Tag Archives: autism

The Autistic Writer: Choosing Point of View

Perspective is crucial to understanding life on the Autism Spectrum. Because Autistic people are not a monolith, it can’t be assumed every Autistic person’s perspective on daily life is identical. It isn’t. The concept of perspective, however, the nature of how any given person with ASD perceives and experiences the world around them is key. …

Continue reading

The Autistic Writer: Number of Characters

I recently DNFed (“did not finish) a popular epic length novel. There were multiple reasons I gave up on it. One was the story had far too many characters. There were about 20 named characters, and four or five main characters each with their own narrative. There was even a character chart at the front …

Continue reading

The Autistic Writer: Character-Driven vs Plot-Driven Fiction

A few weeks ago in this series I posted about the character creation process for the Autistic writer in me. You may want to read or reread that before going any further here, as this  is about how much weight is assigned to characters as a component within a given narrative. A common, (though I …

Continue reading

The Autistic Writer: Story Structure

Structure of any kind can make a strange bedfellow with Autism. On the one hand, a majority of Autistic people thrive on structure. Forcing them to break with their own structure can result in meltdowns for some, and mere irritation in others. Though the Autistic significance of structure is an unfortunate source of derision and …

Continue reading

Autistic Writer Series: Conflict in Fiction

In last week’s post, I asserted characters were the most significant aspect of good fiction, despite solid counter—arguments that conflict holds that distinction. I stand by my position. Still, the impact of conflict on fiction cannot be overstated. Nor can the influence of an Autistic writer’s brain on same. Conflict is usually defined as a …

Continue reading