Executive Function Skills and Plotting a Novel

In this blog I want to address the executive functioning part of autism and how it relates to writing, in particular plotting and structure. 

Just briefly, most people with autism and/or ADHD will have executive function problems. The kind of EF difficulties will be manifested in things like planning, timing, organising, problem-solving, communicating in an ordered sequential manner, prioritzing, picking out what's important, problems with working memory, staying on track and multitasking. 

Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Cjv6iUYMquE

When writing a book one of the main things you need to do is plot it! You need to organising your thoughts and plan out its structure. As you can imagine, all the qualities mentioned above are necessary for this. A plot is often described as a sequence of events and as we can see many autistics have problems with this.

This maybe why I have always been drawn to writing (and reading) character-driven fiction. 

In an article by Sean Glatch at Writers.com he sums up this distinction between the two kinds of writing:

"A common distinction between different types of fiction is whether the story is “plot driven” or “character driven.” This refers to whether the plot of a story defines the characters, or whether the characters define the plot of a story. Specifically, this distinction is made to differentiate literary fiction vs. genre fiction. Generally, a piece of literary fiction will have the characters in control of the plot, as the story’s plot points are built entirely off the decisions that those characters make and the influences of those characters’ personalities. Genre fiction, by contrast, tends to have predefined plot structures and archetypes, and the characters must fit into those structures in order to tell a complete story. While this general distinction helps organize the qualities of fiction, don’t treat them as absolutes. Literary fiction borrows plot devices from genre fiction all the time, and there are many examples of genre fiction that are character driven. Your story should build a working relationship between the characters and the plot, as both are essential elements of the storyteller’s toolkit."

What is the Plot of a Story? Plot Structures & Devices | Writers.com

I think readers often come to a piece of fiction and are expecting something plot-driven and then be let down if it's character-driven. This is why it's important to categorise your book. If a reader wants genre and more plot-driven fiction then they are going to feel frustrated with something that's more descriptive, slow-moving or exploring characters internal words or that plays with, for example, form or viewpoint. 

However, I was once advised that character-driven is plot-driven and that stayed with me. If I'm drawn to a character I want to know what happens to him or her. Their flaws and foibles will drive a lot of the story as mentioned in the article above.

I always thought plotting was my weak point. When I used to send my work off to agents and I was lucky enough to get constructive feedback it was often things about the plot, structure or narrative arc that came under fire. If you Google different plots and techniques you will see a dizzying array which, if you're anything like me, won't do your ADHD any favours! Hell, some people can do their plot mathematically knowing exactly at what points to put their climaxes. There probably is a Fibonacci sequence for writing the perfect book but that's far too analytical for me. I prefer to feel my way and go with the flow.

After all, if you ever do author interviews online one of the questions you'll invariably be asked is: are you a plotter or a panster? Panster, being the opposite to plotter, is flying by the seat of your pants and seeing where the writing takes you. I do do bits of plotting which evolve as I go along but the freedom of pantsing suits my way of writing and is a perfectly legitimate approach.

Maybe I get distracted by too many subplots, with an inability to see the wood for the trees. Too many parts and not the whole. I used to approach chess in the same manner and took the circuitous route.  I did get there in the end but usually played with others who had a similar style of play!

But this is maybe why I like slice of life fiction or stream of consciousness fiction. Novels where plot is looser, that makes use of flashback and less linear sequences, where freshness of thought and observation are just as key. Luckily a lot of contemporary fiction makes use of such techniques

As a final word, I think synopses can be the hardest thing to write especially for us autistics! You have to pick out what's important in your book and as for those who want you to outline what each chapter is about - forget it!

I would love to hear from other autistic or neurodiverse authors to see how you approach novel-writing. Are you a plotter or a panster - or a plotster even! The fact that we've completed and published books at all means we must have overcome or worked around our executive dysfunction and that's to be celebrated!

In the meantime happy new year to all 😊

"You Can't Be Autistic" a poem by Kit Foxworth

Greetings and welcome to the fourth post on my authistic blog.

This time I wanted to share words from somebody else. Earlier this year I joined several Facebook Groups in relation to autism - particularly women and autism - before my diagnosis in June. This is where I learned so much about autism and found people there just like me! 

