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Writing a book

Gordon-not-Ramsay

Hi,  I have having a go at writing stories based on my experiences. I've wtiten loads of stuff, on paper and on my laptop. I think im good at descriptive writing, plus I want to clear out some clutter in my head. I want to write in the most transparent way I can, and be naked and honest about the bad things I've done, as well as the bad done to me.

I do have a problem with my actions and how autism has influenced those actions. Autism is NOT an excuse, but do believe my behaviour would not have been anywhere near as bad without it, or at least the realisation that I had it. I don't think I can open and honest about things without dealing with how autism played a part in it all.

I was thinking of writing a sort autobiography. I will alter names and my some situation will recieve some embellishment, simply to make it a good read and not too dour or boring. I was going to use the songs of Pet Shop Boys as a framework, although I won't be nicking any ideas from lyrics. For example, one chapter will concern moving out of the family home - the chapter title will be "This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave. One chapter will concern the pity party in my head - What Have I Done To Deserve This? The book itself will be named after a b-side: "I Didn't Get Where I Am Today...

Anyway, going off tangent. Two questions really.

1) has autism and the problems it brings caused you to do something potentially bad or wrong?

2) have you ever tried your hand at writing anything creative, and was it a successful exercise in any way? 

PLEASE reply. I'm looking forward to it, ACTUALLY. YES, VERY much so. WinkThumbsup

(Note: references to 4 Pet Shop Boys albums in there. Silly BEHAVIOUR, I know)

Parents

  • I like your idea :-)

    If you are writing to get published, you will struggle in the autobiography world unless you are already well known and have a following (traditional publishing). Self publishing requires a lot of self marketing to sell even one book and it's a big outlay. If you are writing for your own therapeutic reasons then I fully recommended it - worked for me!

    If you want to get your story out there simply to tell it and not to earn money, you could write on websites such as Medium or Substack, this way you can also build a following if you do plan to publish one day. Be careful not to publish chunks of your book though - don't give it away if publishing is your aim. If not, write away!

    Saying this as a fiction writer myself who is building up a portfolio on various parts of the internet! 

  • in reply to Cloud44

    Thanks for the advice. I know getting published is hard. I know there's a flooded market for real life stories, plus I don't think my life story woukdl be particularly interesting in itself.

    Instead, I was aiming for something framed around my life but with embellishments, touches of humour, more dramatic situations. I'm still going to write though. I'm hoping for some therapeutical benefits. Getting it out there would be a (pipe)dream come true, so if by any chance I get to that stage it will be a bonus. I'm not going to delude myself on that one though.

    But, your advice on writing sites is interesting. I might give that a whirl, so I can hone my writing skills and gain a bit of confidence in myself.

    And I understand what you mean about not giving too much away. I've written some short pieces which would be interesting to gauge.

    A few years back, I had a long stay in a hotel, and i occupied myself by using a streaming site on shuffle (with about 1,000 songs) and writing about each track: sometimes a personal story linked to it, sometimes information about the artist or the tune specifically. It depended upon what came on next. It was random (they were songs I actually knew, by the way) and i tried to give myself the length of the tune to write in (pausing the player on an 'I've started so, I'll finsh" basis.) Recently I discovered what I had written, and it wasn't too bad. It was handwritten fast, so some bits needed translating. Maybe, i could do something like that on Medium or Substack, and then see how it goes.

    Thanks again. Now, where did I put my laptop?

    WinkThumbsup

Reply
  • in reply to Cloud44

    Thanks for the advice. I know getting published is hard. I know there's a flooded market for real life stories, plus I don't think my life story woukdl be particularly interesting in itself.

    Instead, I was aiming for something framed around my life but with embellishments, touches of humour, more dramatic situations. I'm still going to write though. I'm hoping for some therapeutical benefits. Getting it out there would be a (pipe)dream come true, so if by any chance I get to that stage it will be a bonus. I'm not going to delude myself on that one though.

    But, your advice on writing sites is interesting. I might give that a whirl, so I can hone my writing skills and gain a bit of confidence in myself.

    And I understand what you mean about not giving too much away. I've written some short pieces which would be interesting to gauge.

    A few years back, I had a long stay in a hotel, and i occupied myself by using a streaming site on shuffle (with about 1,000 songs) and writing about each track: sometimes a personal story linked to it, sometimes information about the artist or the tune specifically. It depended upon what came on next. It was random (they were songs I actually knew, by the way) and i tried to give myself the length of the tune to write in (pausing the player on an 'I've started so, I'll finsh" basis.) Recently I discovered what I had written, and it wasn't too bad. It was handwritten fast, so some bits needed translating. Maybe, i could do something like that on Medium or Substack, and then see how it goes.

    Thanks again. Now, where did I put my laptop?

    WinkThumbsup

Children
  • in reply to Gordon-not-Ramsay
    Gordon-not-Ramsay said:
    I'm hoping for some therapeutical benefits.

    This is exactly why I write. I generally don’t like tons of attention anyways, so when I write stories or music I do it for myself. I have found that not only does the process of writing feel good, going back and reading/listening to the end product can pull me out of dark thoughts and situations by gently reminding myself “Oh yeah, I can make stuff. Really cool stuff. I’m worthwhile.”

    My remix music is out there for free and if someone likes it, cool, but that doesn’t really concern me. I did it for me.

    Gordon-not-Ramsay said:
    i occupied myself by using a streaming site on shuffle (with about 1,000 songs) and writing about each track

    That’s actually super cool and that sounds like a great personal project.