Why Do I Write?

You've done the first step, you recognized your problem areas. Now study on them. Taking classes will help, I assure you. Also join writing groups where you write in the group and share what you've written. You will also learn how to edit and critique which is something we all need to learn as writers. From these classes, you will also learn how to take critisism from others who are there to help you at the same time getting their help.

Just work hard and keep writing. You learn by doing, by reading, by research, and by watching the world being part of it. You'll get it if you don't give up.

Amber

Read, write, read, write, read, write ...

But maybe more concrete advice is in order.

First of all, as a parent of two high functioning autistic kids (not Aspergers, but a lot of folks think they are--they're similar in the spectrum) I can tell you without reservation that you will do great and your diagnosis will not hold you back. It'll just create different hurdles. Everyone has hurdles but you don't get the same ones. Not harder, just different. Also, I have to say that I can't wait to read Partially Human, so I hope you work on that story and get it published somewhere.

You get to use your exceptional focus and keen observation to figure out how people work and translate that to unique characters that no one but you could create because of your exceptional perspective.

You can observe people and notice how weird and illogical they are, especially their emotions which get the better of them.

Also, if you can nurture an interest in writing books, you can make those your allies in your quest to become a better writer. Not all of them will work for you, and some of them will contain terrible advice, but some will click with you and you can read them as often as you like to help absorb the messages they hold for you.

You can dissect Mr. King and Ms. Rowling and figure out why you love their work. A lot of artists get their start by analyzing and even imitating the masters before they go off on their own. Find a short story or a section of novel, read it, set it aside, and rewrite it from memory. See what happens. Compare. You may have written things you like better than the original, and some flaws in your writing may become obvious.

Use your voice to help you. Try reading your stories aloud. You don't need an audience. Just read by yourself. If you can record on your computer or if you have a mini-recorder, record yourself reading and listen to yourself reading. Or get a friend to read your stories to you.

Get a writing buddy you trust to help you while you help him/her learn to write better.

Take some classes.

There's lots of options and opportunities. The trick is to take advantage of the opportunities and to find those options. Also, I wouldn't recommend trying everything at once. Step by step, approach the problem of learning to write well like you would a math problem (if you like math) or making bread (if you like to cook.) Books will help you define the parts of a story. So will reading the forums.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Don't be so hard on yourself. I don't think Stephen King thought he was Stephen King either (as in, he didn't know his books were going to be the huge bestsellers they are). The same with other big authors. They were mostly just people who enjoyed writing and they wrote, the same as you and the rest of us here. As for your skills, we all start somewhere. You write and each story you write teaches you something so that you can make the next one better. So study books and advice on writing because some of it can be helpful, but most of all just write.

Jim Butcher is here to help with an analytical approach to writing:

http://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/

I have trouble dealing with criticism in real life, but do not have any trouble with it when it comes to writing. Why? Because criticism in writing is almost always about a specific piece of writing. And a specific piece of writing is like a sculpture - when I am not working on it it is just a half-formed lump of clay that could still become anything; it is not me, or part of me. I may either want to make that specific piece of writing as good as I can, or I may only be interested in practicing one specific thing, like characterization, and not care if the rest of the piece is any good. Criticism is like sand - there's always some laying around, it can be really useful if you are mostly done with a particular piece and want to polish the last little roughnesses away, but if you are not done yet it will just get in the way, so put up a mental wall to block it out, and if any sneaks in don't pick it up, ignore it or sweep it away until you are ready for it.

The think to remember is: when it comes to writing, nobody but you really knows what's best for a particular piece you are writing. Criticism is only a tool, only ask for in and use in when and if using that particular tool will improve that particular piece.

DwayneA said:

What can I do to reach my full potential?

Click to expand...

Here's something simple you could try. Do a search for all the threads where you posted excerpts of your work and where people critiqued them. Read through whatever those people said, trying to keep an open mind and not get upset or defensive. Make notes. For instance, if two or three people have told you not to use infodumps, write that down. Then see if you can apply those comments to your work. Try taking them one by one, and remember that the work doesn't have to be perfect.

