erinleiserson.bsky.social
Adventures in writing with kids and chronic illness. Idealistic enough to seek kind and authentic people online. She/her.
111 posts
29 followers
23 following
Getting Started
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Mmm, fresh bok choy! I hope your tomatoes take, because the smell of those plants is peak summer happiness.
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Yes! Similarly, I've taken to writing up detailed notes on what I want to happen in the next scene before leaving it for the next day. It feels like starting with some momentum already in place.
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Also a good idea to learn what mutual aid efforts are in place in your community, so you can be alert to what your neighbors need, and know how to contact people if you need help yourself.
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Congratulations on living authentically as yourself! And thank you for sharing NB characters in your books.
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Relate. Between brain fog and getting PEM from cognitive exertion, whipping my manuscript into shape is more than a little daunting.
Someday I'll figure out how to convey some of this experience through fiction. So hard to explain what it feels like, though.
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People continually join my long-Covid support group and say "I didn't know Covid was still a thing," as they talk about becoming disabled and unable to work or care for their families. And about their inability to get health care.
There is definitely a disconnect in how we talk about this disease.
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Also, it's a good way not to disable or kill your neighbors.
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Ah, what a great time to start querying my first novel.
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I say the above with full consciousness that I was privileged to have any opportunity for a pension or special savings account. It shouldn't be a privilege in such a wealthy country, but it is.
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#AutismAcceptance ftw
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As one of those high-risk people -- one who has literally been told to stay home and die -- I appreciate anyone who considers people like me in their decision to mask. That connection to community is invaluable.
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I often think that the church took a wrong turn around the time of Constantine, and the world has felt the consequences ever since.
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I'm delighted that this plan will cure my poorly-understood but severely disabling chronic illness. /s
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Thank you!
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And because you never got sick -- and if you had, you had the mask anyway -- your patients were healthier for it.
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I'll be posting about it! Working with an editor now to get it ship-shape.
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That is to say, it's hard work being a Cassandra. Solidarity.
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One study showed that clinically depressed people had more accurate risk assessment than others. Not sure about the causality there, but I suspect there's some mental protection at work in what you describe: Acknowledging the extent of a problem requires heavy work, both internal and external.
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I'll be interested to follow your process. And watch for your book, too!
I write cozy mystery, but I've been reading contemporary romance lately. It's helped me think in a more romcozy direction for my work. I like the way your genre explores character backstory in the context of relationships.
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Heroes live still.
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An indicator of how much wealth is being generated for the few can't tell us what we need to know about how the population is faring in terms of its ability to enjoy the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
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Best of luck! I hope to have my manuscript query-ready by summer. Sounds like a nerve-wracking process.
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Yes! (but... can I have pee breaks? please?)
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Thank you. I'm one of those high-risk folks, and when someone wears a mask for me, it's a rare validation.
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#Autism acceptance will go a lot farther than awareness.
"Awareness" leads to conversion therapy and causes continual harm.
Acceptance would mean recognizing the beautiful diversity of our species. And the worth of each person apart from their ability to conform to the majority's preferences.
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Countless structures are made for the way allistic (non-autistic) folks receive and process sensory information. #ActuallyAutistic people have to make constant adjustments to conform to environments geared for the majority.
Maybe like a lefty being forced to use righty scissors all day every day?
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I'm right-handed. I can trust that whatever scissors, notebooks, and tools I come across will be comfortable for me to use. I shake with my dominant hand. Countless things in my world have been created with my preferences in mind.
Being #autistic is a little like being left-handed.
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Expectations are set by the majority. If the majority does not recognize their own assumptions, they are harming the minority.
#Neurodivergent folks (autistic/ADHD/etc) are a minority trying to function in a majority world. A little acceptance would go a long way.
#AutismAcceptanceDay
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Yes, autism is listed in the DSM in pathological terms. But that's a cultural judgment, like when homosexuality was listed similarly.
The thing that makes being #ActuallyAutistic the hardest is that pathological judgment. The lack of acceptance that people are wired in a variety of ways.
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Yes! As a disabled American, I can say that the pressure to "be productive" is real. But there's peace in rejecting that pressure. And strangely enough, I wind up doing better work without it.
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"Honoring your energy" is an important one for me. Between chronic illness, neurodivergence, and parenting, I've been forced to be flexible about my daily goals -- learn to work with my energy, not against it.
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Thanks!
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It's a cozy mystery with light paranormal elements, a dash of Shakespeare, and a lilac-haired sleuth with a Harvard degree who chooses to be a laborer at her friend's farm sanctuary. A little murder and not-too-dark mayhem in a small Massachusetts town.
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Oh dear! That sounds like quite the story.
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Writing a mystery, these questions drive the plot.
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I felt that way when a friend from Singapore dropped a "thrice" into casual conversation. Not something this American hears much. But now I try to work it in when I can.
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Seven-teen year old boy.
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Happy accident! Would be a great background pic.
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The struggle is real! I had such a hard time keeping the number of characters down in my WIP. It's a cozy mystery, so it has to have the prescribed sleuth/victim/suspects/etc. And of course I want my little fictional town to be fully populated with wonderful, warm, and quirky folks.
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That's so cool! I've been surprised by unexpected thematic connections in my WIP. Its fun to see that kind of thing turn up.
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I believe it. I've been wanting to write characters with experiences like mine, but I would have to tone it down in order to be plausible. I'm thinking about ways to use snippets for the sake of representation, but in modest, accessible doses rather than the fire hose of reality.
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Terrible that you have to face these decisions. So many people making hard choices about career, family, and community right now. Wishing you grace as you navigate it all.