Aspies Writing Fiction

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I'm curious - from what I've been reading around here, it seems like when Aspies write fiction, the main character is usually Aspie. Has anybody written an mc that isn't?

I'm writing a 3 book series and two of the characters are Aspies, most of them aren't. I have a lot of fun writing all the characters but deep down I always worry that I get the non Aspies wrong. I have almost no understanding of their ways in real life, not sure I can write about them correctly.

Does anybody else have this problem?

I often write different kinds of characters, but I admit that those with Aspie-like traits feel the most dynamic. Do you write in third person?

I've often worried how well I can write for characters that aren't meant to have aspie traits (though before a month or so ago it was more a worry of how well I could write 'normal' characters as I wasn't very conscious of Asperger's). In the series I'm working on now the main character is what I would think qualifies as far from Aspie territory, but I do have one major character that I would say is an undiagnosed Aspie. I think that character would be largely the same were I not as acutely aware of Asperger's, but it is kind of a way I'm interjecting some of my own traits into the story.

I haven't used an AS character as a central protagonist, because I don't want my stories to read like activist pamphlets.

I have used an AS character in a supporting role, because I do want to put NT readers inside the head of an autistic character, to let them experience in a sort of virtual 'firsthand' perspective what sensory overloads and social handicaps and being helplessly bullied feel like, but that's never going to be what the story is about. If the story centers around one character's autism, it just becomes preachy and uninteresting to anyone who doesn't have a specific personal interest in the subject. I want the story to be primarily fun and entertaining, and sneak the informative stuff in under the reader's radar.

As for writing neurotypical characters, there's no need to overthink it. We're all humans, after all. Most life experiences are not all that different for us than for them. Even the ones that are significantly different, I can still imagine. Gods know, I have observed Neurotypical humans in their native habitat for enough years and read enough books written by NTs and seen enough movies and TV shows to know how they function, even when they're doing things in a way that I can't.

At the end of the day, I can still recognize certain Aspergian qualities in almost all my characters, but there's simply no way around that - if it comes out of your brain, it's going to retain a reflection of you, no matter how much you try to disguise it. I've tried to explain this to younger writers before who just couldn't seem to get it. No matter how exotic or different a character you create, there's always going to be a part of you in it, because you created it. You can give that character ideas and views and behaviors that you personally don't have or believe in, but at their core, that character will still be partly you. The synapses of your brain will imprint some reflection of your point of view no matter how completely you think you've divorced yourself from it. You can't help that, any more than you can prevent your children from having your DNA. It's the very thing that gives you a unique style and voice as an author.

That said, I don't think the 'AS qualities' in my NT characters are pronounced enough to set off any red flags in the average NT reader's mind.

Yes, I usually do write in third person, sometimes first though.

I sort of agree with you Willard, only one of my MCs is an Aspie and I think I really just started writing him to express my view of the world, but it was back before I knew what an Aspie was. For some reason, I mostly identify with male characters I write, even though I am female.

Now that I know about Asperger's, I also am aware that male Asperger's presents differently than female Asperger's. Ha another thing to worry about. I mean I don't want to be paranoid, but I don't want to write like a jerk either and totally misrepresent an entire group.

It's kind of interesting when you think about it though - writers have obviously been writing Aspie characters for a very long time. If a writer wants to write an Aspie character now, it's so talked about it's easy for them to do research, but I'm fascinated by the ones who weren't Aspie, but wrote convincing Aspie's before all the awareness.

I guess it just boils down to paying attention to others and using your imagination.

It's not about paying attention to others unless you have a very good imagination. It's more about using fiction to detail and recognising strengths in all the characters to which a passive viewer might interpret them as. As long as you use good description and vocabulary in the core elements of a story then you're half-way there.

My characters do not have AS. I often use writing to investigate how one character may respond to another character. It is a great way to make my brain think about how one person may consider another persons feelings etc.

So I write with characters that do not have AS. But I try to make them interesting nevertheless. They are not just average NT characters.

My mystery showcases a female extrovert detective while my suspense showcases a female with a mild case.
For my suspense female, Her biggest trouble is with lies- but near the end, she finds out that it's okay to say a occasional lie to get you to the truth. But she also knows that like a surgery, sometimes a truth is needed.

Tell a lie only if the truth won't help.

I think that us aspies can write our own fiction novels, even if it's either good or bad.