I think every Autistic person has their own intense interest. Some of the popular examples are trains, dinosaurs, video games, etc. For me, it’s writing. It’s my passion. I love to write. I don’t always talk about it on Twitter, but I do it all the time. I’m not talking about blogging or tweets, I’m talkin’ original stories with original characters, settings, and ideas. I have Idea Journals (that’s what I call them). I write my ideas inside them (incase you couldn’t tell by the name). I’m almost to my third one. I don’t really share my ideas on Twitter or in my vlogs because I don’t want them to get stolen. I would love to make a webcomic though, perhaps on Webtoons or some other platform. I just need an idea for a comic I’m willing to make. Anyways, I digress.

In this post, I want to share the ways writing has helped me. I wanted to write this post to show NTs that don’t understand the intensity of autistic people’s interests that they aren’t entirely negative. I do want to note that when passion becomes obsession, it can have its cons, but that’s not what this post is about. It’s about the pros of having an intense interest.

#1 – Writing is therapeutic. It makes me feel good. According to the website Good Therapy, “Therapy, also called psychotherapy or counseling, is the process of meeting with a therapist to resolve problematic behaviors, beliefs, feelings, relationship issues, and/or somatic responses (sensations in the body).” https://www.goodtherapy.org/what-is-therapy.html

Writing, in a way, is my therapist. It leads to resolving problematic things in my life (such as the ones listed in the citation above) by applying liberating truth to my stories. Oftentimes, my stories are inspired by my questions about life or conflicts I am experiencing. They help me process them. I’m reading a book called Story written by Robert McKee, an acclaimed storytelling teacher. In this book, the author talks about exploring all sides of the story’s main idea. A main idea, or what McKee calls the controlling idea, is the story’s meaning, and is the inspiration for the main conflicts of the story. An example of a controlling idea that he uses is the controlling idea of the movie Groundhog Day, which he describes on page 117 as “Happiness fills our lives when we learn to love unconditionally.” On page 120, he also mentions having the story argue for the counter-idea. It must argue with the story’s controlling idea with balanced thought put into it.

By identifying my stories’ controlling ideas, I am able to think about and process my questions through exploring both arguments of an issue that inspires my story’s conflict. One of the conflicts that have causing me distress in the world is identity politics. In fact, my previous blog post was about this topic. I’ve been having so much anxiety about the state of our society because of the conflict between the idea of identity politics and the ideas of those who don’t agree with it. I feel much sorrow for those who feel oppressed, but I also feel sorrow for white people that feel like the bad guys, for something other people (that share their skin color) have done. What my heart wants is everyone to forgive each other, judge character instead of racially profile, and be at peace with one another. This is very idealistic. It may not happen the way I want it to (at least in society as a whole).

One way I process my distress is through a subplot in one of my TV show ideas. In this story, the protagonist and her sister (who isn’t a main character) have lived their entire lives traveling the world. They have never been to US, where their parents were born. After the protagonist’s mother dies, her father falls into a deep depression. He retires early as a travel writer and missionary to go back to the United States to live with his family. When they move, this is the sisters’ first time in the US. They are enrolled in a public middle school. Now, hear this: the girls’ mother is hispanic, and their father is caucasian. Because of this, the girls are mixed. Selena, the protagonist, looks much more hispanic than she does caucasian. In fact, she hardly looks of any European descent at all. This is what she looks like:

Esmeralda, the protagonist’s sister, is very light skinned like her father. She hardly has the darker complexion of most hispanics. This is what she looks like:

There are episodes that focus on the girls’ bewilderment of racism they and others face. They, like me, are trying to process why people get so heated over race. They’ve traveled all over the world for all their lives. They’ve been to Africa and Asia, where they look totally different from the kids they would play with. They grew up where looking different was okay. Their experience of learning racism in the US is partly inspired by someone I know in real life. She grew up in Indonesia all her childhood. Her parents were missionaries, like Selena and Esmeralda’s parents. When this white woman I know turned 19, she moved to the United States. When she got there, racism was a totally new concept to her. She was baffled by how anyone would judge someone by the color of their skin. For most of her life, she knew more Asians than people of her own skin color. I always wonder what it is like for her to hear people of color accusing her of being inherently racist because she is white. When I play out the episodes that focus on Selena and Esmeralda’s culture shock (regarding racism), I sometimes try to put myself in this friend’s shoes. I use what she has told me to gain inspiration for what Selena and her sister experience at their new home.

When I create scenarios where the sisters experience culture shock, I have to think about what their thoughts are. How does a white person who grew up in countries that don’t have a white majority feel when they experience the atmosphere of racism present in the United States? My stance is that being white doesn’t make you inherently racist. However, I do my research on the counter-argument. I have been made aware of some of the things that many white people do to make life tougher for people of color. I hate that there are white police officers that would pull over an innocent black man when there is no obvious criminal activity. I hate that black people feel like they have to change the way they talk and dress to make white people more comfortable. I hate that white people are even made uncomfortable by their talk and dress in the first place! I have to acknowledge that people like that exist in my stories. I do this by having racist characters in my stories, especially more than one.

This is just one example of how I process the conflicts that are on my heart.

#2 – It’s an escape. Writing is a way to temporarily escape life’s difficulties. Everyone needs a comfort interest. I know I talked at length at how it helps me process life’s difficulties in #1, but I also write to live in a world where there is peace. Every story needs scenes where the characters can rest from their problems. The main characters need to be around people who support them so they can develop. They need their playtime. I like imagining scenes where some of the characters get along, laugh at something funny, hang out, do something interesting that can also progress the plot. An example of this is in Avatar: the Last Airbender. There are many character bonding moments that take place when the characters are not fighting or running for their lives. There are many little moments where the characters laugh, hang out, and play games. It’s refreshing.

Creating my own character bonding moments in my stories is a way for me to take a break from the story’s conflict. There are so many movies and TV shows that are pessimistic and none of the characters get along. One show that comes to mind that’s like this is Invader Zim. No one in that show really seem to like each other. There are definitely things I like about it such as its humor, zaniness, and badass art style, but the way the characters interact with each other made me feel depressed after a certain number of episodes. I know not everyone feels this way. That’s just my personal taste.

Especially as an autistic person that has been socially excluded most of her life, it feels good to create realistic, fun bonding moments. At 18, I started developing my first meaningful friendships. They are a constant inspiration for my characters’ friendships. They reassure me that my characters’ friendships are realistic and not romanticized (okay.. I might be guilty of romanticizing from time to time).

#3 – It exercises the imagination. Imagination is way underestimated by some people. It adds spice to life. It’s what makes entertainment, entertaining. It makes education interesting. It makes advertisements work. Every society needs creativity. It stirs emotions in us like nothing else. Art, literature, music, etc. are all things that can connect us. It’s a useful tool, especially in the workplace. Creative solutions, decorations in the office, pitches, etc!

Those are 3 things I wish more people were aware of when it comes to storytelling. Many of these things don’t even have to apply to autistic people like me. Many of these things are truth for neurotypical writers. I hope you enjoyed this article and found it insightful.