My Publishing History (4th Anniversary Special)

Hello everybody, this is George Harvey (aka The Autistic Blogger). And today is the 4-Year-Anniversary of this blog. So before I begin, I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who’s continued supporting me. Whether you follow my work regularly or stumble across it by chance, I really do appreciate every one of your views – no matter where you are in the world.

Anyway, for this anniversary, I wanted to talk to you about something personal to me. Many of you already know this, but my biggest ambition in life is to become a published author. Since I was 4-years-old, I’ve had creative ideas swimming in my head, eager to get out. Then one day, I tried writing a mystery novel. I’ve never looked back since.

Admittedly, when I first started out, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I had no idea what I wanted to my writing to achieve and even writing itself proved tedious given my Autism. However, I was keen to hone my craft. That’s why I applied for a Professional Writing course at the North (West) Kent College in Dartford. Since then, I’ve had varying degrees of success in getting my work out there. So, today, I’m going to look back on some of the more significant ones; telling you how they came to be and what I learned from them. This is George Harvey/The Autistic Blogger’s publishing history.

First Publication (The Real Me)

My first publication came about during my first year of college. And how it happened was actually due to a happy accident. It all started when we were given a writing assignment. I can’t remember what it was exactly – it might’ve had something to do with Creative Non-Fiction. Anyway, I decided to write mine based on my Autism; explaining how it affected me, what I thought of other people representing it, and how you can’t understand the condition properly unless you have it yourself. Follow the link below to see it:

https://georgeharvey2015.wordpress.com/2019/05/31/the-real-me/

After completing the article, I printed it off and left it on the side for later. I was planning to put it in my bag, but then my mum just so happened to be passing by. After noticing the piece and reading it, she came to me and said it was one of the most aspiring things she’d ever read. In fact, she insisted I let her have a copy so she could show her work colleagues the next day. One of these colleagues had connections with the NAS; who then asked if I’d like to feature it in their Communication Magazine. I agreed without hesitation. And after a few edits, it was released in their Summer 2013 Edition.

Looking back on it now, while this was my first publication, it also wasn’t my best-written. I hadn’t taken English as one of my Sixth Form subjects, and it clearly showed in my grammar; I was using dashes rather than commas too often, and some of my sentences could’ve been better structured. However, the NAS didn’t seem to mind. All that mattered to them was having someone like me who was willing to share their opinions and life experiences with Autism. And then it suddenly hit me.

For the longest time, I’d been so unsure how I was going to sell myself as an author. What made me different from the billions of others who wanted to be published? After this article, however, I had my answer. Unlike many of those people, I had experience in a specific field – one that not everybody is willing to talk about. If I could express my Autistic experiences through writing, then those who had the condition could relate to it, and those who didn’t would be given a better understanding of it. At long last, my path in writing was made clear; I would write to raise awareness of Autism and other personal issues.

Second Publication (Successful Studying)

My second publication was more of a group project. And it was released mostly due to my tutors’ involvement. However, it was still satisfying to see my name credited in a real book. Towards the end of my first year, we had the opportunity to write a guidebook called Successful Studying. This would be made available to future students and help them to overcome the difficulties of studying at a university level. For copyright reasons, I can’t post the chapter I wrote here – so I’ll leave you a link to the book:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Successful-Studying-Neil-Nixon/dp/1907502130/ref=sr_1_31?keywords=successful+studying&qid=1559068665&s=books&sr=1-31.

To summarise, though, I give readers tips on how they can stay focused on their work, even if they have learning difficulties. These tips include: interacting with fellow students, asking for help from their tutors, staying in contact with everyone, not stressing over workloads, studying at home and knowing how to manage their time efficiently. I then ended the chapter by revealing it was written by a student with Autism – assuring them disabilities don’t prevent success.

Compared to the magazine article, this piece was much better-written. There were still some grammar issues, but my structuring and overall presentation had improved since the year began. It was also the first chance I had to make use of my new writing style. Because I was drawing from personal experience (i.e. using studying methods that had worked for me as examples), it made writing the piece that much easier. Plus, the way I conveyed it made things more relatable for the reader – adding something of myself to it brought out its full potential.

