Insanely Basic Tips For Writing ;]

Autistic Characters

(I have Autism and with all the debate about Autistic characters going I thought I'd pitch a few ideas of my own.) (that being said I wrote this like almost two years ago so just keep that in mind)

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1. I would recommend looking up the traits of Autism, both common and not, to pick and choose from. Obviously, you can't just shove every single trait into one character. That would be cringe. But at least for now gather together all the ones you can find. (Bonus points if you do some extra research and get a feeling for why such traits exists and what it is like to have them.)

2. So, you know generally what an Autistic person "looks" like. Nice. Now, pick out the traits you think would work best for YOUR character. That's right. As a writer, you essentially get to play GOD, so use that power wisely my friends. Remember to think about what fits your character's story the best.

Example: In my "The Last Human" book Steve has lived on his own for a remarkably long amount of time. This has made him terribly...terrible at communicating and getting close with others. The subtle Autistic traits, such as being touch avoidant and easily overwhelmed in social situations, is only meant to fan the flames a little more.
Basically, don't try to make your character all about Autism. Instead, pick out traits that will only add to the character you have already created.

3.1. Taking whatever traits you have chosen for your Autistic character, whether it be certain stims, difficulty listening, or pain tolerance, it is time to fit all of these things into your character's backstory. Remember that someone's traits are formed as a coping mechanism for said character's weaknesses. (I, for instance, am particularly sensitive to noise, so I -- being a shy person -- tend to shut down if in a really loud environment. My 'coping mechanism' is blocking out the noise around me by retreating into my own mind. Dissociating, as you may also call it. This, in turn, has essentially coaxed me from birth into having a very large inner world to which I retreat to.) It's all about cause and effect.

Your character's past can affect their traits just as much as their traits can affect their past. It is a vicious cycle that you just have to figure out how to balance.

Example: Say your character is really outgoing and one of their traits is that they are very sensitive to light. This person may naturally gravitate towards being a night owl or only agree to go to events if it is later in the evening. But since they are so outgoing and may have a hard time knowing ahead of time whether or not an event will meet their needs, they might end up becoming the person in the friend group who always hosts the events. That way, they have full control over every single aspect of the setting that might trigger them.

3.2. And of course, for the more dramatic character backstories, if your Autistic character lost their entire family in a blazing fire, perhaps give them really sensitive hearing or something, so on top of everything they witness, it will be the sound..or the smell..that ticks them off the most. Maybe the smell was overwhelming, and even getting a whiff of it again instantly reminds them of the event. Fun concept for writing PTSD in general~ Sorry, I'm off topic again.

Or say your character's backstory deals more with long term abuse from a parental figure trying to turn their child into the next greatest villain or something. In that case, their traits may adjust accordingly. Hyper-fixation is a good one. Perhaps they teach themselves to hyper-fixate on "important" things like practicing magic or perfecting their fighting style. This can go to an obsessive level thanks to their hyper-fixation. They may not even notice their knuckles are bleeding or their hair is on fire. (Which is an actual trait I have dealt with while training in martial arts. "Oh I'm bleeding?? Sorry, didn't even notice.")

4. And finally but arguably one of the most important steps is naturally weaving their traits into the character's story. Not just treating them like some quirky thing that either isn't important or can be turned on or off.

Example: Again from ma' pal Steve, he throughout the story had to learn to use moderation when it came to his obsessive, one-track minded behavior. He had to learn to enjoy taking it slow and not overwork himself so hard. One of his stims was actually jogging, so whenever he broke his leg, it was an especially big deal, since he could no longer do whatever helped to calm him down. Such a small problem quickly grew into a big deal that had to be faced head on...all thanks to the inclusion of his Autistic traits.

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As you may have noticed, I never used any "truly Autistic" examples. I didn't tell you how to write a visit with the therapist where the two talk about the character's struggles. I didn't give any tips on how to write a meltdown realistically. And I most certainly didn't say anything about writing a socially inept kid trying to make friends.

Wanna know why? Because that's a bit repetitive at this point. By now, pretty much everyone knows what Autism is. (Online at least.) You shouldn't have to spell it out for your readers unless it is 100% crucial to the plot and characters driving said plot.

Bonus Tip: (on the topic of branding)

Just being real here. Saying up front that your character is Autistic right away, or advertising them as such, will in the end ruin people's perception of them. They will go, "oh, well I am not Autistic, so I can't relate." and not emotionally connect to the character as much as they would have if the lable was left ambiguous. Either that, or they will question why this is not an "Autistic story."

I have nothing against "Autistic stories," but they're all the same in my experience at least (which is ironic since irl everyone's is SO different), and by this point everyone already knows what to expect from one of these stories. And predictability takes away from the magic of storytelling.

So, it's perfectly alright to tell people, "Hey, my character is Autistic." However, it is when people advertise their character as such or bank on people only liking them because they are Autistic that I have to ask you to chill. Advertising Autism leads to less immersion, since the diagnosis is expected to be at the center of it all. And expecting people to like your character only because they are "quirky/Autistic" is just asking for people to roll their eyes and walk away, uninterested.

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That's it lol.