A few weeks ago someone called Kit Foxworth shared a poem in one such group which perfectly summed up the experience of many adult women with autism. It resonated with so many other group members. Kit herself said she doesn't usually write in rhyming couplets but it worked well on this occasion and was met with many enthusiastic comments.

So a big thanks to Kit Foxworth for giving permission to share her poem.

Why I've always been a slow reader

 Greetings and welcome to my third blog on this subject. Last time I looked at why I prefer to write and today I'm looking at reading - the flip side of writing. It's assumed that most authors are voracious readers. I do love to immerse myself in a good book but I have an ambivalent relationship to books. It takes me a long time to read a book and the longer the book, the longer the sentences and the smaller the print, the longer it takes me. I need to take it in. Skimming doesn't make sense to me. I might miss a crucial part of the plot, plus I like the sensuality of words which is maybe why I like literary fiction and poetry.  It’s also about quality and not quantity. I probably read about twelve books a year on average, about one a month, give or take, and so I always have a reading backlog. This is why you’ll never see me anywhere near things like Goodreads challenges. Ever seen those? To read so many books in a year? They scare me senseless! 

(Video post mostly the same, plus discussing three books still to read from my birthday.)

Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PzbXB5VUKSQ

I dread being given long books to read because I know it'll take me ages and if it's part of a series I will get a rising panic although I have overcome that a bit more in the last decade from reading a couple of series from a couple of my favourite indie authors. Book length isn't always a good indicator. Lightness or heaviness of the content can impact as can style, number of words to a page and size of print ans well as how heavy-going the writing is. If there's a lot to think about or sentences are long, while I may admire the style and like to reflect on what they've said, it still worries me how far behind I’m falling before getting on to the next book.

I’ve  always read every word and taken a long time to read even though I learned to read early.  At one point I was ahead in my class, and got more than one school prize which was always a book or books. When I was seven or eight they chose a prize book for me but I never read it. At least, I read the first few pages but I couldn't concentrate on a full length book or take it in. It wasn’t a book I'd chosen for myself. I was fine when I went to the library and if I was totally absorbed by a book I'd read it from start to finish, like a book I borrowed from the library called The Cat That Walked All Week. I also loved some stories in the girls’ comic Bunty too, two of which inspired my books many years later as I wrote about in the blog below:

http://bubbitybooks.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-taming-of-teresa-how-bunty-story.html

When I won my next school prize I was a bit older and it was deemed that we were old enough to choose our own books in the book shop. But I just couldn't find a book I wanted to read. I remember wandering around the shop with my mum but I just couldn’t find anything. Then my eyes alighted on a cookery book which my mum discouraged me from getting. This wasn't what the prize was for. It was for something to fire my imagination. She didn’t actually say this but I think this is was what I gauged from her. So, although I've spent a large part of my life living in my head and fantasy worlds, I think there are limits and difference to the autistic imagination. Mine, anyway. In the end I eventually picked out a book on how to draw animals and one on fancy lettering. My mum must have thought these would at least develop my artistic skills though I don't remember making great use of them other than to look at the pictures. 

I'll leave you with a quote from an article on neurodiversity which clicked with me:

"For some people, it is verbal (words) information whether written or oral that is processed slowly. If you have slow verbal processing, you will find it difficult to understand spoken information and reading will be slow even if there are no problems with processing visual information.

However, it is possible to find it difficult to process oral information, but still have good auditory processing abilities for other information that you hear, such as music. Others will find reading slow and difficult because of difficulty processing visual information but will have no difficulties with oral information and will therefore much prefer audio books to reading..."

You can read the full article in the link below which shows just how complex it is:

https://aspiedent.com/index.php/blog/what-slow-processing-autism-neurodiversity

That's all for this time. But please do leave any comments below - if you can't log in to your Google account or don't have one you can post anonymously but if you want to sign your name or first name then at least I'll know it's you!

Why I prefer to write than speak

Welcome to my second blog post on autism from a writer's perspective.

Today,  I'm going to talk about slower processing of information in some people with autism. This in no way denotes a lack of intelligence or ability but it just requires more effort and/or will take us longer to absorb or arrive there. 