Working to my Strengths

As the course continued, I would use this writing strategy wherever I could. It would even be the driving force behind my Overcoming Limitations presentation, which I gave at the end of my second year (see my 1st Anniversary Special: https://georgeharvey2015.wordpress.com/2016/06/01/1st-anniversary-special/).

After that, however, things became more challenging.

My third year of college was, quite literally, make or break for me. I’d moved away from North (West) Kent to Greenwich University (London). And it brought changes that I ultimately wasn’t prepared for. The new workload and deadlines were so tight that I barely had time to relax my mind anymore. It got so stressful that I was actually waking up every morning, shaking and vomiting with anxiety.

But even with the course taking a toll on my health, I was determined to make the most of any opportunity presented to me. That’s why I became a student ambassador; it was another chance to share my experiences and advise younger students on how they could survive university as I had. I also briefly joined the student magazine, before committing to it became impossible. Arguably the best opportunity I had, though, was contributing to another book. This one was called Making Our Mark.

Making Our Mark

Towards the end of the year, a project manager was looking to feature students’ work relating to future ambitions. Although I was up to my neck in deadlines by this point, I didn’t want to let the opportunity pass. Who knew when I’d get another chance to be published? So after attending a briefing on the book, I wrote two pieces of flash-fiction for it. Both of which were included in the final publication. Again, for copyright reasons, I can’t post them on this blog – so here’s a link to the book:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Making-Reeves-Editor-19-May-2015-Paperback/dp/B013RPI1VY/ref=sr_1_159?keywords=making+our+mark&qid=1559072399&s=books&sr=1-159.

But I will share what each is about.

First of all, although the book says flash-fiction, my pieces were actually based on personal experiences. So they were technically “creative flash-non-fiction“. Not that the editor minded.

Anyway, the first piece was titled Never Judge a Book… and drew inspiration from my time as a checkout operator. The idea was that people who saw me probably thought I had a very easy job; beeping items, sitting down for hours and getting paid for it. However, they couldn’t see how I felt on the inside: the strain of repeating the same actions, the stress of dealing with challenging customers, the overall dissatisfaction I had with the job. They didn’t know it, but I had connections in the world of writing and was fixed to become something greater than they could imagine. Emphasising you should never judge a book by its cover.

Aside from my usual grammar errors, this piece turned out better than I expected. It comes off as insightful, creative and even metaphorical at times. It’s an inspiring piece to anyone who’s striving to become better than what they are.

The second piece, Believing is Achieving, was more of a story. It draws inspiration from two of my past experiences: seeing my work published for the first time and receiving advice from Jacqueline Wilson. It features a boy named James (me), who is surprised to find something he wrote (The Real Me) published in a magazine (Communication). He never intended to show it to anyone because he lacked the confidence and doubted the praise his mother gave him. Realising she submitted it on his behalf, however, he sees the positive effect it has on other people. He then makes the bold move to contact his favourite author, Mrs W (Jaqueline Wilson), who actually replies to him and gives him some advice. From then on, James is more determined and confident to become a successful writer.

Like the first piece, this was intended to be something inspirational. Names and events were changed slightly, but the message was the same. You shouldn’t let your disabilities/confidence prevent you from pushing forward in life. With the right motivation, you can achieve almost anything.

Making Our Mark proved, once again, that writing from experience was my winning formula. However, once I left university, I knew it would be harder finding ways to be published. I wouldn’t have nearly as many resources, contacts or opportunities as I once did. Consequently, this was the last book I contributed to as of 2019. But that doesn’t mean it was my final publication, period.

Ambitious about Autism

Going back to when I was writing for the Student Magazine, I had the opportunity to interview Johnathan Andrews; someone who was heavily involved with promoting Autism. After I graduated, he invited me to join Ambitious about Autism; an organisation that works to improve the livelihood of people with the condition. Some of their previous work includes setting up Treehouse School (http://www.treehouseschool.org.uk/) for severely Autistic children and advising producers on how to represent Autism in the media. During my time there, I took part in several of their projects. Including Know Your Normal, where I was a panellist discussing what normal is for people like me, and Are You Autistic? – a documentary by Channel 4 (see my 3rd Anniversary Special: https://georgeharvey2015.wordpress.com/2018/06/01/are-you-autistic-review-3rd-anniversary-special/).

