#writers with autism

[dreaminglater]

I want to write..

*vaguely gestures at the air*

..something

[buglover77]

“The best thing for autism representation is to have multiple autistic characters so there’s a display of autism as a spectrum affecting people differently” “we need better autism representation” “I wish there were more characters that are audhd” my brother in christ, the teenage mutant ninja turtles are RIGHT THERE

[bonniewame]

the violent urge to info dump about my writing, about my characters, about my world, to anyone and everyone even tho no one will get it is actually soul-crushing. It's one of the worst hyperfixations i've ever had in my life. AND i'm trying to juggle exams like DAMN!!

[mynameiselicomics]

Oil.

[edlucavalden]

Mithrun and non-visible disability

Yk, I've never seen people talk about this, but Mithrun is a very accurate depiction of having a non visible illness

I'd like to interpret mithrun's bastard origin to be an allegory for an invisible disability (I'd argue its neurodivergance, but it could be anything); An aspect of yourself that you are born with (in this case; born from) that is seen as inferior but it is not obvious.

He's even lucky—since that part of him is that of benefit. His infidelity gave him silver eyes and sharp ears after all (if you can catch the metaphor). from the outside, He's just a normal person, a person worth respecting because he's fits the standard.

However, he knows he does not fit the standard. it's just a lie. He hates himself—so, so much bc of that. It causes him to over-compensate through complete perfectionism and a high sense of self pride. He has to keep a big image in order to protect himself. it's the only thing that can get him loved.

However, that superficial ego gives him terrible imposter syndrome. He knows he doesn't deserve it, but he wants to. like everyone, he craves love and safety. So, he looks down at everyone, hyperfocused at their flaws (he can't be inferior if everyone is worse, right?) whatever it takes to prove himself that he deserves love.

He knows he's weak, but he has to show to everyone that he's strong because any slight sight of weakness would be detrimental since he knows that his humanity is conditional.

He knows that if he shows the truth and how he doesn't actually fit the status quo, he will be ostracized and rejected.

He knows—because his brother is proof of that.

Obrin's disability is obviously visible; Shown through his physical characteristics (his frailness and the lack of family traits). However, his discrimination may be due to this visible disability. he isn't nessesarily ostracized for those traits. His features aren't the (main) reason why he's perceived as inferior in the social hierarchy. it's instead because he's rumored to be a bastard child. This is why he hates his brother so much.

Obrins physical characteristics are just "symptoms" that perpetuate their prejudice towards infidelity (if were going by the disability allegory, think; this person is too sensitive, it must be bc of the autism...). By doing so, his brother indirectly taught him to hide that part of himself.

He hates Obrin because he is the physical manifestation of what will happen to him if his infidelity (disability) is revealed. He is the same plane as his brother after all, The only difference is that he's fortunate enough to be able to hide it.

It's very interesting how his hatred to Obrin isn't because he's genuinely bigoted and ignorant towards him, but because of his own personal internalized ablelism just projected. (It's ironic how contrary it is; he hates his brother because he sees him as equal) very much paralleling visible and nonvisible disability in intimate familial relationships.

The fact mithrun is the bastard child, not him. Imagine the burdening guilt and shame that comes with the knowledge that he could (or should) be one in his place.

He's constantly paranoid of thoughts that he's not good enough. That's why he was so upset when he was sent to the canaries or when he saw Obrin and Sultha together.

Because those are signs that Obrin is better than him and he could not forgive that (how can someone like him, completely ostracized from society, and be so content...?). And that sign proves his paranoia of not being good enough are correct.

mithrun's insecurities, fears, and behavior very much parallel that of being a high masking disabled person.

Hes is a flawed disabled character, but one you can also sympathize with.

He isn't a perfect victim. He delves on how a disabiled person who's so intrenched in a heavily ableist and bigoted society can be a victim to its bigotry and be taken advantage of (The demon. I didn't touch on that topic, as much as i would love an essay about how the demon preyed on mithruns vulnerability regarding his own disability but unfortunately, that might be too triggering for me lawl!) while also actively participating in it and perpetuate said beliefs

And that means so much to me

[okwrites]

Breaking 3 Writing 'Rules':

If you have ADHD or ASC or are some other flavor of neurodivergent, the 'rules' many big name authors post about how they've reached success can actually make you feel REALLY BAD because you can't always do the same thing.

