #WritingCommunity #Spoonie
I don’t need to know what I’m writing or where I’m headed, I just need my fingers to get used to typing again. It feels sluggish and rusty, as if I need to oil and loosen all the stuck parts.
#LuciasWritingRehab #WritingCommunity
I don’t need to find the perfect word, or the precise formulation. It doesn’t have to be pretty, witty, or even coherent. It just has to be written.
#LuciasWritingRehab #WritingCommunity
I can do this. I can recover my ability to write, to create, to imagine new worlds and stories. I can rediscover the joy in writing as a way of untangling the messy yarn in my brain.
#LuciasWritingRehab #WritingCommunity #BookSky #neurodivergent #spoonie #AutisticWriter
#LuciasWritingRehab is where I’ll chronicle my process of writing recovery, my dreams, goals, fears, failures, and successes. It’s a record of the pep talks I give myself and a window into how a writer recovers her voice.
#WritingCommunity #BookSky #neurodivergent #spoonie #AutisticWriter
2025 is my year of #LuciasWritingRehab. It’s daunting to write about this journey publicly, because I fear both the loneliness of nobody reading or caring AND the discomfort of being perceived.
#WritingCommunity #BookSky #neurodivergent #spoonie #AutisticWriter