The most fruitful of these projects, however, was their Employ Autism campaign. Not only did I give a presentation, explaining why employment needed to be improved for adults with Autism. But Ambitious held an event teaching employers what to look out for when recruiting these people. A brochure was made to assist with proceedings, and I wrote an article detailing my own opinions:

https://georgeharvey2015.wordpress.com/2019/05/31/autism-in-the-workplace-2/

Unlike my previous publications, this one didn’t have much creativity. It was just me giving my honest thoughts about what could be done to fix employment procedures. It still came off as professional though; explaining what problems Autistic people face when applying for jobs, and what support they need when starting out. Additionally, the message about not using Autism as an excuse to refuse employment was made abundantly clear.

However, there was one issue this article had in common with my other pieces. It’s limited availability.

If I was going to continue producing content, I needed a proper outlet; somewhere to showcase my work to as many people as possible. That’s when somebody introduced me to WordPress.

Blog

Like many things, I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to achieve with my blog at first. I didn’t even give much thought to the title, hence why I called it the least-searched Google term in history: georgeharvey2015. Over time, however, I got a better idea of it’s identity. It started off small, with short pieces about Autism and how it affected me. They weren’t anything special, just samples to show everyone the kind of person I was and what I wanted to achieve. It later grew to include reviews – like the ones I’d been writing on Amazon for years:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AHNGEVB42MLFVOSAZTJJKBFBACEQ

But these had an emphasis on disabilities and personal issues. If I felt something touched on a subject like Autism (Lesson Zero), child neglect (Lily Alone), or living independently (Kiki’s Delivery Service) very well, then I’d feature it on the blog. Hence its tagline: “Home of Reviews and Autism Advocacy“. I also started a second blog to show off my older Amazon reviews, but regularly updating it proved too difficult; I was torn between fixing old pieces and writing new ones, and the latter required more attention.

As time went by, my ideas got bigger. And my Autism pieces got longer. I knew I couldn’t keep writing something every fortnight. So I decided to pace myself and write new content only when I had the mindset for it. This would evolve into the once-every-other-month schedule I have now.

Today, blogging continues to challenge me. But the benefits have been invaluable. My presence on the internet has put me in contact with many new people. Including those who’ve asked me for advice, and others who’ve listed my site on their own. In 2016, I even got in contact with somebody who ran after-school clubs for Autistic children. After showing her my posts and giving my Overcoming Limitations presentation, she invited me to become a volunteer myself. This would mark the beginning of a new ambition for me.

New Ambition

Until now, all of my future goals had been writing-based. But working with Autistic children made me realise something. The best people you can confide in with your problems are those who’ve experienced them personally. What made me such a valuable asset was being the only volunteer who also had Autism. This made it easier for me to relate to those children and understand their behaviours (shyness, isolation, lack of motivation, etc.). I also remembered something else. Some of the best support I’d had was during my school years. Without my various TAs keeping me on track, I never would’ve made it through school – let alone attended university. From this point on, I wanted to try becoming a teaching assistant. And that brings me to where I am today.

Hopes for the Future

Currently, I’m 25-years-old and have been taking courses in Special Educational Needs. I’ve also had chances to go into schools and get experience, but they haven’t lead to anything permanent so far. I still get notifications about positions today, but applying for them isn’t as simple as it used to be. Why? Because like most people, life has caught up to me.

I now live in my own studio flat; paying bills, going to work and occasionally meeting with friends and family. Additionally, the job I have is full-time with the hours and days varying from week to week. This makes it difficult for me to plan anything long-term, as I never know my rota until a month in advance. Even if I wanted to quit my job and become a full-time TA, I’ve been made aware of several money issues I could face – it’s tricky paying my rent even now. However, I don’t want to give up on being a TA. Because if I become one, it will be a two-way benefit; I can help children overcome their Autistic problems and learn what life is like for them in primary school. The latter of which would be essential to my most ambitious project.

