hi! i finally got an idea for a story in my head after years of writers block and i’m so excited! it’s semi-autobiographical, a profile of a queer teen camp I went to since I was 12. It will center on themes of disability and the fear of teens’ agency/self diagnosis, the promise of community, growing up as a “weird kid” in the 2020s, and intergenerational queerness.
your writing has been really important to me, especially your early Wattpad stories. i’ve also been helped by your writing advice posts on your blog. I have a few questions I was hoping for advice on :))
- how do you commit to writing something and not just meticulously planning it out in your head? i keep thinking of more and more details, scenes I want to include, etc and not writing them down and i’m especially worried because my autistic inertia has been holding me back from writing for years and it will prob come back — i feel like now’s the chance to get stuff down before it’s too late
- one of my pitfalls as a writer has always been describing the physical environment or someone’s physical appearance. i have trouble keeping an image in my mind for more than a split second, and once I’ve found a reference photo to work off of it’s nearly impossible to describe it in language. i have a lot of pictures of the camp and already know the setting (rustic campsite in MA, summer) but remembering words for sensory details and things i see is SO HARD. any advice for getting better at this skill esp for people with visual processing disabilities?
thank you!!!
A new writing idea? I'm so happy for you! I love the premise. The ideas you plan to explore sound fun and fascinating.
Drafting
One of the things that helps me is not feeling like I need to write scenes in plot order. In my latest story "Breaking Mary Sue" (working title), I wrote the beginning, then the end, then the middle. It's okay to write scenes out of order. So when you're developing a scene in your head, just start writing it down. You can always fill in in-between scenes later. (Sometimes, I write "TODO: Stuff goes here" to mark spaces where I should add things.)
Don't worry about visuals when the ideas are flowing. Focus on getting the scene physically written first. Put your ideas down. You can add the harder stuff when editing. This can help prevent you from hesitating and not getting work done.
When you're drafting, the most important thing is getting it on (digital) paper. Filling in gaps, scenery, etc. can always be done while editing. Don't get hung up on those. Just draft!
Seeing without a mind's eye
Regarding the visuals, it sounds like you're experiencing something like (borderline?) aphantasia. People with aphantasia have no "mind's eye" and can't visualize things. I can't offer personal advice since I don't have this. But maybe if you look it up, you can find good advice from people who have this.
And not all description is visual. Maybe your characters experience:
The music of leaves rustling in the breeze
Warm sun on their skin
The scent of pine
If non-visual sensory details are easier to write, lean into those! It creates a stronger atmosphere. Include some visuals for the important stuff, but branch out into other senses as much as you'd like.
Potentially weird idea: What if you created your characters in Picrew? You could save the images and then have a visual reference. If you have a multi-monitor setup, that could also help with visuals: put your story on one monitor and the pictures on another.
Plot construction
As I plan out my plot and theme when writing, I tend to use what I call the golden structure. It helps me create a cohesive outline and find a sense of direction. A quick summary:
Beginning: The main character believes the Lie, which is stopping them from being happy.
Rising action: The plot challenges the value of the Lie. Stakes rise. Maybe a villain advocates for the Lie.
Climax: Big drama! The main character must either reject the Lie or lose something important.
Ending: The main character's success or failure determines whether they get a happy ending.
I've got more detail in my blog post I linked. This was key to me developing "Breaking Mary Sue" from a scene I got in a dream to a structured story. Building a premise into a plot can be challenging, and this helps me.
Anyway, I'm so happy for you that you've found an idea! I've got a good feeling about this one, and I hope you enjoy building it. I think it could make a beautiful story.
