Ceri's Den | Writing a book series, & being Autistic. |

[CrownedSun]

I was reading over this, and I was struck by your passion and desire to make your mark. I can very much respect that, having felt that myself, and I find myself gladdened that you've made so much progress. You are going to get your dream, you are going to accomplish your goals, and I for one hope to sit here and watch you continue to do so. :D

You actually have more wordcount in your book than I do in mine, which still sits at 65k words (and which I haven't touched in 7 years, and suspect will need some major rewriting if/when I get back to it).

My life has been weird lately, and hell for the last two years or so, but I'm finally getting back into a place where I can write myself. So, hopefully, I won't be too far behind you in the wonderland of 'holding something that we published in our own hands,' with that big ole' accomplished smile on our face and the surefire knowledge that we've done it. We've written a novel!

[Ceridwen]

... I'd say I'm speechless by your kindness, but being a writer, I think we both know that's a lie; instead I'm going to say, thank you! I appreciate your support, and wish you luck in your own endeavor, and hope you'll be able to finish your novel! My first book has been on chapter 14 for the past month (so much has happened, and it's done well to squash my creativity) but now that I'm wading back in, hopefully I'll have started book 2 by my 25th birthday! That is, if my cat will let me! It's often a fight over who gets the right to my attention, her or the keyboard, and she prevails more than not! Lol.

But yes, hopefully someday soon, we'll hold those books in our hands, stare down at them with starry eyed amazement and proudly say "I wrote this. This is a product of my own creativity." or even see our names on the bookshelves at local stores! Wouldn't that be grand!

[CrownedSun]

It's really just a matter of getting back into the frame of mind to sit down and get my ass writing every single day, even if I think its shit,-- no matter what, churn out at least 2000 words. S'what got me 65k words in like two months back when I was working on this thing. It took a lot out of me anyway, but it was worth it, when I was putting out so much material so regularly it just felt amazing.

I'm almost there, anyway, I'm just trying to get two other things that are slightly more important be priorities before I start trying to get back into the formal writing. (:

I'm confident that both of us can do it, though, and I'll be keeping an eye on this in the hopes of more updates. <3

[Ceridwen]

(Sorry for the delay, I needed to do a couple of things away from the keyboard)

I know exactly what you mean! I'm autistic, and special interested my own book, so every day, multiple times a day, I would zone out and just write. In about 3 months, I wrote 85k words, completed maps of the manor, got character bios down and made my own freaking world! I'd go to bed every night, wanting to do more, always feeling incomplete, but satisfied that I was taking this story somewhere, and I miss it so much! Now I'm sitting down to write chapter 14, and plan to work on 15 through this next week, in order to tie up book 1 and then set to work on book 2!

I appreciate that! Thank you so much :) I hope this thread won't be boring for you! I have a tumblr dedicated to picture inspiration and whatnot, it's properly tagged, so if you're interested in that, I'll happily provide it privately :) Good luck on writing your book too!

[Ceridwen]

A month of hiatus, new cat, and ninety-thousand words!

It's been a hard month. I hadn't written or published any new chapters in 22 days, that's the longest I'd care to go without writing, again! Having gotten a cat has been an adventure, and I love that she's a constant distraction, but I'm going to make a point to try and get back into the swing of writing. It makes me happy, I feel accomplished afterward, and it even gives me a sense of purpose! So, here we have it folks! Chapter 14 is up, and Chapter 15 will conclude book 1! When I started this, I just wanted to write a novel, get it published, and possibly not write another one, and now I've got three books planned! This is so crazy, and hard to believe, but I've done so much already!! I mean, 90k words! Almost 100k! Holy crap!

This is an incredibly short update message only because I'm exhausted!

If you'd like to give The Dragon Reemerges, a read, please [click here]!

[Ceridwen]

My Return!

I'm starting chapter 15, which also marks the end of book one! I cannot wait to start a full edit of my book so far, which will mean I'll be adding things in and really putting my nose to the grindstone. Piper is finally settling in, we got my writing space squared away again (which was only because she kept climbing the baby gates we had keeping her out of it), and my muse has returned! I shut down a few nights ago, and it feels like I'm waking up from a dream. Being autistic is hard, but I also found out there's this thing called 'late stage' autism, which essentially means, that as a child, I hardly displayed any damning symptoms, but as I grow into an adult, they become more prevalent. What my husband told me, was that a lot of people with this, report having had a huge meltdown, or burn out, and were never neurotypical again, to me, that's familiar. That happened to me right before my wedding, and I just never felt the same afterward. Being me, I just thought it meant I needed to take some time off of working and whatnot, but it's been 3 years and I'm not getting "any better". I've come to terms that I've never been "normal", and never will be. Life is.. an adventure, but it's at least one that I know I can handle, now.

