My First Nonfiction Piece is Out, It Gets Personal AF, and It's Free to Read!

 After nearly a decade of being a published fiction author, I have finally gotten my first piece of paid nonfiction published!!! Previously I'd only written one nonfiction essay as an introduction to my 2013 anthology Blood Type: An Anthology of Vampire Science Fiction On the Cutting Edge, and a couple of short political pieces for nonpaying websites that have long since disappeared with the dusts of cyber time. And thank goodness too because they were published long before I had any idea of how to craft prose etc. In order to save time, I'll share with you the post I made on Facebook about this piece and what it means to me:

My first piece of paid nonfiction, "How Adult ADHD Helped Me Successfully Fund Three Kickstarters," is live over at Folks, a magazine focused on people, wellness, and overcoming health issues. 

I'm a bit nervous about this. Both because it is my first paid piece of nonfiction and because, as I said last week, within this piece is some of the most honest and vulnerable writing I've ever put to virtual paper. I talk candidly about the positive and negative effects of ADHD on both my personal life and on my fundraising campaigns. More candidly than I have before. 

Part of me worries some folks may see me differently or feel like I'm not worthy of their trust or support as a result. But, I'd rather be honest so maybe other folks can learn from my mistakes or maybe even realize that there may be a bigger reason that they are struggling. That maybe they're not just lazy and they're definitely not worthless like their mind constantly tells them they are.

And maybe, just maybe, some people will see just how real and devastating those four capital letters are for folks whose struggles they've taken for granted or laid the blame solely on their shoulders when they didn't choose for their brain to be wired differently. 

When they didn't choose the static that constantly bombards their brains, the neurochemical gremlin that continually derails their best intentions and manipulates their empathetic tendencies so they feel obligated to say yes to everyone and then feel incredibly worthless when they get overwhelmed and shutdown, accomplishing nothing.

The inescapable trap door that perpetually leads them down a daily avenue of impulsive decisions and even sometimes dangerous choices (like leaving a television plugged in while trying to repair it).

There was a tidbit more but that was more related to where I was putting the link since stupid Facebook throttles the shit out of anything you post that has a link or image that doesn't go viral within two seconds these days etc. Anyway, do check it out and share if you enjoy it. And if you recognize any of the symptoms I've mentioned here or in the article, definitely talk to your doctor but in the meantime also check out Jessica McCabe's wonderful YouTube channel How to ADHD! It is an absolutely wonderful resource for folks with ADHD and their loved ones trying to understand, navigate, and help each other with ADHD and the obstacles it can present in their lives. Anyway, that's all I've got right now. Take care, folks!

Bob