can someone with autism be a good writer

A word from our sponsor:

Printer-friendly version

Author: 

I have many ideas I would like to try to explore but im not sure and im afraid of criticism. I can handle some but my thoughts tend to be confusing at times to a reader that may actually seem totally incomprehensible
so im afraid

Comments

Criticism

You may have a perspective much different than other writers. That perspective could be interesting to readers.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

I'll refer you to

the book, Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant. An amazing book.

Find an editor/proofreader

Patricia Marie Allen's picture

Find an editor/proofreader that you can trust and who will be sensitive to your condition. They can help you work out the confusing parts if you can take their input as help rather than criticism.

As for your ability to write, Autism should be no barrier. Temple Grandin should be an inspiration to you.

Recent studies show that while your thinking may be different than others, it quite probably is more creative that the rest of us. That should allow you to produce work with a unique slant that the rest of us would never think of.

Hugs
Patricia

Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt

Autism?.. Are you sure?

Anyway, autism can be a very good thing too keep track of multiple plot lines... ;-)
And I know of no reasons for an autist to not be a good writer.
And I suspect that some of the very good writers I read are somewhere "on the spectrum" (as you probably know Asperger's and some other conditions are now PCed as "autistic spectrum disorders").
There are several steps to protect yourself from criticism.
1) Get yourself an editor to point you to the confusing parts with suggestions of how to unconfuse them. There are several good editors on this site who lend their help to fellow writers.
2) You can disable comments. So nobody will be able to criticize you in the open.
3) Or... Go the celebrity route. Get yourself a separate account and ask someone to post your stories and handle the comments under that account. And deal with only some selected filtered comments and private messages...
4) Remember that it is an internet. Trolls and such are thriving here. You have to understand that things are said here that will never be said face to face. And you have to ignore most of the things said to you. Including my comment ;-)

Good luck and hope to see your stories here!

I manage the "writer" bit

Whether or not I manage the "good" bit is a judgment I can't make though (it would take taste, and I ain't got none)

I absolutely grok your worry about confusing readers, but if you have to explain in a postscript or comment that's fine, its just a learing experience for the next time

Read my stuff.

If you like it, the answer is yes. If you don't like it, the answer is still yes. There are a number of excellent authors that are on the spectrum.

I don't know much about Autism

I have heard that those on the spectrum suffer from "Input Overload" at times.

If you can surmount that issue, I suspect that your unique point of view could prove to be educational to us all.

Best wishes.

Gwen

Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin is an example of someone with autism who writes well.

Certainly...

Social awkwardness is much less of a problem when dealing with written words. (At least I think so.) As someone else said, you can turn off comments if you feel more comfortable that way. (Though you'll probably have to deal with more PMs if you do that. Of course, then you can blackball the people whose messages bother you.)

Eric

I don't see any reason why not.

I wouldn't call myself a good writer by any stretch of the imagination, but I am most definitely autistic. I wasn't diagnosed until I was well into my thirties (after I started uploading stories on here in fact) but all throughout my life I've known I was different, and not just because of the 'core reason' of this site. But I've always loved writing for as long as I can remember. All I can advise is to tap into that love of writing. Don't worry about criticism- if you want to write, go ahead and write. Even if you don't upload it, just write what you want to write, when you want to write it and as much as you want to write. There's no need to be afraid. As long as you enjoy the process of writing, you go ahead and do it.

Debs xxxx

You have your answer

People with autism can be good authors. Now it's up to you. The autism may make it harder, or not, or even easier. You have to find out how it works for the unique individual you are.

Yes, they can be.

You see things most people don't see, or don't see in this way, and they will be interested in seeing them your way.

You must still do the hard work the non-autistic writers have to do in order to be good. But there is no way around that, and there shouldn't be.

Give it a try! I'd gladly provide feedback. (Not so sure however if it will be valuable - I'm on the spectrum too. And BTW, I write and have several local awards. :) )