Published on 12, July, 2020
Do you generally read or write fiction and/or fanfiction?
I spend my life reading and writing stories of various types, and I wondered if this is normal for autistic people. I thought we were supposed to have very limited imaginations and interests and that was how we got diagnosed. But my imagination is vast, I tend to live in a fantasy world rather than the real world because it is nicer tbh!
What is your imagination like?
Interesting thread! I am also a fan of the fantasy genre.
Authors are often classified as either plotter or pantsers. I have the feeling that writers in the autistic spectrum tend to be prevalently plotters.
Funny that. I used to be a plotter but went too far with 3 act structures, midpoints, rising and falling tension etc. It meant my stories were too formulaic so I turned into a pantser.
I don't if I could change that. I just write amatorially, but I definitely need to outline a lot. I find that writing without creating a structure first is too frustrating for me,
Thank you, I found them!
It seems that you are in the right line of work if you like to read fantasy.
Happy to help. I work as an editor for a publisher so I am in that world.
I think those authors are called Stephen James and she is called Jordan Rosenfeld.
Wow, thank you for the list. I'll check them out!
It's great. A bit ironic because the author (Stephen...something I think?) says don't write to a structure, then goes into a list of things you must put in your story. Er...
There is also Make a Scene by Jordan someone. How to write different types of scenes e.g. action, conclusion, thoughtful. That was a bit deep for me but good.
Write from the Middle by James Scott Bell is a new approach too. It does what it says.
OK, Story Trumps Structure is now on my wishing list. Always looking for new ideas! :
I haven't read that particular book but I've read so many outlining books e.g. Save the Cat, Write From The Middle, The Snowflake Method. The last book I read on story writing was Story Trumps Structure, which tells you to just write and see what happens. The story and characters will emerge..!
I don't know if you read Truby's 'Anatomy of a Story': it's a great book for learning how to outline a novel.
But, of course, if letting your characters free to act is what works best for you, do that!
I had to look up amatorially! I like it when I meet a word I don't know!
I have found the opposite. I used to just write stories and they went how they went. Then I discovered the 3 act structure, midpoints and all that jazz. I threw myself into that, but found my stories were getting too formulaic. A happens then B happens, but how do we get to E? We need C and D. I'd wrack my brains and come up with some quick solutions which turned out to be rubbish.
Now I like just writing and seeing what happens. Anyway, the characters will tell you what they want to do. Rely on them, they'll always see you through.