Ever since my first year of college, I’ve wanted to write a children’s book series that raises awareness of disabilities and personal issues. In recent months, I’ve been brainstorming more solid ideas for it, but I still have a long way to go before writing the first story. And that’s not considering the time I’d need to finish the thing and refresh my memory of the publishing process. It might sound easy. But there’s a lot that eats into my spare time; work, socialising, drama, relaxing. Even blogging.

One reason I keep writing is to maintain my profile. I don’t want people to think I’m some random person who wants to get published. I want them to know how devoted I am and what I want to achieve. But like I said, blogging takes time for me. Sometimes I wonder whether I should even hold back writing longer pieces and push forward with my personal projects. My book series might be a long ways off, but I still have other ideas that could work. There was even one that came close to being a reality – before the organisation said they couldn’t provide what I was after.

I think maybe I should set a goal for myself. For the 5th Anniversary special, I should get something of a finished project completed and share it with you on this blog. Even if it’s not published at that point, a sample will show the progress I’ve made, and keep me motivated for the future.

Anyway, that’s all I have to say for this post. Again, I want to say a special thank you to everyone who’s continued supporting me. It really helps to know that my work is being shared and enjoyed by many people. If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, or have any questions, then please leave me a comment – I’ll be more than happy to answer them. And, until next time, stay tuned.

My Little Pony: Lesson Zero and Autism (Part 2)

(Continued from Part 1: https://georgeharvey2015.wordpress.com/2016/10/22/my-little-pony-lesson-zero-and-autism-part-1/)

From here onwards, the episode focuses on Twilight trying to cope with the stress of potentially missing her deadline. Many people go through this situation, of course. But it’s important to note how Twilight is reacting. And why. Because she thinks very highly of Celestia, she feels it’s necessary to push herself – if she’s not perfect, it’s not meeting her tutor’s standards. I had this same problem in university. Because I took Creative Writing at Greenwich, one of London’s top colleges, every assignment felt like it had to be precise or else I’d fail my course. This goes back to what I said before about problems feeling bigger than they actually are. No one expects perfection – not even royalty. But if you’re used to being a model pupil, it’s easy to stress over small details and imagine all the negative outcomes.

Thinking she’ll be sent back to magic kindergarten if she fails, Twilight decides to find a friendship problem and solve it by the end of the day. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have much luck. Every time she runs into one of her friends they look like they’re in trouble. But it turns out to be a misunderstanding, leaving her crushed.

Yes, Twilight is actually hoping her friends are suffering so she’ll have something to fix and write about. When you’re stressing over a deadline, it’s hard to concern yourself with anything else.

With no friendship problems in sight, Twilight curls up on a park bench trying to comfort herself. However, the pressure is clearly getting her. She’s stroking her tail, her mane is frazzled, she starts crying and arguing with herself (Gollum-style.) She even has hallucinations of younger ponies (fillies) laughing at her.

You might think this behaviour is a bit exaggerated or comical. But I can tell you, from personal experience, that it’s realistic. There were times in university when I’d curl up in fear. Or I’d cry and talk to my reflection. Sometimes I even had nervous twitches that made me throw up in the morning. The point is, stress can cause you to act the way Twilight does. And I’m glad Meghan McCarthy and the animators gave us such an accurate portrayal here.

Spike tells Twilight she needs to calm down because he’s worried about her. He suggests they go to the picnic so she can relax. But Twilight sees this as another chance to find a friendship problem.

Again, this is realistic behaviour from Twilight. When you have short deadlines, it feels like you can’t afford to take breaks. If you do, you’ll just have less time to finish your tasks, which makes the situation more stressful.

Arriving at the picnic, Twilight tells her friends she desperately needs their help. They seem eager to lend a hoof until she explains she’s late for an assignment. At which point, they brush off the problem and go back to their picnic. Twilight insists her whole life depends on this. But her friends just say she’s getting all worked up over nothing – some even laugh and call her a drama queen. This infuriates Twilight, and she runs off in frustration.