One reason I prefer to write than speak is that I have time to think, choose my words, fine-tune, edit. I've always said that I'm much better at communicating in the written word than the spoken one. I've made a video which I'm including here although speaking on video doesn't come naturally to me!  Maybe recorded monologues are even more difficult. I'm sure they make many of us uneasy, a bit like talking into an answerphone!  But at least you can scrub it and start again or choose not to upload it. But I'm sure like me many of you have devised ways to do it such as writing down beforehand what you want to say. In fact, I know many fellow autistcs do this because I've seen such posts in forums.

Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PuVPj6jWApg

But I've always admired and envied those who can think on their feet and come out with impressive phraseology and sentences that I could only dream about and they didn't seem at all anxious or nervous. So when I read about the slower processing that can present in some people with autism it makes perfect sense to me. I can’t take in too much at once especially if there’s a pressure to do so or if there's a time limit. It's a wonder how I was successful in exams but then everyone else was in the same boat, we weren't sharing our answers out loud with anyone else and I had a good memory. I was also writing rather than speaking. But exams apart It takes me a while to process and take in complex or fast moving information. When I watched films as a child I wasn’t  the only one in my family who’d be trying to follow a plot and irritating others (usually cousins) asking why he did this or she said that! Nowadays I’m trying to take in some witty banter from three scenes ago in Coronation Street and it’s hard to catch up with the present. Oh the wonder of the rewind button but it can disrupt the flow. 

But when I was diagnosed with autism something clicked into place as to why I prefer writing and maybe have more strength in this area as compensation for having been so tongue-tied in my youth. After all I love to communicate too. My brain is just differently wired with different strengths and weaknesses. 

I did managed to salvage the video, after all. What you won't see is anything slick! 

Well, that's all for today. Next time I hope to look at the reading side of things and taking in visual information. 

I'm attaching a link which relates both to this and the next blog which you might find interesting:

https://aspiedent.com/index.php/blog/what-slow-processing-autism-neurodiversity

So until next time...please do leave your comments below.

On autism and being an author

Welcome fellow authors, readers, spectrum people and like-minded people to my new blog 'Authistic' which has been incubating for a while now and which I'm hoping to combine with some video content! 

I decided to launch a new blog mainly about how autism relates to my writing in particular eg not just how I write but the fact that I write at all. But also focussing on writing processes, reading habits and other aspects in general.

I was recently diagnosed with autism at the grand old age of 63 along with my sister (aged 65) and suddenly it's made a lot of sense of our lives and the struggles we've had throughout life. It's very misunderstood, particularly among women, and I've learned so much in the last few months - like the fact that Asperger's is no longer used (although people already with that diagnosis hang on to it). Even the terms 'high functioning' and 'low functioning' aren't used either because a person can function well in one area but struggle in another area. But thanks to Right To Choose, a very supportive GP and invaluable advice in relevant Facebook groups we didn't have to wait the four and half years on the NHS (it had got longer than usual due to Covid backlogs) but went with a provider who offered the Right To Choose option.

On Wednesday this week, I'd been looking at the best way to do Instagram reels for visual content when I received an email from the National Autistic Society asking women and non binary people to share their own stories to raise awareness and challenge outdated stereotypes using the hashtag ‘nowiknow’ and the timing was quite uncanny especially as I was about to launch this blog. 

Here is the link to their very short video:

So  I thought I'd bite the bullet and have a go as much as I loathe speaking to the camera and hate to see myself on video! Mine is very short too!

Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-lxlLZ_Bne4

As I say, my sister was also diagnosed at the same time and we've heard of at least one woman in her seventies receiving a diagnosis. We’ve also been diagnosed with ADHD which often goes together with autism. I’ve yet to have it confirmed by a second assessor but I will know for sure later this month.

Anyway that’s all for now but I'm looking forward to sharing more blogs in the near future with (maybe) some more short videos, hoping it will resonate with others. I also hope to have improved my video techniques with fewer background distractions! I'm fine when filming nature or cats. But speaking and seeing myself is a hurdle I need to overcome!

Thanks for reading and viewing.

Best wishes until next time  😊