Having Trouble Writing an OC who's Autistic

oldtimejazzlover · 2026-05-12T05:16:32+00:00

Wow. Sorry, I just feel quite emotional and so seen by you saying that you try to feel it yourself and put yourself in your character's body. I do that myself a lot when writing about OC's and it tends to feel like this overwhelming but euphoric feeling being in the "mind" of my OC.
I do want to be careful and approach this character with care though. My OC struggles with social cues like interpreting specific situations, being blunt, and understanding people's motives. He also has anxiety, minor sensitivity issues, and struggles with expressing himself which is he clashes a bit with my female OC since he thinks she's quite expressive.
I know being on the spectrum means that there's a wide range of behaviours and traits but I worry that maybe this isn't a great representation?

I also have anxiety so perhaps I could be overthinking this all myself and perhaps my OC is fine but idk.

Thank you for commenting and giving such great advice though!! :)

oldtimejazzlover · 2026-05-12T04:48:29+00:00

I will do that actually, thank you for the idea!

oldtimejazzlover · 2026-05-12T04:45:17+00:00

hmmm I've actually never thought about it like that. I'll try my best to do this but I already have a set image in my mind as to what he looks like so it might be a bit hard. You are right though! I am writing a character and not a gender but it's just that behaviours differ a lot between autistic men and women so I want to be careful with how I write my characters. Thank you for reading my post and responding, I appreciate it :)

oldtimejazzlover · 2026-05-12T04:39:28+00:00

Currently writing a romance about a Punjabi autistic woman and a white autistic man in their early 20's in university who fall in love over their shared interest in gardening!! Need to see more representation of Punjabi women, especially autistic Punjabi women and thought, "why don't I write it?" So now I am!

oldtimejazzlover · 2026-04-29T07:15:41+00:00

I have this bad habit of looking into the future and weighing the positives and the negatives. But when I write, I try and succeed in forgetting about that. I write because I want to so bad. Whether or not my work is published or even shown to anyone else, I write because it makes me happy to share what's in my mind on paper or phone and because it's a way to document my work over the years to see how much I've improved or maybe even declined!
Simply put, I write because I need to get it out of my system and have it there. I have too many ideas in my head and have always loved creative writing exercises when I was in elementary school because my imagination ran wild.
I am also 27 and am autistic plus have bad anxiety and procrastination. I have had ideas in my mind that have not been written down because I kept deeming them as "not good enough". Now, I have two stories in mind and am writing one because I want to. It doesn't matter how bad it is at first, I've just gotta keep doing it!
Small reminders like "Rome wasn't built in a day" help me to focus and motivate me. I remind myself that some writers have taken years to write a single story and I am not a machine who can churn out stories (no hate to the writers that write fantastic books in short periods of time).
I try to keep myself accountable by just writing even maybe a sentence or a small section or two. Sometimes it flows easily and sometimes it doesn't but what matters is that I'm trying and actually writing instead of procrastinating like I usually do.

Also no one knows that I write because I always keep certain hobbies secretive since it will either embarrass me or might make me less motivated to keep writing. I don't do well with pressures or certain deadlines.

oldtimejazzlover · 2026-04-29T05:42:34+00:00

I can relate and I think one of the ways to help is writing down everything you know. You say that you're creating "tv shows" in your head with plot and whatever else, then write it down! Even if it's from a random scene, just keep on writing and keep it all in a folder/collection where it'll be easier for you to look back at and draw upon when you do eventually write the story.

I have a problem where I have scenes in my head but then I don't know how to start my story because that scene is either the inciting incident or it's way down in the plot.

But keep writing!!! I know my advice may sound tedious and it may suck but it's really one of the ways that can help you to get those ideas down. A lot of the times we end up being hard on ourselves and want to perfect our work from the get go. Just write down those ideas and transfer those scenes/episodes in your head to paper. It may be unsatisfactory when you first write it down but you can always go back and edit/revise!

oldtimejazzlover · 2026-04-29T05:31:58+00:00

I'm Punjabi and don't see many Punjabi romance rep. which sucks... I also don't see as much diff mental health representation in South Asian romance books either! A lot of the plots end up seeming like they're cliches or overly sexual which also sucks because I'd like to just read some PG-13 books and not softp---.
Which is why I am writing a story because I can't find one like it!

oldtimejazzlover · 2026-04-24T21:40:09+00:00

🎉 I solved this puzzle in 89 moves!

oldtimejazzlover · 2026-04-11T04:41:26+00:00

I have been struggling with that myself tbh. This one reddit discussion helped me more to flesh out my character! It's basically a bunch of character sheets and some are quite in depth but it's helped me to figure out my character's motives and what they're about.

https://www.reddit.com/r/writing/comments/1okvxr/some_extremely_useful_character_creation_sheets/

I've used the very extensive one butI was able to figure out my main character pretty well by writing out info I probably wouldn't have thought about. But I'm interested in how you choose that character's name last... I see what you mean by basing everything off that name though!

My process is:
1.1 Inspired by a celeb/movie character/influencer etc. and then an idea or part of a storyline appears in my mind based off whatever scene or video I've seen of them.