This is a very pivotal moment in the episode. Not only does it affect everything that happens afterwards, but it ultimately leads us to the moral of the story.

Also, this situation is something I feel very personal about.

To be fair, Twilight’s friends aren’t being hurtful on purpose – they do show regret after she runs off. But if I were in her position, I’d be mad too. There have been times when I’ve gone to people for help, and all they’ve done is tell me my problems aren’t worth stressing over. I  do understand why they say this. But it doesn’t do anything to help me, and I almost hate them for it.

It’s the same with Twilight.

Yes, she is overreacting – that much is obvious. But she wouldn’t be panicking if she didn’t feel she had a reason to. Her friends don’t see what’s so stressful because they’re not the ones with the problem. So they think the obvious solution is to stop worrying about it. But this is the worst thing you can say to somebody in Twilight’s predicament.

People do prefer not to feel negative emotions. But they can’t stop feeling how they are just because someone tells them to. If you were punched in the face, you wouldn’t forgive the person who did it just because they said it was a joke. You wouldn’t immediately cheer up if you were told your mother died. And you wouldn’t stop worrying about something just because another person said they would. Telling someone they’re overreacting, without offering a proper solution to their problem, just makes that person think you’re being insensitive. Or worse, poking fun at their misery. This is the sort of thing that ruins relationships.

Twilight’s friends don’t realise the severity of their actions – or lack of them. And it’s what leads us to the episode’s climax.

We cut back to Twilight, who’s watching the sun set from her bedroom. By this point, her mind has officially snapped, and she’s descending into madness.

Seriously, go on YouTube, type Crazy Twilight Sparkle and click the first video that comes up. This scene alone proves why My Little Pony isn’t just for girls anymore.

With seemingly no other option, Twilight decides if she can’t find a friendship problem, she’ll make one.

I’ve been through this scenario once too often; the pressure of meeting a deadline can be so overwhelming you resort to taking shortcuts. The stress means you can’t think straight and you’re so focused on finishing the task you don’t care if it’s done well or not.

Twilight goes outside, with a sadistic grin on her face (see image link below), and comes across Applebloom, Sweetiebelle and Scootaloo (the Cutie Mark Crusaders). She shows the fillies her Smarty Pants doll and gives it to them, hoping they’ll fight over it. When they don’t, she casts a “Want It/Need It” spell, which forces them to fight. Twilight tries to teach the girls about sharing but quickly realises the spell is too powerful. Then more ponies fall under her spell until nearly everyone in Ponyville is fighting over the doll. Twilight finds her friends and admits she messed up, just as the sun sets over the horizon.

By the way, I should mention the sun has been setting in a rather unique way. Along with a ‘ticking’ windmill, it’s been jolting across the sky like the hours on a clock face. I love how the animators did this because it emphasises how Twilight is feeling about her time pressure.

Just when it looks like things can’t get any worse, a voice cries out “TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” It’s Princess Celestia. She casts a spell which removes the enchantment from the doll, returning every pony to normal. She then approaches Twilight and says to meet her in the library. Believing she knows what this means, Twilight says a sad goodbye to her friends and walks away – it’s only then they realise how big Twilight’s problem might’ve been.

However, it turns out Celestia isn’t mad. She tells Twilight she’s a wonderful student, and she doesn’t need to get a letter from her every week to know that.

This is further proof that Twilight set the letter deadline herself. She was just pushing herself, unnecessarily, to impress her teacher.

Suddenly, Twilight’s friends burst in and beg Celestia not to punish her. They insist it was their fault for what happened because they didn’t take Twilight’s feelings seriously before. If they did, they could’ve done more to help her, and she wouldn’t have caused all the chaos.

I’m so glad Megan McCarthy included this scene. The episode could’ve ended with Twilight learning her lesson, and that would’ve been enough. But she makes it clear that Twilight wasn’t the only pony at fault. Her friends share equal blame for not taking the right course of action. To quote a line from an old Sonic Underground episode: “You’re part of the problem if you’re not helping solve them.”