But anyways, this post isn't about that!

My return, I'm convinced, is because of Harry Potter. I've been special interesting that book series, which means, I've been listening to it on audible, and it's been helping me get back into the groove and start thinking of different ideas! I've got some great twists in store for you readers, so hang onto your hats, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

[CrownedSun]

Eeee! Awesome! :D

The end, it is in sight!

<3 <3

So happy for ya!

[Ceridwen]

Thank you! :) I'm quite excited, I'm 2 pages in, with about a page and a half of listed events that I need to incorporate. The end of the book is going to go off with a bang!

The end is indeed in sight, but the end is also just the beginning!

Thank you again! You're quite sweet <3 <3

[Ceridwen]

Sick. Medication. Writer's block and more!

Things got really dark here a couple of weeks ago, to the point that I was ready to die. I didn't have a suicide planned out or anything, but I was ready. I'm not being dramatic at all, I was crying every day, could barely get out of bed, couldn't cook for myself, it's a wonder our cat got food in her bowl or her litterbox cleaned out. By some miracle, I was able to finally ask for help. Now I'm on antidepressants (that also help with the anxiety) and life is getting back to normal, finally. I'm hoping to come back to elliquiy soon, and even write the last chapter of my book, but right now, it's one day at a time for me, and as I'm currently under the weather, I'll probably go play animal crossing while watching futurama, in bed. These drastic fluctuations in weather can stop at any moment. Going from 30 degrees to 70, and back down to 50 the week after, is just ridiculous.

I feel, I should say sorry to all of my roleplaying partners, and hope they understand that life beat me with the shitstick, but they're all wonderful people and I'm sure, although I can frustrate them, that they do indeed understand.

[LadyAthene]

As someone who is also Autistic and has Asperger's, I wanted to say I really admire you.

Truthfully, I'm sorta jealous.

I've considered writing an actual novel quite a few times. And even to this day, the thought still lingers in my mind. But there are a good number of fears that constantly hold me back.

After reading all of these posts though, it's ... shined a new light on me.

I find a kindred spirit within you. We're very alike, as I have two cats for support/companion animals also.

Keep your head up and keep moving on! I'm rooting for you!

-Athene

[Ceridwen]

Oh my goodness, thank you. Thank you a thousand times! Honestly, though, I haven't written in over a year, I'm constantly battling depression and anxiety.. I'm not proud to admit it's gotten the best of me, but I really hope you can write your book. Everyone's got a story to tell, some have the means to record it, others don't. I have so much confidence in you, that you'll be able to tell what you want, and I'll read it if you ever want to share it! I'm rooting for you, also, and am so happy you feel kindred with me, that's always a fantastic feeling!

I'm so glad I was able to help you, considering this was the exact purpose of these entries!

Sending so much positivity and love your way :)

-Ceri

[Ceridwen]

The dramatic flaring of mental illnesses.

It is no secret that I am a mentally ill autistic person, that said, my mental illnesses can flare from manageable to debilitating. This past year? I sincerely apologize to every one of my roleplaying partners, there were days/weeks that I couldn't get out of bed. I depended upon my husband for so much, including food. He helped drag me out of bed for showers and meals. My anxiety keeps reminding me of how truly pathetic I sound, but I can't help it. It's all completely true. I don't know what else to say.

This has been the worst mental health year for me since I moved out of my parent's house, and I again sincerely apologize. I have worked hard and tirelessly to get back to the place I am at to be social, and I still have so much further to go. I haven't written in over a year, but I've thankfully returned to my art, which has helped me to work through a lot of unresolved and unprocessed feelings, so hopefully, someday soon, I can return to writing. For now, however, I'm just trying to survive.

[Morgan Rose]

I'm knew here but I didn't think it ought to stop me saying well done with the novel so far. I know autism and ADHD present unique challenges to those affected by it but I really like this quote although you have probably seen it before:

“What would happen if the autism gene was eliminated from the gene pool? You would have a bunch of people standing around in a cave, chatting and socializing and not getting anything done,”

Dr. Temple Grandin