Writing While Autistic: A Personal Reflection
It's Autism Acceptance Month, so I figured I would share my own experiences on writing for autistic and allistic folks alike.
I was diagnosed with autism later in life, as an adult. This meant I spent a large chunk of my life unaware I had it, chocking up my strengths and weaknesses to both internal and external factors. As for writing, realizing I'm autistic made things make more sense.
So, I decided to share my strengths and weaknesses when it comes to writing, particularly ones that relate to having autism. At the end, I'll also share more tips.
A Necessary Disclaimer: I cannot speak on behalf of all autistic people. For disclosure, I was diagnosed as Level 1/2(1 in Part A, 2 in Part B) because of how it impacts me. For those who are unfamiliar with the diagnostic criteria, you can read this article with the original (deficit model) criteria as well as re-written criteria from a neurodiversity lens.
My Writing Strengths
When I was 12 years old, writing became a special interest. I like to think about it all the time, I like to do it all the time, and I wanted to become a copy-editor for a long time.
It seems I was gifted at reading, writing, and spelling as a child, well advanced beyond my peers. While this isn't necessarily an autism thing, many autistic people experience similar phenomena of being gifted, having uneven skill sets, etc.
I find it easier to write when I'm involving a hyperfixation/special interest in my writing, like trauma disorders, D&D, or straight-up writing fanfiction.
Things like NaNoWriMo are usually productive because they create the routine of writing every single day. Once it's in my routine, it's not something I want to stop or skip.
I'm good with writing autistic characters because I'm autistic. I also find that my comorbidities are helpful in writing characters with anxiety, PTSD, and depression.
Because of my special interest in writing, I spent a lot of time getting to know everything I could about the writing practice. There's still lots I haven't figured out, though.
I'm very strict with my writing rules.
I script in conversations on a regular basis, which has helped with writing dialogue to a degree.
Writing, and learning about writing, has made metaphors and other figurative speech easier to understand.
My Writing Weaknesses
I would talk about writing all the time and not notice that people did not care until they outright told me. This is because I have a hard time with facial expressions, and even looking at people's faces to understand how they are feeling.
I have a hard time starting and stopping activities, which makes it hard for me to find time to write when busy. If I want to write a part of my novel, it will often be an entire chapter or nothing at all.
My minimal experience in having conversations with others means dialogue can sometimes be stiff. It's also highly inspired by conversations I've experienced, heard, or read about. It's hard to be "original" in this regard.
One random trait I have is needing to plan everything to ensure I know what's going to happen. This means I always plot stories rather than pantsing them, meaning that writing with a given word prompt does not always fare well.
I tend find writing club and other writing communities overwhelming. It's easier when they're online.
It's challenging to write stories from the lens of a neurotypical character. In fact, it's hard to write stories from the lens of a character without autism. It seems everything I write has neurodivergent allegory, and while this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it means it's harder to branch out.
Niche Tips For Other Autistic Writers
Study story structures, regardless of whether you're a plotter or a pantser. You don't have to use them, you just have to know them and think about them when coming up with writing ideas.
If you're struggling with writer's block, pace. Pacing happens to be one of my stims and helps me come up with good ideas. Perhaps it will do the same for you.
Fanfiction is good. It's a real medium, and if it involves one of your special interests, even better!
Find out what works for you! We're similar but also different, so it's kind of difficult to provide suggestions that are likely to work with the most people.
It felt important to mention that autism has its strengths and weaknesses. Being autistic shouldn't be a source of shame, the end of the world, or a death sentence, but it also isn't like a walk in the park either. It is still considered a disability, impacting some areas of life more than others.
Still, I'm trying to be proud of it.