Building a positive relationship with writing can make all the difference in getting you writing more.

'Write every day.' - Don't write every day, write when the mood strikes. But you can trick your brain into work mode by trying different things. Put on your shoes when it's time to write. Light a candle. Put on the same playlist every time. After a while, it'll be like a light-switch. When you light the candle, your brain will find writing easier. Just don't force it. When you try to force writing, you build up frustration and resentment if you don't get anything out. Some days just won't be writing days. That's FINE, lots of authors don't write every day (even if they say they do).

'I write 1000 words every day!' - Well, if you WANT to write and are struggling, a goal of 1000 words seems really far away. So do incremental goals. One sentence. One paragraph. 100 words. Usually by then you're in the flow of things and you can write 1000 words pretty easy. And again, celebrate every single one of those goals so you want to keep doing it. If you have to? One sentence, walk away, come back later, add another, GOOD JOB, two whole sentences!

'Sit down and block out x hours every day just for writing.' - Actually, the best way I've found to write is to tell my brain the deadline or end time is really, really soon - so I write in 20-30 minute chunks, and then walk away or take breaks and come back if I want to later. By setting that arbitrary shorter deadline, my brain can see an end and will work harder and focus more because it knows it's just for a little bit. If 20-30 minutes is too long, start with 15 minute chunks.

[sleeplessv0id]

[intergalactic-garbage]

true facts about little alex horne

he can fit a penny in the gap between his teeth

has exactly 30% fewer bones than the average person

comes into work with his sandwiches cut into fingers, because he believes they "taste better"

tina turner once described him as "simply the best", and in a separate conversation, "a complete arsehole"

goes around the supermarket following people he thinks look cool, and when they pay and throw away the receipt, picks it up, and buys what they bought

nibbles and scurries his way through life like a long human rat

has his mantra going in his head at all times, and it's "absoluta pulsis voluptatem" (absolute driving pleasure)

when naked, looks like a weird, ill monkey

has crumbs in his beard dating back to the 90's

when it comes to childcare, he doesn't think his wife rachel "pulls her weight"

he doesn't really like women, because he thinks they've gotten a bit "too chopsy of late"

walks like a weird victorian clockwork toy soldier

is the answer to the question "what happens if you throw chunks of pork at a revolving carwash brush?"

his new years' resolution was "bringing back the patriarchy"

his first french kiss was with his second cousin jacob, now a legal underwriter on the isle of man

he doesn't think the NHS is very good, and according to him, some nurses are "lazy"

cries every time he watches free willy, and frees his willy every time he cries

has a separate bank account that his wife doesn't know about

as a child was so irritating, that his mother paid for "a barrage of medical tests"

he's scared of three things: slugs, small spaces, and women being allowed to vote

was once chased and bitten by a peacock in a day he refers to as "the day [he] lost [his] children's respect"

thinks all primary school teachers are the scum of the earth

thinks the refuge team that collects his bins every week are "stupid" and "don't deserve to be paid"

thinks climate change is a hoax propagated by "liberal pussies who don't know how to party"

sometimes deliberately revs his engine in traffic, because it makes him feel "like [he's] in charge of all women"

"[doesn't] know much about politics, but [he thinks] poor people should stop moaning and pull their flipin' fingers out"

is the answer to the question "what does a corpse look like when a corpse continues to grow hair post-mortem?"

his father has only ever given him one christmas gift, a beautifully wrapped piece of welsh slate, that had one solitary word engraved upon it. that word? toad.