Celestia seems impressed that every pony has learnt from the day’s experience. So she makes a deal with them. She’ll forget the fiasco if, from now on, all six of them write her letters on their lessons of friendship – when, and only when, they discover them.

This solution is perfect for two reasons: A) it takes some much-needed pressure off of Twilight, and B) it solves a problem many critics had with the first season. You see, because Twilight was the only pony who could write Celestia letters, she had to be shoehorned into every single episode – even when she wasn’t the primary focus. With this new set-up, however, the writers could keep the spotlight on other characters, without squeezing Twilight in if they didn’t need her.

Before Celestia leaves, Twilight finds out it was Spike who told her she was in trouble and needed some guidance.

I love how Spike was written in this episode. He’s the only character (other than Celestia) who did the right thing. Twilight was too busy panicking to contact the one pony who could’ve assured her nothing was wrong. So, like a true friend, he did it for her. It’s better to express your fears to the person you’re answering to rather than worrying about what they might say or think.

The episode ends with everyone working together to write Celestia a letter. Twilight has learnt not to let her fears get the better of her, or let a small problem turn into something bigger. Her friends have learnt it’s important to listen to others, and consider their feelings when they come to you with a problem. Spike tries writing how great he is and how he didn’t need to learn a lesson but realises he should cross it out. Everyone laughs as the screen fades to black.

*

Overall, Lesson Zero is one of my favourite Friendship is Magic episodes. There have been better ones since it aired like Magical Mystery Cure (S3, Ep13), Slice of Life (S5, Ep9) and Crusaders of the Lost Mark (S5, Ep18). But I enjoy how relatable it is.

I don’t think I would’ve done anything differently to Twilight in this episode. In fact, one of the lessons it teaches has had a profound impact on my writing.

When I first started this blog, I tried to write something for it every week. Unfortunately, this proved too stressful because I had other things going on in my life. And I couldn’t always come up with ideas. So I decided to take Princess Celestia’s advice. Now, like Twilight and her friends, I only write when there’s a significant topic I want to discuss, and when I’m able to devote enough time and effort to it. This has allowed me to produce much better content, with the quality and high standards that my readers deserve.

I could tell you more about what Lesson Zero has done for my life. But I can’t do it justice just by talking about it. If you have Autism, or you care for somebody with the condition, then I would seriously recommend giving this episode a watch. Who’s knows, you might like it so much you end up becoming a brony/pegasister yourself, and watch all six seasons of Friendship is Magic – plus the four Equestria Girls movies.

That’s all I have to say for now. I’m sorry it’s taken me forever to finish this post – it’ll probably be a while before there’s another one – but I try to make sure I have the right blend of quality and quantity in my work. If you have any questions, please leave me a comment. I’ll be happy to answer them. And, as always, stay tuned.

(Image courtesy of http://www.brony.com/brony-facts-faq/my-little-pony-cast/)

(Twilight’s sadistic grin: http://orig11.deviantart.net/8150/f/2012/193/1/9/twilight_sparkle___crazy_by_pyschedelicskooma-d56ymme.png)

College Years (Part 2)

 

When I first found out I’d been accepted onto the Professional Writing course, I felt really proud of myself.

My parents were proud, too. They’d been told for years that I’d never be able to attend College, because of the severity of my Autism. Even the people who diagnosed me thought it would be impossible. However, those same people thought I’d never attend public school either. Yet I spent 8 years at Hook Lane Primary – not in a private school.

My sister and I were the first in our family to attend College at 18, and I was eager to prove myself. But I knew getting into North (West) Kent was just the beginning.

My first real taste of College life came when I went to register my personal details at the campus. On that day I was both nervous and hopeful; nervous because I had to fill out important information about myself without any help, but hopeful because I’d be meeting my fellow students for the first time.

I’ve said before that my later years in Secondary School weren’t the best of my life. I felt depressed and isolated because I didn’t have many friends, and I rarely socialised with anybody. To me, College was about more than just improving my writing skills. I also saw it as an opportunity to make a fresh start. I really hoped that the course would allow me to make new friends – ones who I could relate to.

