gaps in time and the secret writer's book
Oct. 26th, 2007 10:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kippurbirdI have a gap in structure.
It's a new term I've just made up. It means that my structured schedule, my daily autistic routine, has been disrupted. Not in an anxiety producing way, because I knew that the disruption was coming. But now I have a gap of time that is normally taken up by something else and I don't know what to do with myself until the next thing in the routine. To make a clearer example:
Fridays, I don't go to work until 11:30. Either I go to my shrink at ten and then go to work or I clean house and then go to work. Each time leaving at eleven and each time having a Something to occupy my time. Today, however, workers are coming in to replace our windows. So, I got up at my normal time, cleaned up some and let them in at nine thirty. I wasn't going to stick around with all the construction noise, so I left.
It's nine thirty. My next scheduled activity is a eleven. I haven't a fucking clue as to what to do to fill up that time gap. So, I have a gap in structure.
I don't think non autistic people have this problem. I'm not sure though. I'm pretty sure they'd just figure out something to do without even thinking about it. While I just sort of went so um.... now what do I do?
I had my writing group over last night. We held it at my place instead of at the coffee shop because the coffee shop has been getting a bit too small. A guy came, he doesn't write fantasy/Sci-Fi but is apparently working on a screen play that's turning into a Sci-Fi story so he wanted our help on somethings like working out the Time Travel gimmick and stuff. It went okay, it took him a bit to understand somethings that I guess we sci-fi'ers take for granted. That was interesting in itself.
At one point he asked if there was a "Book" or something that we go to to get information on... like, On the Planet "Grebex" the aliens have to be called, "Zenians" or something like that. Which got a few confused stares. And we told him, no we just make it up as we go along and we have to follow the same conventions that other writers do (you know plot, characters, setting etc) as well as a few others that you get by reading other Sci-Fi novels and stories or there are books on those sort of conventions.
It was just sort of amusing that he thought there was a secret book that we fantasy/sci-fi writers use to come up with the stuff we do.
It's a new term I've just made up. It means that my structured schedule, my daily autistic routine, has been disrupted. Not in an anxiety producing way, because I knew that the disruption was coming. But now I have a gap of time that is normally taken up by something else and I don't know what to do with myself until the next thing in the routine. To make a clearer example:
Fridays, I don't go to work until 11:30. Either I go to my shrink at ten and then go to work or I clean house and then go to work. Each time leaving at eleven and each time having a Something to occupy my time. Today, however, workers are coming in to replace our windows. So, I got up at my normal time, cleaned up some and let them in at nine thirty. I wasn't going to stick around with all the construction noise, so I left.
It's nine thirty. My next scheduled activity is a eleven. I haven't a fucking clue as to what to do to fill up that time gap. So, I have a gap in structure.
I don't think non autistic people have this problem. I'm not sure though. I'm pretty sure they'd just figure out something to do without even thinking about it. While I just sort of went so um.... now what do I do?
I had my writing group over last night. We held it at my place instead of at the coffee shop because the coffee shop has been getting a bit too small. A guy came, he doesn't write fantasy/Sci-Fi but is apparently working on a screen play that's turning into a Sci-Fi story so he wanted our help on somethings like working out the Time Travel gimmick and stuff. It went okay, it took him a bit to understand somethings that I guess we sci-fi'ers take for granted. That was interesting in itself.
At one point he asked if there was a "Book" or something that we go to to get information on... like, On the Planet "Grebex" the aliens have to be called, "Zenians" or something like that. Which got a few confused stares. And we told him, no we just make it up as we go along and we have to follow the same conventions that other writers do (you know plot, characters, setting etc) as well as a few others that you get by reading other Sci-Fi novels and stories or there are books on those sort of conventions.
It was just sort of amusing that he thought there was a secret book that we fantasy/sci-fi writers use to come up with the stuff we do.
