Writing Neurodivergent/The Psychological Issues of Characters

[Loopy]

I really want to respond to this topic, but my brain seems to be mush rn XD

Have you drank water today?

[Keilah H.]

@whalekeeper lol thanks

@rae aww your Toothless profile pic is so cute!

"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers

[Keilah H.]

@loopylin haha I forgot what I was saying in the middle of a rant so…..yeah I get it

"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers

[Loopy]

Don’t know is this counts as a neurological issue, but did yall know that you can develop a stutter in adulthood? Well I didn’t until recently. And it is the most frustrating thing ever. I no longer see characters with stutters as cute or anything, I just feel bad for them because I know how it feels now. Apparently, not only can stress affect your memory, it can also affect your ability to speak like a normal human being. Isn’t that interesting?

I’m mostly using this as an excuse to complain, but I figured I might as well make use of this annoying plot development in my life, and use myself as a way to give realistic writing tips. I know a lot of people have characters with stutters so maybe this will be helpful to someone?

Here’s some things I’ve noticed:

I get stuck on words when I’m nervous, as you’d probably expect, but I also do it whenever I’m experiencing any kind of heightened emotion: anger and frustration, happy excitement while talking with a friend, and even excitement when I’m talking to myself trying to debate an issue or solve a problem.

If I get frustrated with my stutter, it gets worse, and the only way to fix it is to force myself to calm down and speak way slower than I want to. Substituting synonyms for the words I get stuck on also helps.

This is different for other people, I’m sure, but when I stutter I get stuck on the first syllable of a word. I know exactly what the word sounds like in my head, but it feels wrong in my mouth. It’s a very minor stutter that only shows up occasionally, but still often enough to be frustrating as someone who used to be able to speak easily for most of my life.

This will probably go away once my life gets better, but in the meantime, I am considering making a new character with a stutter just so someone can suffer with me.

Have you drank water today?

[whaley]

@loopylin

I’m so glad you brought this back. And I’m glad you spoke up, because I’m writing a protagonist whose speech is very affected by stress, and it’s interesting to read about. How often does your stutter happen? Does it still affect you when you’re alone (if you talk to yourself)?

It’s also fascinating how stutters are similar to tics. I had a huge tic phase during my junior year and it still happens once in a while. All of this:

Apparently, not only can stress affect your memory, it can also affect your ability to speak like a normal human being.

I get stuck on words when I’m nervous, as you’d probably expect, but I also do it whenever I’m experiencing any kind of heightened emotion: anger and frustration, happy excitement while talking with a friend, and even excitement when I’m talking to myself trying to debate an issue or solve a problem.

If I get frustrated with my stutter, it gets worse, and the only way to fix it is to force myself to calm down and speak way slower than I want to.

– is familiar to me. It’s almost like stuttering reassures your stressed brain that it’s saying something right (if repetitively). Do you feel something like that

"If I don't like something, it's probably sanctification. Ugh." -E.C.S.

[Loopy]

@whalekeeper

Glad I can be useful.

How often does your stutter happen?

It happens every day, but seemingly at random. I talked to a stranger today without having any problems, but then got stuck on the word “profile” when asking my friend if she had a spotify profile/account. It feels as random as getting hiccups, except more often.

Does it still affect you when you’re alone (if you talk to yourself)?

Yes, and I talk to myself a lot. It happens just as often talking to myself as it does talking to other people.

It’s almost like stuttering reassures your stressed brain that it’s saying something right (if repetitively). Do you feel something like that

Kinda? Sometimes it feels like it’s wrong as I’m saying it, so my brain keeps trying to autocorrect over and over, even though I was pronouncing it correctly the first try anyway.

It also feels similar to when I go non verbal, which is something that happens only when I’m super stressed, like when someone is yelling at me, or just when I’m really tired. Except with the stutter, the words are stuck in my mouth instead of my throat and chest.

Idk if any of that makes sense sorry

Have you drank water today?

[Elishavet Elroi]

@loopylin

Ok. I sympathize.

I do not have a stutter, but I get seriously caught on words and/or forget the word I was about to say right as it’s ready to leave my mouth. Then I’m awkwardly staring at the person I was talking to while doing mental gymnastics. Or I just repeat scrambled phrases until the right one comes out. It’s gotten worse the past few years, and it’s driving me batty. It’s like hitting the wrong keys on a piano, but suddenly the incorrect ones are muscle memory so the right ones are harder to play. I do think it’s linked to stress, but also lack of food/energy/sleep, and how excited/distracted I am.

I have to remember to slow down and think of what I was going to say. Which is kinda a good thing, really.

On a side note, we have recently been making friends with a little boy who is selectively mute. It’s always so exciting whenever he feels comfortable enough to talk in front of us, even if it’s not to us directly. 🙂

You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan

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