I have three cats, so a mouse in the house is exciting news. It’s a fresh toy!  When one invaded my living room recently, it was so entertaining I considered selling the television.

The thing ran behind a console, and instantly there was one cat at either end and the third camped out front and center. Then the mouse made a run for the bookcase.  All the cats went after it, running into each other in their pursuit. They turned on each other out of frustration or rage or maybe both, and lost track of the mouse. It scurried out again, one cat grabbed it and they played a combination of keep-away and volleyball.  They scuffled again and Mickey got away.  Then he made a mad dash from bookcase to behind the sofa and reminded them of their goal, and the whole thing repeated itself. 

I could almost picture the creature sitting somewhere, laughing as hard as I was as they lost their focus while fighting amongst themselves.  Eventually I caught it and released it in the field behind my house. Yes, I’m silly that way. And I think the cats are still looking behind the furniture.

 I lose my focus easily, too.  Is there such thing as Writers’ Attention Deficit Disorder? I’m working on one book and a thought occurs to me that I can’t use there. But, it’s still a great idea. I make notes.  A character dances around, so I take a moment to flesh him/ or her out.  The plot or action moves from one lobe to the other, creating thoughts like he could … or what if …?

The next thing I know, the original book is still waiting and I’ve gone down the rabbit hole again, or opened another door to see what was behind it and stepped through.

I have confessed this problem to my writer-friends, and some of them nod in understanding. Others shake their heads in disbelief.  “How can you let that happen?” they ask.  “Just say ‘NO’ to those random thoughts!” – and then give me all sorts of sensible advice that doesn’t seem to work for me. Maybe they only get one idea at a time, or have never sat in front of that blank screen, cursing at the cursor.  All those ideas are precious and important to me.

I’m practicing writing succinct prompts to hold those thoughts firm but not require a lot of time.  I’ve worked hard on setting priorities so other ideas can sit and simmer, but sometimes the little imps in my head jump up.

Pssst. Remember Joe? It would be really cool if…

As I pursue this craft, I get better at ignoring those little guys. In fact, at a recent weekend retreat, I managed to spend all the writing time on one project.  Yay!  But I think I will have to eventually concede the bird in hand is worth more than two in the bush, and let those ideas go.  That’s painful , when I want them all.

Do you have W.A.D.D.?  Is there a cure?