until the age of 14 thought his penis was an eleventh finger, with the specific purpose of putting stamps onto letters

when he was young, used to practice kissing on his grandfather's pet carp "mr. suckles"

his slogan is "friendless oddball"

if it was up to him, scotland would be physically sawn off from the UK, and floated into the north sea. horne stated that "we'll soon find out how much they want independence when all they've got to eat is shortbread"

when his wife shouts at him, he whispers "get lost" under his breath

his children call him "little alex horne"

once got dragged 11 miles through the open country side by holding on to what he believed to be a horse's "fifth leg"

makes up tasks in his jacuzzi, and knows he's got a "good one", because "[his] bald ferret breaks the surface for air"

if he sees the pilot of any plane he boards is a woman, he immediately leaves

once hospitalized himself by doing high kicks to toxic by britney spears

🎶 he says he's over six foot but he's five foot four 🎶 little alex horne! 🎶

without hair would be as physically featureless as one sausage

ran away with a circus, but was sent back home, because he was annoying everyone and upset the animals

at some point nearly every day, he cries

once did a poo in a paddling pool

pretty woman is his favourite film

collects teapots that look like cottages

has no respect for the military, and if any soldier came up to him in public, "[he] could easily have them coz they're all stupid"

his head is shaped like the rubber of a pencil, and his body is shaped like a pencil

statistics are his foreplay and spreadsheets his post-coital cigarette

his wife keeps a pocketful of treats for when he remembers to "do toilet outside"

is single-handedly keeping the plastic shoe industry alive

once wet himself on a train when he was 30

hasn't bought car tax or insurance since the 90's, because he thinks it's an example of "big government"

[byoldervine]

What Common Writing Phrases Actually Mean

For years I assumed a lot of the common writing phrases that get thrown around were just generic things that were never actually going to help people write because it doesn't actually tell you what to do. But recently I've been able to work out the meanings for a few of them and I'd like to share them with my fellow writers, especially for my fellow NDs with literal thinking

"Write what you know" - it doesn't mean that you should only write what you're already familiar with, it means to do your research, gain knowledge and go from there; if you haven't done the research, don't write about it *until you have*, not just shrug your shoulders and find something else without ever trying to write it. Additionally, things will have more of an emotional impact if you write about things you yourself have experienced, or when you tie in your own experiences to something; you’ve probably (and hopefully) never had acid thrown in your face, but you’ve probably gotten shampoo in your eye and can amp that experience up

"Writing is a discipline"/"Write even when you're not motivated" - my reaction to this was always that, since I was only doing this for fun and didn't have any deadline to meet, why should I force myself to write even when I don't want to? But what they're trying to say with this is to make sure you have some level of consistent progress, even if it's only one sentence every week; having a minimum level of progress you can count on is an absolute lifesaver when writing, as well as being motivating in its own right

"Edit as you go" - this one really doesn't mean to change up your entire chapter every single time you get a new sentence down, it means to take breaks from writing new chapters to reflect back on what you've previously written and make sure to fix up any inconsistencies while the next few chapters are still fresh in your mind. Outside of SPAG mistakes or quick one-sentence-or-less tweaks I generally wouldn't advise properly editing the same chapter you just wrote simply because you could easily burn yourself out speedrunning to the final draft before you even get to chapter two

[mandiweirdmore]

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines resilience as “tending to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change”

I hear I am resilient quite often for dealing with a disability. It is phrased as if it is a compliment, as if not all disabled people are resilient. The thing is when you’re disabled you don’t have a choice. It is resilience or death. In a world not made for us we must adjust because no one else is going to change it. Next time you call a disabled person resilient think about why we must fight so hard to adjust. Most public transit such as the MTA and MTBA have no elevator but are down a flight of stairs. Remote jobs and school were not widely accessible until a world wide pandemic that affected all people and not just the disabled community. Why must we wait to make things accessible until it affects everyone, when most people will become disabled in their life time. Disabled are resilient but we most certainly shouldn’t have to be.

[writerinturmoil]

The Squish

-Kimberly Rivera

I met them at a cowboy-themed party

Stetson hats, flannel shirts, cowboy boots

Fiddle and twangy guitar blasting loud

Scruffy people shuffling in a line

We spent the next three hours discussing Medieval France

(The Hundred Years’ War, The Norman Conquest, Battle of Tours)

And our favorite ice cream flavors

(Zanzibar, lime, Moose Tracks)

We both like The Color Purple and A Clockwork Orange

Apple juice with Corn Flakes

Walks along the bubbling brook

Stargazing on moonless nights

I learned about doo-wop

(The Harptones, The Moonglows, The Five Keys)

I taught them about Victorian poetry

(Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Matthew Arnold, Oscar Wilde)

We exchanged contact information

Boy, do I have a “squish” on them

I hope they have a “squish” on me

And then the party ended with a yee-haw and a “Hell yeah!”

