Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here.
November 17, 2025
When Susanne Schotanus was fifteen, she spent two years in weekly psychiatric appointments before someone finally said she had ADHD. No one explained what it meant or how to work with it. She simply left with a label that didn’t change much of anything. Years later, as a university student struggling to finish assignments she deeply loved, she realized she was still battling the same invisible barrier. That rediscovery set her on a new path that would eventually change how thousands of people think about writing.
Susanne became the first person in the world to call herself an ADHD writing coach for adults. Since founding her practice, she’s helped hundreds of writers finally finish what they start, find joy in their process, and rebuild trust in their creative voice. Her work sits at the intersection of ADHD research and the craft of writing, a space where emotion, structure, and imagination can finally coexist without friction.
In this episode, Susanne and Tracy talk about why consistency is a myth for ADHD writers, how perfectionism and shame shape creative blocks, and what it takes to repair a “toxic relationship” with writing. Susanne also shares how acceptance and play restore joy to the process, how writing can be healing when approached with care, and why ADHD creativity isn’t broken.
She reminds us that ADHD storytelling is not messy or broken. It is multidimensional, intuitive, and deeply human.
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“As ADHDers, the key to managing our brain is always finding the balance between just enough freedom and just enough structure.”
- Susanne Schotanus
“Most ADHD writers are brilliant, but they’ve compensated their whole lives by being more original, doing better, and going bigger than anyone else.”
- Susanne Schotanus
“Stop trying to capture your whole two-dimensional map in a one-dimensional storyline.”
-- Susanne Schotanus
"Your life can be messy, so your writing can be messy too."
-- Susanne Schotanus
"You’re a better writer when you’re happy and taking care of yourself."
- Susanne Schotanus
"Reconnect with the joy that brought you to writing. Stop denying yourself joy because you think you haven’t earned it."
- Susanne Schotanus
- Diagnosed with ADHD at 15 after two years of weekly sessions, but her doctors offered no real strategies beyond medication.
- Rediscovered her forgotten diagnosis years later when struggling in university and realized how little support existed for women with ADHD.
- Found refuge in reading as a child but struggled socially, academically, and with structure until learning to balance freedom with systems later in life.
- Studied cultural analysis, thrived in unstructured learning, and worked through various careers before discovering her passion for helping writers.
- Created the world’s first ADHD writing-coach practice after noticing patterns in the challenges her clients faced.
- Uses compassion-based coaching to help ADHD writers find motivation, structure, and joy without fighting their brains.
[00:50:00 – 01:04:00] Redefining How ADHD Writers Work
- Explains that ADHD writers struggle with consistency, perfectionism, and emotional blocks, not lack of talent or drive.
- Helps clients transform toxic writing habits by reconnecting with play, curiosity, and realistic structure.
- Advocates for ADHD awareness in academia and publishing while building programs to support neurodivergent writers and employees.
ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.
That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here
- Website: passionatewritercoaching.com
- Linkedin: susanne-schotanus
- Instagram: passionatewritercoaching