Nobody Believes Crazy

 

1.  The original diagnosis 

   1. Bipolar disorder - what it means to now carry the stigma

   2. How I found myself psychotic at age 20

   3. How I confronted the challenge head on 

   4. Where it all left me by the end of college

2. No way out; finding a passion

   1. Living at home with a college degree 

   2. Golf - the exit strategy 

3. Hawaii - fresh start and new beginnings 

   1. Regaining Confidence and Friends

   2. Examining the past 

   3. The Tailspin exit - getting closure

4. Depression of 2012

5. Sports as a career 

   1. Finding friendship and companionship 

   2. How the coincidences matter and how it plays into my crazy

   3.  

From here on out the story gets less preachy and more fantastical (story after story) It's basically covering the last 4-5 ish years of my life… It will probably be the bigger chunk of what this whole thing is really about. I think that it will grab any reader’s attention… Much of the stories and actions that I take have a driving force to find love which is probably an overarching theme that this outline doesn’t really do too much justice showing. 

 

1. Driving 

   1. Early loop 

      1. Why’d I start driving and how I quickly became addicted 

      2. The Roosevelt Pumps story

   2. The lights and messages 

      1. Radio controlling emotion based lights thru colors 

      2. License plates, cubs or sox, again based on radio

      3. Drawing enough attention to be watched  - pee stations

   3. Reaching out with high hopes 

      1. Instagram messaging and using music

   4. Methodist hospital via Northwestern 

      1. The start of parental control over free will 

My trip to the southside

Throwing away my phone 

Looking for trouble 

1. Lakeshore hospital via Rush 

   1. Emergency room and psych evaluation

   2. Hospitals way of life becoming second nature 

2. Work after the hospital 

   1. Bryn Mawr 

      1. The mexicans and work 

Michigan 

The staff 

The extreme feeling and getting off my meds 

The last 3 days 

Re-entry into Chicago 

Pre-Thanksgiving 

My Brother’s place 

The poker table - friendly faces and great stories 

Hope for what it was all for stays grounded 

The Lobby Inquisition 

Post - Thanksgiving 

First time off my meds 

Social media faux paus 

Christmas and state of being 

The world I created (re-incarnation) 

Swedish Covenant Hospitalization 

Family Reaction post Swedish 

Methodist ward 5c 

The white panther 

Hospital Bills and the real world - finally there and doing okay. 

 

This is very good. I think you need a Conclusion section, maybe with a heading: Finally There and Moving On. Or, something along the lines of looking ahead at your life knowing who you are. Something inspirational to help those struggling with Bipolar Disorder that gives hope for the future.

 

Remember when you are writing, don’t be a broadcaster be a storyteller, as if the person reading is sitting in a restaurant with you and you are recounting your stories. Always remember that you want to have a “mind-meld” with your reader. Keep the reader’s attention at all times. Never let their mind wander. Each sentence should make the reader want to read the next one. And each paragraph should make the reader want to read the next paragraph.

 

And, most importantly, let the reader know at each instance your feelings, how it felt in the hospital room, how you walked the perimeter, what was going on in your mind, what your senses were telling you. Immerse the reader in the scenes but don’t overdo it either. Just enough to communicate your reality. A fine balance is the hallmark of a good writer. On the other hand, a travelog of "this happened, then that" will fall short.