Note:

What is a squish?

A squish is a platonic crush. It's when you get to know someone and have an intense desire to become friends with them. People in the aro and ace communities commonly use this term.

[mickdalena]

peter and mike are really at their best in the 1997 tv special they are 1000% married behaviour . peter whispering catty jokes to him and mike nodding along despite finding them deeply unfunny (he loves his husband very much)

[miss-saytr]

Hyperfixations are something you have to think about. You have to talk about. You have to express yourself creatively about.

I just can’t go an hour without thinking about it. The characters the history the things the science and whatever is apart of this thing you can’t stop thinking about and your head fills like a water balloon with knowledge and you constantly need more and if you see it online or in public you jolt and you feel embarrassed about it but actually not really when someone says it’s ok to talk about it but then again it’s kind of embarrassing to like this thing but yet I have the chance to talk about it.

I wore a shirt with the characters on it do you recognize them? Do you wanna talk about it? Do you like it? Oh ok who’s your favorite? Why? That’s awesome I like them too. My favorite is this character though.

What do you wanna watch tonight? I have a recommendation. You’re fine with that? Awesome. So did you know that when they made this show… did you know the inspiration for that character is… And the creator…

Ok I’ll see you tomorrow. Fuck. Why did I recommend that show? Why did I talk about it so much? They think I’m so annoying now. Don’t they. Ffffuck. Ok ok it’s fine, shake it off. I just randomly brought it up. That scene in that episode is so embarrassing. They’re gonna think I’m weird for liking this. God I hate myself for letting that happen.

I’m drawing these characters in my sketchbook. I’m writing about them in my only hand written journal. I’m making little assumptions and jotting them down. Don’t you dare look through my art of them or my journal. Please don’t. It’s so embarrassing that I even like this.

You know… if it’s so special to me, why do I feel the need to keep it a secret half the time? I think the answer lies in the quote of a boy I shared a history class with when I was still in high school. It went something along the lines of this:

“The annoying kid talks about his special interest. The quiet kid doesn’t.”

[natt-writes]

~7 tips for stay focused while writing.~

1. Make sure to drink lots of water/tea and have a healthy meal shortly before. This will help to nourish your brain, which in turn will help you to write and stay focused.

2. Find a calm, comfortable location. Stay away from places with lots of sounds and distractions, instead try to find somewhere that you can relax and enjoy the writing process. It’s even better when the location has dim lights.

3. Exercise shorty before. just going on a walk down your street and back or going on the treadmill for five minutes can help to get rid of excess energy and make you less restless and distracted.

4. Set up a reward system. Maybe have a small piece of candy after every two sentences, watch an episode of tv every time you finish a paragraph, or do a fun activity after every chapter. This will help motivate you to finish up your work for the day.

5. Set a daily word count. Setting a daily word count can help you to feel like you’ve achieved your goals, even if they are small. Start with a couple hundred words each day and then work your way up to your desired amount. Checking how close you are to achieving your daily word count can help you to feel more more motivated and productive. (I use nanowrimo.org but you can use whatever work tracker you want!)

6. Listen to music. I like to listen to music that suits the tone of the chapter I’m writing, as it can help you to feel more immersed and focused. It’s best to listen to the music on a lower volume so that it doesn’t overwhelm you and just blends into the background.

7. Be gentle with yourself. Not every day is going to be amazingly productive. Everyone has days where they are distracted or don’t get much work done. Don’t beat yourself up about it and instead try to relax, have a nice day and get a good nights sleep. You’re doing really great, You deserve to take a self care day!

[drchucktingle]

CONTENT WARNING be careful watching somewhere where a loud noise could scare the heck out of you

hey buckaroos did you know my first traditionally published horror novel comes out this upcoming summer. it is about a christian conversion therapy camp, and it has a queer autistic main character. i am VERY proud of this way. it is also a very cathartic story, i think.

here is the book trailer and i think it is good example of fact that even though chuck is working with traditional big timer publisher i am still unique in my ways. i do not think you will ever seen a book trailer like this.

THANK YOU to my buds in band THE LOCUST for allowing chuck to use their song. 

anyway buds if you want to preorder CAMP DAMASCUS you can right here