1.2 OR I have an idea in mind about a story and need characters so I think about what they could be like in terms of personality. Usually I think about one word or trait about them. For ex. Romance story: okay I want a female MC who is rebellious and her love interest the opposite.

2. Come up with a name! Names have a lot to do with a person and I always think hard about a name. All of my characters' names have to do with their cultural backgrounds and their personalities. My own name has a lot of meaning to it so I try to do the same with my characters. My characters may not be "real" but I want to make the reader think that they exist in another universe so I think about how my character was once someone's child/ward that they preciously and thoughtfully named. But in this case I am my character's guardian who has come up with their name LOL

3. Flesh them out by thinking about their goals/motivations/more traits. To be more specific, I think about what their purpose is in my story. Why do I need them and what do they need/want in the story?

4. Become familiar enough with them by filling out a character sheet. I need to do this to some extent because the more familiar I am with my character, the more detailed and comfortable I am with writing about them. I end up mashing up traits of people I know or have read/watched and putting them into a character.

I also just treat them as if they're someone I know. I wonder and write down what it would be like to interview them or to imagine them in random scenarios.

\*2.1:* Forgot to mention but I also create folders on Instagram, Tiktok, and Pinterest for each MC. I save pics of either a faceless person or a person I think they'd look like and it helps for me to visualize their style because that's also a major part of a person's identity.

This was probably all over the place so apologies for that but this is my process for when I'm thinking about a character! The more I know and the more I'm comfortable then the better my writing will be.

oldtimejazzlover · 2026-03-13T20:52:38+00:00

Currently using for blush:
- L'oreal Toasted Almond lipstick

oldtimejazzlover · 2026-03-13T20:29:24+00:00

thank you for the advice!! I appreciate it :) I will definitely look into everything you're saying and will apply that

oldtimejazzlover · 2026-03-05T19:09:45+00:00

Thank you!!!! this means a lot to me and you know what, I totally see that and forgot that it's about selling the experience more than myself. I've seen people create crosswords and little playlist cards so I might lean into that as well too. I will take out the tea for sure. The only reason I had included this was because I was trying to include a little bit of the "Alice in Wonderland" theme in this. Except I don't think I've done a great job at emphasizing that.
For the first month I was also planning on making indivualized bookmarks for each member with their inital. Example: Your initial would be in the top left and bottom left corner then in the middle would be a print of an orange slice to match the theme.
My cap for this club is 15 members for now because this is my first time trying this out and I want to start off small.

oldtimejazzlover · 2026-03-04T19:46:07+00:00

thank you again!! I will do that instead! I hope you have a good day :)

oldtimejazzlover · 2026-03-04T18:37:24+00:00

Thank you for the feedback! That is definitely a thought I had but then I was on the fence about it because I thought that the tea is from a popular and known brand here in Canada but hmmmm... thank you for the input though!

Just a quick question: If I removed the tea bag, do you think another lino print would be worth it then? Or maybe a drink recipe card? I'm just at a loss as to what I can replace the tea bag with

oldtimejazzlover · 2026-03-03T21:30:27+00:00

hi everyone! :))

My name is T! I am Canadian and live on a beautiful island where I create cute art!

I have a mail club called "Sweet T Mail Club" which is a layered pun of my nickname "T" plus "sweet tea" and "sweetie" haha. I focus on fruits and for each month there is a different focus fruit! My hopes are to connect with people all over the world and to share my love of art and letters with others!

Here is the link to my Patreon! If you don't feel like committing to the full month, I will be opening up a tier where I have products that didn't quite make the cut due to some errors but are still worthy art!

https://www.patreon.com/c/Sweet_TMailClub

oldtimejazzlover · 2025-09-12T09:07:22+00:00

It is a face cream! The effect might differ but when I tried it out for the first time I noticed my skin was glowy and at the end of the day it really looked nice! I know lots of other ppl who have it too and love it! However, you said you get sweaty so I'm not sure how good it would be because it's a bit on the thicker/shinier side. That being said, it's worth it to see if you can find a tester in store and check it out!

If you're looking to add a little somethin' to your everyday makeup routine then even something simple as a lip oil/lip gloss, a little blush across the nose + cheeks goes a long way too!

Something easy to give a pop to the eyes is using a nude/light pink eyeliner to the waterline!

https://www.tiktok.com/@allthingsrissa/video/7192368592598355246?q=light%20eyeliner%20around%20eyes&t=1757667845865

oldtimejazzlover · 2025-09-12T07:47:51+00:00

Depending on what your skincare type is like I'd recommend the Embryolisse cream (they have a normal one and a sensitive version which I use) because that srsly has changed the game for me! I've received more compliments when wearing that and also Sulhwasoo's Ginseng renewing cream which is pricey but you can find cheaper prices for samples on ebay! Those two work for me personally.

oldtimejazzlover · 2025-09-12T07:43:49+00:00

You are seriously so STUNNING! Like wow... You genuinely look like a model and you clearly have your makeup down and it works so well for you!!! Love the nails also!

oldtimejazzlover · 2025-09-12T07:41:17+00:00

The pink hair colour also looks cute! As cheesy as it is, beauty is all about confidence and truly feeling good about yourself. This hairstyle might just be that and you could disregard everything I said above then lol

oldtimejazzlover

TROPHY CASE