I write well!

When people ask me what I do, I reply that I am a writer. Words and language are my special interest a consolation prize for my autism spectrum disorder. Writing and reading comprehension are a result of my obsessive study. I’ve put hours of hard work into understanding written communication. It exasperates me that most of the people I meet  believe they have the ability to write a the next great American novel. Often, they comment that they’ve always wanted to write a book.

My response: I’ve always wanted to build a spaceship and visit “the star” Pluto, but I readily admit that I don’t know anything about rockets or jet propulsion. But, I don’t walk around telling people I can build a functioning rocket without first learning about space.

Why is it that writing is so accessible when rocket science is viewed as a difficult subject to master? Why do the people who have not studied language and don’t know the parts of speech believe they know quality of writing on sight? This view is disrespectful to those, like me, who can identify high quality written work and explain why it is high quality. It is equally disrespectful for me to go up to a rocket scientist and tell him I can build a better rocket than him.

During my foray into the publishing industry, I’ve discovered those who write well, don’t go around bragging about their abilities. In fact, true “experts” seem to believe that there is always a lot more to learn about their discipline.

For me, part of the reason I write, is because it is challenging to write well. Language is evolving, so there is always more to learn. In addition, there are many different kinds of writing: persuasive writing, nonfiction, memoir, essays, blogs, emails, poetry and, of course, the novel. When I grow skilled at one type, I move on to another.

Part of the problem is that people are misinformed and believe writers write the way they speak. Verbal and written communication are in no way related. The fact is that just because you speak well doesn’t mean you will write well.

In this modern technological age, it’s easy to fall into a trap and believe you can write well. After all, the majority of our communication is written, but texting, social media and emails are not the same as writing. At best, they resemble speech in that they can be truncated and repetitive with an obtuse meaning. Miscommunication occurs regularly using these avenues, because many people forget about nonverbal communication.

When speaking, our meaning and emotion are conveyed with body language, facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice and inflection. So, taking nonverbal language for granted when messaging and texting, there is no context to use to determine what the other person is trying to communicate.

When writing, if one is aware of nonverbal communication’s role in speech, one uses words to establish the meanings and emotions the reader experiences. This cannot be achieved effectively without knowledge of sentence structure, parts of speech, grammar and words.

In our society, writing well is a rare skill, but the common belief is that people who spend the day texting and on social media write all day long, so they must be excellent writers. However, give one of these people a sheet of paper and ask them to write something and they are revealed as frauds.

Spelling, grammar, punctuation and meaning are not things most people think about when they post of Facebook or text their friend. Yet, they should and if they were good writers, they would. I do. I revise every few words I write a few times for meaning and with a consideration for audience.

My point to this rant is that the next time you consider becoming Steven King or J.K. Rowling, think about what you actually know about language. Writing a novel is not a “get rich quick scheme.” It’s much easier to win the lottery, especially if you don’t want to put in the work. Although, filling in those sheets is another skill to master.

So, budding novelists out there, ask yourself if you like words and language? Do you know the difference between a noun and verb? What parts of speech make a sentence? Can you tell the difference between to, too and two or its and it’s? What is an apostrophe and how is it used?

Most importantly, would you like to know those those things?

The last question is the most important.

If you aren’t interested in these things, play the lottery. It’s better odds.

If you are, though, buy into the hype and begin your own study.

Be Autistic: Be amazing

It stuns me that people are constantly surprised by the amazing autistic brain. I recently came across this video from 60 minutes that made me smile and reminded me that the supreme being who made me compensated for all the difficulties by giving me amazing abilities to counteract the struggle with daily life as an autistic. People constantly underestimate the intelligence and abilities of autism. In fact, I presented in first grade as a child with many symptoms of Classic Autism. I lost speech, but taught my visual brain to speak words, which I picture, edit and eventually say out loud. No one truly knows the potential of any child with autism. It’s important to nurture their special interests. In fact, these special interests are ways to ease social interaction and connect with these children.

So, remember Be Autistic: Be Amazing!

Here is Jake’s story.

His special interest: math.

Enjoy.

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More videos of Jake can be found on Youtube, including an interview with Glenn Beck, not a personal favorite however anyone who uses media to expose the amazing autistic brain gets a high five, despite their other unpleasant beliefs. 🙂

For more about Jake, visit YouTube and search for Math and Jake or visit his article on PositiveMed.

If you know an an amazing autistic, please share your story in the comment section. I’ve been really depressed and weighted down by the hardships of living, and the way I combat this is researching amazing achievements birthed from the very specialized autistic brain.

Arthur Conan Doyle wrote in A study in Scarlet:

“I consider that a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skilled workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain attic. He will have nothing but the tools, which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knoledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones. “

I believe Det. Holmes might be autistic. Indeed he is on the BBC show Sherlock.

Ha! I knew it!

For more about Sherlock visit the BBC Website.

Struggle and My Awesome Personality

They say struggle builds character. They add that it is people with character that move and change the world. Struggle is all I have known, so I must be overflowing with character and an amazing person. It also explains somewhat my strong desire to make a difference in this world. Putting a positive spin on the difficulties of life is my secret weapon. Lean in, listen close and I will share the secret of conquering those negative thoughts and reclaiming happiness.
My life began with struggle, so I know it quite intimately. I was a child blessed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism and parents who pressured me to fit into society. As if that was not enough, no one knew what exactly was wrong with me. Asperger’s syndrome is a relatively recent discovery. Basically, it is a form of autism without the developmental delays. People who are autistic are brilliant, but their intelligence is limited. There are just some things we will never understand. It has always been my theory that the great omnipotent being balances weaknesses and strengths in everything he creates. It makes perfect sense that autism often involves brilliance in a specific area. As a result, they come up short in other areas. Our brains are rarely within our control. My brain has its own agenda. I am constantly fighting myself and forcing myself to do things my brain does not want to do. They seem like such simple activities (listening to conversations, watching a movie, thinking about what to say, fighting my need to fidget), but the battle strategies I employ are anything but effortless. As a result of this constant effort, it makes no sense to me that people would be unwilling to do an activity and not found it. That is never an option. Doing things I do not want to do is a daily part of my life and occurs often. Giving into unmotivation is not an option for me. I have little patience with lazy, unmotivated people a lot of the time. This is only one of the struggles I constantly deal with. There is not enough room in the internet for me to expand and fully address this topic. The large amount of difficulty daily life presents, makes it quite difficult for me to maintain a positive attitude and hang on to the slippery devil named hope. Positive thinking is hard, but another adage addresses this as well. Anything worth doing takes great effort, they say. I agree. My greatest accomplishments were worth it. My hard work pays off. It helps to see those results, replay those memories and experience again that wonderful feeling of pride. This is one of my secret techniques. I relive happy memories more often than unhappy ones to combat depression.
I hope this entry stands as proof that life is like an onion. When one seperates the layers, it is easier to deal with. The transformation of negative thinking is possible. It is yet one more of those battles I engage in constantly.