Nirrinianblog

"You aren't a burden if you're autistic and need help" well guess what? No! You are a burden!

Claiming that no one is a burden isn't helpful, and often doesn't even help the autistic person feel better about themself.

What you need to say is:

So, you're a burden? So what? That's okay. That's fine.

There's nothing wrong with being a "burden".

Sometimes people need more help than others! And that's absolutely okay!

We are, at our cores, a social species. We were literally made to care for each other, to take care of each other. There are bones dug up of ancient elderly people who were disabled. Seemingly well taken care of by their society.

Our society thrives best when we are all happy and taken care of.

Helping each other to thrive happily... Isn't that what the entire point of society should be in the first place?

So I tell you, stop saying we aren't burdens. We are.

Instead, when you are suffering and others refuse to help, turn it back on them.

"Yes, I am a burden. But if I am a burden to you, imagine how heavy a burden I am trying to carry on my own. So why is it that you see your fellow human struggling, and your immediate urge isn't to rush to help them?"

We aren't the ones who are selfish. This ableist society is. We need to stop thinking that being a burden is bad. Needing help isn't a bad thing. It's human.

- your special interest is wonderful

- it does get easier you won’t feel lonely forever

- stim with pride who gives a f£ck what people think?!

-It’s okay to have a meltdown sometimes

- be your self you will find your niche eventually

- as painful as high school is you won’t be there forever

- you don’t need to conform to be happy

- don’t give up on your special interests

You’re not advocating for autism if you don’t include the weird kids who have strange interests and are socially awkward, but not in the cute way. The ones people often describe as creepy, or call freaks.

Or the nonverbal special education students who groan and scream in the hallways at school while people in classrooms hold back laughter because for some reason they find it funny.

Or the violent aggressive autistic people who cause damage to themselves and everything around them at one minor inconvenience and will never live independently.

Or autistic adults with picture perfect families and lives, who do not relate to the autistic “culture” that’s now been portrayed online.

Or autistic people who don’t benefit from stim toys, who don’t look at it as a huge factor in their lives, who went through therapy to help them learn skills that they struggled with.

If you don’t advocate for the scary cases and symptoms, the weird autistic people, the incapable autistic people, you’re not advocating for autism. It’s a spectrum and it’s not going to be pretty sometimes. If you don’t acknowledge and include those cases, especially if you’re autistic yourself, can you really say you’re advocating for autism, or is it just yourself?

What is a magic system?

When writing speculative fiction, one of the writer’s most important jobs is to establish the new rules for their world. In many branches of speculative fiction, especially fantasy and even horror, this is magic, though it can also be technology and alternate scientific rules for science fiction. Whatever alternate fact(s) or reality you utilize to make your fictional world possible, that qualifies as a “magic system.” Your magic system is most often defined by what it can’t do rather than by what it can.

Why do I need a magic system?

When writing speculative fiction, it’s usually assumed that something about your world is different than ours. That can be a small tweak or it can be a complete dismantle-and-reassembly of physics as we understand it. Whatever system you choose to implement, it needs to have internally consistent rules. If, throughout the course of your book, magics begin to contradict each other, then it will disturb your readers suspension of disbelief. You don’t want your awesome magic to yank your readers from the believability of the story. But…most important of all…you have to establish some sort of rules and limits in order to prevent yourself from pulling a deus ex machina. No one likes a poorly executed deus ex machina. Few people like a well executed one (is there such a thing?). If you have rules, limits, cost, built into the magic or technology of your world, then you establish something that is not only nuanced and interesting, but believable.

But…but…it’s magic!!!

Why write speculative fiction if I have to create and follow all of these tedious rules?! The real world has rules enough.

It’s true. But following your own rules and following real worlds aren’t the same thing. Lots of you have probably heard the little saying, “Give your world a Flux Capacitor.” If you think about it, Back to the Future’s Flux Capacitor doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s not explained. But we accept it because it’s magic. And when Doc says, “Here’s this thing. It makes time travel possible.” We accept it because it’s a simple alteration. He doesn’t try to use it to do more than what is initially established. It never breaks that rule. It’s not used to get Marty out of an impossible situation, defying any previous understanding of the technology. That’s why it works.

So where you do start?

First, you need to probably choose what type of magic you will use. Will be elements based? Or energy based? Spirit? Physical? Time and Space? What things is your magic summoning/manipulating/drawing from?