When I first met my fellow writing students I was a bit surprised. I’d forgotten College wasn’t just for Secondary School graduates, so I expected everyone to be the same age as me. But it turned out I was the youngest in a group that ranged from 18-year-olds to over 50s. This concerned me at first, because I thought it would cause social barriers. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case. Being a small group, it was a lot easier to get acquainted with everyone. And before long we were speaking to each other about our dreams and aspirations as if age didn’t matter.

Everyone had their own backgrounds, but one thing we all shared in common was a passion for writing. Over the next two years, we became a lot closer through helping each other with assignments. We even had our own Facebook page so we could always stay in touch. Having such a close bond proved to be very beneficial for all of us. There were times when someone would suffer personal problems and consider quitting the course, but everyone else would offer their support and convince that person otherwise.

Being a part of this small group proved especially beneficial to me and my social skills. In Secondary School I’d never been to a friend’s house or done anything with them outside a classroom. In College however, not only was I talking a lot more, I was meeting people for lunch, doing Secret Santas with them, attending birthdays, visiting friends houses to watch wrestling, etc.

But my friends weren’t the only ones that made College life more bearable. I also had my tutors.

In my first year, I had two tutors: Neil Nixon who taught ‘Creative Non-fiction’, ‘Research for Writers’, and other subjects on Mondays and Wednesdays; and Michael Ellis who taught ‘Forms of Writing’ on Thursdays.

Neil was an experienced author who’d published a book called ‘How to Get a Break as a Writer’ (2011). He taught me that there was more to being an author than just writing something and trying to find a publisher for it. You also had to find your own writer’s identity and obtain recognition from the right sorts of people (e.g. agents, charities, publishers, libraries, etc). It’s because of him that I discovered my writer’s identity was being an Autism advocate; by writing about my personal experiences with the condition, I could raise awareness of it’s effects and help make a difference in other people’s lives. It’s also what encouraged me to become a volunteer book-picker at the Dartford Library.

Mike Ellis was a bit different from Neil. He had experience in many fields of writing including books, screenplays and TV adverts. He taught me there always needs to be a strong meaning/metaphor behind your writing. Every line you write, or scene you show, has to contribute to a much deeper story than the one your audience sees/reads. For instance, the film ‘Misery’ (1990) might seem like another horror movie, but the screenplay actually explores the idea: ‘What if’ someone couldn’t trust their mother. Ever since then, I’ve always thought of ‘Implicit Messages’ to go along with my story ideas. I’ve also used other techniques such as ‘Internal Dynamics’ and ‘Motifs’, which have made my fiction writing a lot easier.

In the second year I was taught by two more tutors in addition to Mike and Neil. They were: Andy Sayers, who taught ‘Electronic Applications’, and Graham Gladin, who taught ‘The Art of the Novel’ – both on Tuesdays.

Andy was experienced in IT and occasionally hosted Miskin Radio – North Kent College’s radio station. From him, I learnt how new technology was changing the way writers got their work recognised (e.g. podcasts, blogs, social media, online articles, etc). I also learnt how different it was to write something you read to yourself and something you read aloud to other people. Almost every week my classmates and I would research the local news, write a script and then speak about it on Miskin Radio the next day. It’s partly thanks to Andy that I have this blog and why I’m so good with presentations / public speaking.

As for Graham, he taught me things the other tutors didn’t, like the workings of a graphic novel and how fictional accounts could have an impact on society. This encouraged me to continue my dream of becoming a novelist – my writer’s identity could be used in this field too.

One thing was for sure. Whether I had two tutors or four, I knew I could always rely on them. They understood my Autism caused me problems sometimes, so they were on hand to help me if I was struggling – having your tutor’s email address is always an advantage if you want to avoid feeling stress or pressure in College. All of my tutors were friendly and memorable in their own way. I especially remember Mike and Neil, because Mike was known for liking Jaffa Cakes, and he and Neil had their own catchphrases: “one more time for luck,” and “it’s been emotional,” respectively.

