Any aspies who got over their problems writing fiction?

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I am an aspie who is working on a project I need to do and I have always had trouble writing... I always get severe writers block and have trouble organizing my thoughts and problem solving when writing. Have any aspies dealt with this? Are there any tips I could use to get through this?

I am not totally sure what my issues are writing, these are just guesses... any ideas would be great.

I had.

But it depends, which is your diagnosis?

Not sure.. I have never been tested... so I could have adhd as well. When I was in school (20+ years ago) they didn't have the testing they do now... which is why I fell through the cracks. Plus my parents were in denial.

Then I would suggest you to check first what you have. I suppose it's not normal writer's block and it's related to some kind of disorder and so, better if you know exactly which is your 'flag'. Asperger, ADHD, ASD, PTSD... they create different kind of problems.

You don't need to go to psych. There's lots of quiz and tests on internet.

I think going through school so long and being undiagnosed caused big problems and mental blocks for me. I tested high in many areas in school but I could never do my homework. Everyone at the time just attributed it to laziness.. but when I learned about aspergers a couple years ago it all made sense. I have all the symptoms of asperger's to the extreme.

Also, I thought the online testing was unreliable and just used to give a general idea if you might have issues?



Also keep i mind this project I am working on is incredibly complex so I think it has amplified my writers block and compounded my problems as an aspie. I feel like overwhelmed and unable to solve a lot of problems that I need to deal with in my project.

Well, it can give a quite generic but accurate idea. And it will always be better than not knowing. I think you should start from there.

The problem is I don't really have time to go through all that now.. there are things that I desperately need to do now... very very serious issues. I have tried to get help dealing with the project but unfortunately I am in a position where it seems I have to try to get through it on my own.

I have trouble with writing fiction, most of the fiction which I can write is based strongly on other things I have read in the past. Writing non fiction is not nearly so hard.

In my case I am taking real events and trying to add to it and fill the gaps with fictional elements... I think it might be toughest of all... sigh...

If I describe my own issues it might help you to identify your own.

I have always been good at creative writing and poetry. I can write very well descriptively. My issue with fiction is two-fold: firstly, I come very unstuck on dialogue between characters because I just don't know what to write because I have no idea what they should be saying to each other, even if I know what is happening in the story. This clearly speaks to my own Asperger's-related issues with communication that we all have. My other issue, is that if someone gives me a kernel of an idea or a very sketchy outline, I can really run with it and give my imagination free reign. However, if I have to come up with something from scratch I find it very difficult to know what to write - I guess this is also writer's block.

In your case, what you want to write is intended to be factually based, you wouldn't really be needing to write dialogue (unless you are quoting someone and that's just repeating not inventing it). I am not sure why you have writer's block? If you are reporting events, even if it's just your own belief or opinion, without any proof, all you can do is write down what it is you believe, with examples you have seen or heard to support your belief.

You seem intelligent enough and are capable of expressing yourself on WP so it doesn't seem that you have any problem.

The only tips I can offer are, bullet-pointing a list of the chronology of events, approach it like an academic report. This means: an introduction, state your case (including any references), conclusion. Or you could draft up a list of chapter titles based on the chronology so that the overall shape is there. As long as you are organised you should be OK. Write up a flow chart to brainstorm if it helps, maybe a spider diagram. Tick things off as you have done them so the monumental task can be seen to be dwindling. Having it all in your head and feeling overwhelmed just means you need to put stuff on paper and look at it in B&W to make sense of it so that your head feels organised.

Last edited by whirlingmind on 09 May 2013, 8:09 am, edited 2 times in total.

I was always useless writing fiction during school, then again I have just about every learning disabillity one can have, baseing the story on real events helped with making it flow better. My storys always had coherance issues and receved low marks.

Whirlingmind, this issue with what I am writing is that many elements are known but I don't know the details... I mean it's like history... we know the general outline but we don't really know the details.

What I am writing is going to appear to be fiction but it's going to have a lot of facts interwoven.... and it is how I have pieced together events. I also want to interweave a entertaining fictional story into it.. like overlaid over the historical story to make it more interesting for people.. and to join events together if possible.

But my issue is I never wanted to be a writer because being an aspie really messes with your confidence IMO... because you never know how you or your actions are perceived... plus... I have struggled with the actual mechanics of writing... that is described here...


http://www.aspergerssyndromeparent.com/ ... block.html


And because this project is so complex it seems to compound my aspie issues even more.... I think this would be a challenge for any writer.

So I am just looking for any possible tricks people might have here to help with their issues.

Last edited by CAL_1138 on 09 May 2013, 8:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

I can definitely relate! Are you out of school? One thing I learned going back to school is that tutoring helped me a lot with my math issues. I don't know about you but it seemed with me I was slow to learn at first but than when it was fully explained to me I ran with it.. I think the way schools operate now where kids have to fend for themselves a lot hurts us aspies etc more than past eras... because the schools are so full of kids etc.

I don't mind helping out by writing and sending you in sections something based on your ideas within the restrictions of my time. You can PM me a small section of key parts and I can write it up and if you like it I can continue to help. For that though, you would have to try to see past your trust issues. I don't expect compensation and I could be a ghost writer if you like. The only proviso is that depending on how monumental the task is, if you have specific deadlines I may not be able to meet those.

Last edited by whirlingmind on 09 May 2013, 8:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

if you believe that what you write is true,
then that question should never occur to you.

Last edited by b9 on 09 May 2013, 9:53 am, edited 1 time in total.

But I am trying to make something that isn't just dry non-fiction.. any non fiction story has elements of fiction in it if dramatized... that is what I am trying to do.. dramatize real events to make a more coherent story.

Also.. even in a non-fiction story you have to make decisions about what is included and what isn't... these are all creative decisions.

I asked that because I am not writing a research paper... it requires a lot fo creativity to tell this story... because many non-essential elements are subjective.