I can totally, totally relate to where you're coming from. I used to write as a kid and after constant criticism about it from my parents (about everything from the content and style of my stories to my "wasting time" when I actually sat down to write) I basically gave up and stopped writing for a decade, focused on school and building a career that would pay the rent.

Now a decade later, I'm unhappy with the rent-paying career I've spent years trying to get to, and I'm beginning to discover again that writing is pretty much the thing I'm best designed to do. Now I feel so jealous about how I wasted that last decade on a dead-end that hasn't helped me as a writer. I wish I'd used that time to develop as a writer, to read more, and to maintain my habits of writing. I have a hard time getting back into writing because my brain has stopped generating ideas for me.

Here's what has helped me. I knew I wanted to start taking some writing classes, because (like many Aspies, I believe) I don't always learn things intuitively - I like to learn "rules" for things. Even if I choose not to follow those rules, at least I understand why things tend to work or not work. But the first workshop I took, I found the teacher intimidating and it blocked me from writing. When I did workshop a story, it was always something last-minute that I wasn't happy with, because then I could justify that they weren't criticising me, they were just criticizing this crappy work that I did at the last minute. My teacher could tell I was really hostile to any criticism, so the feedback I did get was pretty useless...

After my first bad workshop experience I vowed to never take another workshop again. But then I signed up for an online workshop at Gotham (www.writingclasses.com). I figured if I could eliminate the anxiety of being in the same room as my classmates, worrying about body language, practicing my neutral facial expression and trying not to look upset by criticism, etc etc, I could focus on the actual craft itself. Their intro fiction course was really helpful for me, because I got regular practice with weekly assignments, and I got to learn how to criticize other peoples work, which helped me learn to criticize my own work. They also taught us how to give a good critique (start with the positive, give one thing that could be improved, and end with another positive comment). I was terrified to read the criticism about the stories I posted, but I found the experience wasn't so bad. The critiques were typed out on the page, so I could focus on what they had written, rather than trying to figure out their body language or trying to worry about what my face was saying. Also, having the critiques written on the page meant I could re-read them a few times. The first time I hear criticism I tend to focus on the negative parts. So if this was an in-person critique I would probably only hear the negative. But being able to re-read the crits meant I could read and accept the negative stuff, and then just bask in the compliments. Now that I've developed my craft and gotten more accepting of the process of criticism, I've started taking live, in-person writing workshops. I'm much happier with these classes and get much more out of them than I did with that first disappointing workshop!

If you can afford it, writing workshop classes are a great way to (1) get personalized feedback about your writing in order to improve your skills, (2) learn how to accept constructive criticism (not to mention learn how to recognize criticism that is illogical or based on emotions like jealousy or anger, so that you can reject those words if they don't fit with who you know you are), (3) maybe find some writing buddies to share work with and talk about writing. You can also achieve these things for free on websites like this one, or by finding an informal writing group online or in your city, but I found that writing classes provided a more formal context in which to learn the craft. When you're in a class with other people at your level you can start to appreciate your unique strengths as a writer. You might not feel so bad that you don't yet write like Stephen King - because you can witness over the duration of a course that people do improve as writers. (Do you think Stephen King was born writing like Stephen King? Even if you pick up his short story collection, Skeleton Crew, you can see a definite improvement of his writing from when he was a college student to where he is now).

When I look back over the stuff I wrote for my first and second writing classes, there is a huge, huge improvement. My style has developed. My ability to handle criticism (both related to writing and otherwise) has improved. My circle of friends who write has expanded from zero to about three very close writing friends, plus several others who know my writing and are only an email away. My writing habits and my confidence in my skills could still stand to be improved, so this is why I keep taking classes. But comparing where I was before the classes started to where I am now, I'm fairly confident those things can only improve with time.