Writing realistic neurotypicals.

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This is something I've been pondering for a while, then I saw the thread about writing autistic characters and thought I'd ask.

I've been trying to write some fanfiction, specifically Harry Potter, but I'm really struggling with fleshing out the characters.

I was wondering if any writers had tips for autistic people to write neurotypical characters as guides for NTs expect that I'm already skilled at judging whether dialogue could pass as realistic.

My biggest problem is that I know dialogue is very important for show-not-tell. I'm a very introspective person so I spend more time than socially acceptable in my own thoughts - something not very exciting for readers or advancing plot!

When I do write dialogue, I struggle to make it sound realistic (probably because my own social communication is poor) much less to develop separate voices for each character. That said, when reading I strongly dislike writing where the characters are flat.

I know some people with autism are brilliant at writing, I knew one lady who used her echolalia to produce excellent dialogue but even pouring over quotations of existing characters, I'm not sure how to make dialogue less stilted.

why don´t you write a book where all characters are ASD?

Yeah, you could make us the majority

The best advice I can give is read a lot. You don't have to write something that mimics IRL dialog between NT's. In fact most good writing avoids that. There are too many pauses, or circular conversations that never go anywhere. The transcript of just about any given everyday conversation would make for really boring fiction.

One thing you could do is before writing a scene, write down what each of the characters wants to get out of it. What are their motivations for even having this conversation? Are their motivations obvious, or are they trying to keep it secret?