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?
Haha. That is where my stuff ends. I have no clue about real social interactions let alone fictional despite my very best efforts. Beautiful places that go unseen because there is nobody there to see it.
I also have loads of unfinished stuff. I turned to poetry and that makes it nice to feel the joy of completion every once in a while.
Yes I spend at least 2-8 hours a day reading fiction, largely fanfiction as I like its predictability but also reading some favoured books and series over and over.
I think autistic people vary a lot. I do have two autistic friends who don't read any fiction as they really don't enjoy it and don't understand it. Although I have a very good imagination, I am not good at, nor have I ever been, 'social imagination' where you do stuff like play make believe with other people. That is because I find it very difficult to change my imaginary world/series of events to suit others added story lines. So while I play in my imaginary worlds a lot of the time, again over 3 hours a day most of the time, I struggled with that side of exhibiting imagination.
I live my life entirely in a state of What if...? All our lives as humans are based upon storytelling and a foundation of fiction. That's why we describe all our personal and collective memories as hi-STORY. Even our sacred books are all in the form of stories. I'm not sure where the idea of autism being liked to a lack of imagination, but I have seen no evidence of it personally. The only other autistic people I know in real life are avid movie/TV series/comic-book watchers and readers. I am just about to finish the complete works of PJ Wodehouse (well over 100 hours of audio). This year alone, I have listened to more than 500 hours worth of fiction (and non-fiction). Not a day goes by without me engaging with some form audio or visual storytelling. I write jokes, music, plays, screenplays and short stories. The only trouble I have, which is definitely linked to autism, is the inability to finish anything; I quickly get absorbed in a new topic or new idea which takes me away from what I started...
once I dreamt through existance of a whole universe and witnessed how it ends, and what awaits those that made it past that point
But my imagination is vast, I tend to live in a fantasy world rather than the real world
oh yes
I developed exactly the same strategy to survive
switch on robot mode and send your imagination far away
reading and writing as well
it would seem that my imagination does not want to connect to this reality
and new worlds have no end, when you are trying to look for more you find more waiting
I read 'Treasure Island' at around 7 years of age and have been a voracious reader of fiction ever since. I always liked drawing imaginary maps, and in my late teens an imaginary map spawned a whole imaginary world. It started as a world with fantasy elements, but fairly quickly became essentially realistic. It has a history, legends, languages, genealogies, legal systems, religions, social hierarchies, military organisation, dress, architecture etc. etc. It is very useful, if I'm at a loose end or waiting for something, I can just think about some aspect of my world and keep myself amused.