Now you’ll want to focus on the parts that make your magic yours. Sure, elemental magic has been used half a zillion times, but it can still be interesting if you do something new with it. The best way to do something new is to alter its limits, change the cost, give it a new spin that makes your regular ol’ fire magic something intriguing.

You can do a little bit of research into ancient forms of magic, into other literary uses of magic. See what those before you have done and use it as an inspiration.

If you’re having trouble knowing where to start, I’m here to provide you some thoughts concerning the skeletal-assembly of your magic system! Use these prompts as you see fit!

What does magic use/alter/manipulate?

visible energies

gravity

laws of physics

light

thought

water, only, in all of its forms

fabric of space

elementary particles

items of specific color or texture

perception

plant life

the dead

blood

magnetic forces

demons

vibrations

earth

emotions

Who possesses magic?

scholars

children

random lucky people

anyone

everyone

the elderly

anyone who’s ever petted a dog

specific animals

deities

How is it acquired?

at birth

intense study and training

gifted

through random action

through a ritual

as one ages

stolen

From where is power drawn?

internal mana

heat energy

alignment of the stars

physical contact with _____ (the earth, another life force, a drawing or rune)

kinetic or potential energy

the moon(s)

other realms

movement of tectonic plates

spiritual energy of those nearby

consumption of specific foods/drinks/elements

‘Don’t write for fame or money’ is a common piece of advice that writers who’ve made it give to the aspirants. Sure, but what’s wrong with fame and money?

Clearly, it is possible to make money from writing as millions of writers around the world do. A lot fewer are famous, but it also isn’t impossible to be known for what you write. Doesn’t everyone want to succeed in what they do?

As an adult, you have to eat and live somewhere — preferably not your mum’s house or the street. Who wouldn’t want to earn a living from writing?

I’m also pretty sure that the vast majority of successful authors didn’t just stumble into success while writing casually for kicks. They were determined and worked insanely hard. So what’s up with this 'don’t write for fame or money’ thing?

Honestly, it made me a bit nervous when I kept reading this early on. I would like to earn a living through my writing eventually. Does it mean that I’m in it for the wrong reasons?

A few years in, I realised that the advice is, in fact, genuine and well-intentioned. It’s just difficult to see the nuance behind it.

It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t want fame and money. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to succeed. The problem is only wanting those things.

Lots of people like the idea of being a writer more than actually writing. That in itself isn’t a problem — you can do whatever you want, and it isn’t anyone’s business whether you’re writing to change the world or to get laid.

The problem is that if your only motivation is that shallow, writing is a complete waste of time. You’ll have to grind way harder and sacrifice a lot more than you think to reach fame and wealth through being an author. The shallow things won’t motivate you to push hard enough and make those sacrifices to stand a chance. You will quit too soon.

The Right Reasons to Write

The good news is: you don’t need a grand vision of how you’re going to change the world with your writing or write for any noble reason whatsoever.

You just have to write about something that you care about. That’s it. Find something that you’re passionate about and write about that. What strong opinions do you have? What do you spend your days doing or thinking about? What makes your blood boil? What makes you happy?

That will lead you to people who care about the same thing. Your readers will be people who you can connect with. Writing will still be difficult, but you will be writing about your passion — that makes all the difference.

If you don’t have an obsession or something you feel strongly about, that’s fine. Try some things out. Figure out what gets you excited. Passion isn’t something you just have, you can develop it.

Writing is just a means to an end — a form of communication. You’re sharing ideas, emotions and stories with your readers.

Instead of being passionate about writing, write about your passions. The rest will take care of itself.

About the Author

Hi, I’m Radek 👋. I’m a writer, software engineer and the founder of Writing Analytics — an editor and writing tracker designed to help you beat writer’s block and create a sustainable writing routine.

I publish a post like this every week. Want to know when the next one comes out? Sign up for my email list below to get it right in your inbox.

SUBSCRIBE

(I won’t spam you or pass your email to a third party. You can unsubscribe at any time.)

Past Editions

#214: It Doesn’t Count If You Don’t Finish It, September 2021

#213: How to Be a More Disciplined Writer, September 2021

#212: How to Turn an Idea into a Story, September 2021

#211: Writing Every Day, September 2021

- I really like the world of Nirrini and I want to share it with the world, sharing my joy

- I want to write about my characters