Do any aspie writers have this problem?

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I'm not an aspie but... I still wanted to ask. I've noticed that I always have a hard time being able to get any of my writing projects processed and finished. Like, I have this story called weeping hearts about two twins (male and female) who share a life story about being abused, bullied... etc, etc... and I've been spending procasinating hours trying to come up with a good solid plot to surround their different settings and environments they are in.

But I have trouble getting anything down. It's almost like things just float around in my head in a big gravity pull. I've tried listening to music fitting to what I am writing about and it worked for a while... now its useless. I end up forgetting what I've already come up with and it seems like everything just gets worse.

I don't really like mediation or anything like that either since it takes a lot of effort just to be able to focus and clear my mind of anything that doesn't need to be in there.

It's beggining to drive me nuts and stress me out greatly...

Do any other aspies/autistics deal with this when they write stuff? How do you cope with it so your brain functions better?

I have found that there are some days when it absolutely flows and other days when I'm sitting in a block of concrete. For me it's simply a matter of not even bothering until I know it's working -- otherwise, if I try to write something when it isn't flowing, I end up producing absolute garbage.

Quite often, I will start a story with only the barest of skeleton-ideas. A basic theme, maybe a couple of sci-fi elements, and a vague impression of a few characters. Then I start writing, and, if it's a "flowing" day, the thing will almost write itself.

I think it's a bad idea to try to plan ahead too much. For example, I was on page 140 of my first book before it occurred to me how to end it.

I find that when I'm overloaded with ideas, sometimes it helps to just make a few pages of notes. Elaborate on the ideas, not necessarily the story so much. I will draw pictures of things, get a handle on what the aliens look like. One time I knew I was going to have a chapter where a bunch of people were in a meeting room, so I made a little chart showing where everybody was sitting. Just for continuity purposes!

You might try using a voice recorder and just narrate your story into it and then later transcribe it. That really seems to work well for me.

If you write one page everyday, that's 365 pages a year. So just write and don't worry about what comes out. it won't be all great, but you can edit it later. Writing is like panning for gold, you need to keep doing it to find those nuggets that are worth keeping.

I definitely get distracted by too many ideas running through my head at the same time--and if I get interupted it is extremely difficult to get back on tast.

What has helped me getting the ideas on paper and out of my head is simple freewriting. Just open a notebook, or word doc and keep writing for a set amount of time (try 20 minutes) without stopping. Don't worry about what you write just write whatever jumps in your head...even if it is "This is stupid and I have nothing to say." Eventually that mud will clear out and you will "hear" what you can to say and put it on the paper. It may not be your story but that will come just keep it up.

Good Luck
~Aspie Writer

I have a hard time getting something done because new ideas pop into my head and I want to get working on them. I find it easier to write in short stories or different scenes or parts of a novel and then put them together.

Hmm...when I tried writing short stories that frequently happened. Things work much more smoothly for me in lyrics writing (and more enjoyable) but it still tends to be jerky writing with strongly contrasting verses, bridges, choruses etc. Guess that's the power of passionate emotion in writing.

The key to my writing is to turn off the music and TV and just start writing. Don't get cought up in "oh that doesn't go there" or, "That's not right". It's more of a rythmn (dunno how to spell that one) Once you get a groove going reel well it's hard to shake off. Think about the tone and mood and get your heart around the CORE of the story.
Writing is a fun way to pass time and I plan to use it often in the future. I'm still learning but it's all part of the prossess(dunno how to spell that one either).
Hope it was helpful,
Cothalin

I summed up my writing to someone today as 'I write for five minutes and fall asleep', which isn't too far from the truth.

I can't finish a long story because I move on to other things that I want to write about, which is why I write short stories, but I wish I could for once finish a book. I get stressed out with so many ideas too.

As much as over planning to write isn't a good idea as it can destroy some of the creative process. I still find if important to have a basic outline. I usually will come up with my outline and than I spend tine getting to know my characters and locations. This helps me work on my writing although there still are days when I want to throw my computer against the wall.

I am in a Fiction Writing Workshop right now, and I am have a hard time with short stories. All my story ideas wind up being way too long and complex for the flash fiction that we are currently working on. Its driving me a bit crazy, but it is a good lesson on writing toward word counts. Writing to a word count is real important, and something I continue to struggle with so I suppose I could use the practice.

~Aspie Writer
www.aspiewriter.blogspot.com

I was struggling a bit with this when I tried writing a screenplay. It helped by writing a 2 page plot summary of all my ideas before starting. I think its good to write your ideas down as soon as you have them and then arrange them all later. At the moment my script is finished but is only around 65 pages so I reckon I'm missing an act somewhere.

I've started a dozen screenplays, but almost always have trouble with the middle. So I've got some great Act 1's.
I dislike stories where the characters arc involves a lot of little distractions, I prefer more straight ahead type stories. I saw Prometheus and thought it was dreadful as far as being consistant.

I guess we are cursed with having too many great ideas and not enough of us to write it all down. For me, I find it much simpler to write dialogue and later come back to add the nuances, like describing expression or feeling, or adding action and descriptions.

When I write dialog it's very straight forward so that I don't get caught up in the little details. Then I read everything I wrote a few times. Then I'll think where is this person standing? How are they dressed? What time is it?

Story is ultimately about character interaction. Characters do or say everything that happens, even if the character is a flower or a bug, so once you have what they say and do, the other stuff is only filler.

I also keep at least two writing projects going at once, so if I feel the slightest bit of writers' block, I switch to the other one so my brain doesn't explode trying to think of just the right word!