New member from Australia

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Hey everyone,
It's been several years since I participated in a forum community for people on the autism spectrum. The solitude was a haven and a lonely dark place for me. I have taken up writing (again), as I stopped writing after I lost all my copies of my writing in one freak of nature accident. Well, they were stolen by a young man who I allowed to live in my house at a time he didn't have a place of his own for him and his girlfriend. I don't hold it against him, as he didn't know all my storage devices held my life's work as a writer. I don't think I would even care if I learned he was suffering somehow. It was a lot of money worth of things which were stolen, and many hours of writing and editing of work which was for naught.

My diagnosis came late in life and at first I found it was a relief to learn how I differed could be explained by a simple diagnosis. Later on, I felt inadequate, and hated my self for my short comings. I was in this rut for many years as I struggled with attempting suicide, and moping around due to my depression. I was always tired and never found anything interesting. I'm still not experiencing everything to its fullest but my life is so much fuller for having made an effort to rebuild my life, and the process is ongoing. Just last night I realized that I have been closed off to new experiences and those I have an interest in now, actually arrived in my life through other people. I wondered whether this was a reflection of my inherent lack of imagination but then found an interest which I couldn't explain by referring to a person or source - writing.

tl;dr

I'm a 33y/o male from Australia looking to discuss issues with like minded people who are on the spectrum. If you'd like to talk about the ways you're affected through this condition, DM me, I'll get back to you.

Hello from the UK

This is the first forum I've ever been on and I find it very helpful. I'm a writer too (historical) and I can't imagine that happening to my work, well I can, but things would get gruesome . But then I can't imagine letting anyone stay in my house because I'm obsessive about my things. It was very nice of you to let them stay.

What are you writing ?

Hey fluffysaurus,

I'm not overly possessive with my belongings. I've had my things stolen or I've given away so much that I rarely bother to take possession or claim ownership of things anymore.

I'm working on a self help autobiography for aspies. I'm not sure whether I'm going to include my life story but I figure it would make a welcome edition of reading, as I haven't found much in the way of this sort of book.

What does historical writing entail?

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Thank you, AnonymousAnonymous

Well there was very little for women, which was said to be a bit different, but since I've been on here I don't think the differences amount to much anyway. Yes, definitely put in a bit about your own life story and how being Autistic has affected you, that was the bit I was most looking for when I was looking for a book after my diagnosis.

If you know anything about male/female relations put that in, that's a big struggle and area of concern particularly for younger males.

I write historical fiction At the moment I'm working on a murder mystery set in 1920.

You've inspired me to make my book more helpful to late diagnosee's of autism )

Are you a member of writingforums? I just started up there. The boards seem to cover all the technicalities of writing. Hope this helps.

How far are you through your murder mystery? I would love to be your beta reader, once you have a working copy on the go. I have a couple of short stories published on Kindle myself.

Congratulations on your stories being published that's great

This is my first ever forum as I am not a natural on the computer. I am still amazed that I worked out how to do the avatar thingy A writing forum is my next plan, I'll give writingforums a try, thank you.

There is a creativity section on WP that I plan to visit. I was too chicken in case it said 'don't try to write, Aspie's are sh*t at it' I know I'm being silly but the assessment did knock my confidence.

I finished my novel, went through the submit to agents misery, no bites. I then sent it for a proper review from writers workshop, 22 pages of what's wrong with my book Once I'd stopped sobbing I realised it made a lot of good points and set about rewriting.

I was doing this when I had the assessment, and it turns out that people have facial expressions and body language. I got home and looked at my book. Oh no! not in my book they didn't. So now I'm just starting to re-wright AGAIN with the help of an emotion thesaurus. Nations have risen and fallen in less time than my novel is taking me to get right

I'm not ready for beta readers yet, but thank you, I've only just learnt how that all works. Do you follow Jenna Moreci on youtube? I find her enthusiasm really encouraging.

I don't follow Jenna Morci on youtube, I've never seen a video by her but I'll check out her channel and subscribe if I like her content. I've never heard of an emotion thesaurus before today. I suspect this is good for finding body language which accompanies emotions as well as facial expressions. I'll be looking that up after I post here as well, as I'm using my phone to access this forum thread, at the moment.

My publishing with KDP is nothing to brag about. You could publish your book on Kindle tonight and sell it for whatever price you like There's an option in the publishing process which includes making available physical copys of your work on Amazon. I'm not sure about the process involved there, as I've only published digital and didn't opt for the physical copy since I was only uploading short stories. I'd like to join a reading/writing group next year and see how that works out for me. I live in a rural area so these luxuries aren't always available. I'm moving into an outer area of a municipality in two days time. I hope I adjust easily and settle in well with the other residents. Wish me luck!

Good Luck with moving

The one I'm using, which I'm finding helpful is 'The Emotion Thesaurus, a Writer's Guide to Character Expression' by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi

I'm rural too, it does make it harder to find people with the same interests.

welcome to WP!

Glad to see you're doing well

Good luck with your move!

Hi Skilpadde, nice to see you modding here!

Thank you both for your well wishes during my move. I collected the keys today and moved my desk chair into my room. Tomorrow is the official move. I'm not taking much with me at all; which reminds me, I need to go through all those things again to make sure I've got everything I need.

Hi jedicounsellor,

I've just joined WP myself and am from Australia. Gold Coast to be exact.

Hey gamespeopleplay,
I used to live on the Gold Coast, more than once. I once read a book with the same title as your username. It was about the social dynamics of difficult social interactions. Are you famliar with the book?

Yes i am familiar with Dr. Eric Berne, i am currently reading "What do you say after you say hello?". I like his style and find it very helpful for Aspies. I've picked up a lot of tricks and tips and things to look for in peoples body language and also what they say. Even though he wasn't writing specifically for people on the spectrum i think it's a great read for anyone who wants to delve a little deeper into social dynamics and social psychology in general.

I found a couple of his books at a second hand book store and am currently reading through them all.

Did you find any practical application for his work, or did you read it more out of interest?

I borrowed Games People Play from the library on the recommendation of a work colleague. I went on to study some psychology at university but went through a bunch of life-changing circumstances which prevented me from continuing. I'm going to back to school next year to study Writing and Editing, or an English Diploma. I hadn't heard of 'What do you Say after you say Hello' but it sounds interesting. Psychology is an interesting subject.