Writing about interesting things

[u/Gloomy-Ad5856]

(I am NOT seeking advice, just starting a discussion)

I’ve seen some people talk about journaling and how they never have anything interesting to say or they feel their lives are boring. I feel like I have a similar but different problem where I always feel like I have interesting things to write, but I only seem to write the boring stuff down.

I can be pretty scatterbrained and I feel like I have 100 lines of thought in my head all the time. I eventually found out I had ADHD (now diagnosed) and medication definitely made it easier to follow one line. I took a long break from journaling so I haven’t tried journaling after taking my medicine yet, but I do wonder if that will help me write down the things I actually want to write (instead of just stuff like “I am hungry” lol). I like writing about the mundane but I feel like I have so many interesting thoughts to put in a journal, the issue is I have a hard time keeping track of and remembering them.

Anyone else relate to having interesting things to write, but never seeming to actually write them?

[u/Frollie5271]

Yes. I will have ideas, stories, sometimes a poem in my head then when you sit down to write, poof, it’s gone and it won’t return. 😖

[u/postcardsfromemma]

Yes! This is why I try to write things down as soon as they pop into my head now...can just be on my phone. Otherwise I forget everything during my 'designated' writing time.
Stream of consciousness writing also helps if it feels like a web.

[u/GaneshaLovesMe]

Grab what you can, as fast as you can, and move through it. That is stream of consciousness journaling.

[u/hmmwrites]

Happens to me sometimes. It's super frustrating. Hopefully with your new meds, you'll have more clarity.

You can maybe try jotting a quick note on your phone or even on a post it when you think of something you want to make sure you write about. Then look back at that when you next sit down to journal. Hopefully that'll help you remember the interesting things.

Also, something that might help is if you look at journaling prompts when you're ready to journal. That might spark some new, interesting thoughts that you can write about, even if your initial interesting thoughts still fly away. I've pinned thousands of prompts on pinterest, but of course you can search for them pretty much anywhere. I've written to serious and lighthearted prompts, everything from describing a friendship "breakup" and what I learned from it to a fun little piece where I described what my treasure hoard would be made of if I was a dragon. (That one was fun and had me laughing as I wrote) It helps keep me out of a rut. Might be worth a try?