By the end of my second year I felt so close to my tutors and fellow students that I decided to make our group photo the header of this blog (see above). From left to right the people photographed are Emily Bennet (out of shot, see Home Page version); Emma Cooper; Jane Stevenson; Lianna Magnus (crouched); Harpinda Thind; Graham Gladin (crouched); Katherine Kane (pictured); me; Neil Nixon; Thomas Lander (crouched); Scott Barker and Paul Davis.

Overall, my experiences in College were rather mixed: I didn’t have to live on campus – like I thought I would – but I still had to wake up early and travel in on two different buses; I was only in three days a week, but the amount of work I had to do kept me busy almost every day; I understood my assignments most of the time, but I’d always get stressed if I thought I was doing something wrong; my perfectionism allowed me to do well in tasks, but it always took me longer to complete them – especially when I had travelling, driving lessons and other work experience alongside my studies. It was a big problem when my tasks had to be done within a week or a couple of days.

In the beginning, I honestly wasn’t sure if I could handle the pressures of College. Mike noticed me felling this way and asked if I was happy doing the course – I hesitated when I answered, yes. But as time went on, I learnt to deal with things a lot better. And, by staying on the course, I achieved many things I never would have by myself. An article I’d written on Autism was published in an NAS magazine (my first ever publication); I contributed to a book called ‘Successful Studying’ (2013); one of my tasks inspired me to write a children’s book series and I even got advice from Jacqueline Wilson (via email). Plus, our Professional Writing group was the first where none of the students quit the course before finishing and our grades were higher than any of the previous years.

When the second year was done we had an ‘End of Year Show’ where everybody presented something to express how much they’d learnt. Much like this blog, I decided to put together a presentation telling everybody about what I’d been through since Primary School and what my hopes were for the future – it was very well-received.

Little did I know the end of College meant the beginning of a new life at Greenwich University – the most stressful, yet rewarding 24 weeks of my life.

(To Be Continued)

I hope you enjoyed this post. If so then please feel free to check out some of the other material I’ve written for this blog – especially the previous parts on my Primary and Secondary School experiences. If you have any questions then leave me a comment – I’ll be happy to answer them. And, as always, keep an eye out for the next post. Stay tuned.

 

College Years (Part 1)

Hello everybody, this is George Brian Harvey (aka ‘The Autistic Blogger’), with a brand new post on my blog.

This is actually something I’ve wanted to write for a very long time now. Some of you may remember back in June/July I uploaded several pieces, which spoke about my experiences with Autism in both Primary and Secondary School – ‘Secondary School and Change (part 2)’ is actually the most-viewed post I have on this blog. I also mentioned that I’d talk about my College and University experiences at some point, too, but you’d have to ‘stay tuned’ for them.

I’m glad to say the wait is finally over. On October 19th, I officially graduated from the University of Greenwich, with a 2:1 degree in Creative Writing. After everything I’ve been through these past three years – all the people I’ve met; the challenges I’ve faced; the deadlines I’ve had to meet – I feel there’s no better time to tell you about my experiences and exactly how I managed achieved this momentous accomplishment. I hope you enjoy.

First, let me talk about where everything started.

When I was in Secondary School, College was never something I seriously considered doing after graduation. The idea of living away from home, sitting in large halls and listening to people talk for hours about complicated subjects just didn’t sound very appealing to me. Plus, there seemed little point in me going to College anyway; Secondary School had been challenging enough, and I had no plans for the future other than finishing school, staying at home and continuing my job at ASDA. Back then I wasn’t motivated to try anything big, because I thought my Autism would hold me back.

But then something happened that changed my mind.

As I mentioned in ‘Secondary School and Change (part 2)’, I was inspired to become an author after hearing my English teacher read the opening to a mystery novel. My Autism often caused me to be distracted, because I had various thoughts going on in my head (e.g. favourite TV programmes, movies, fairytales, etc). However, these thoughts also gave me quite a creative mind and I was forever coming up with ideas for stories. I realised that if I wrote down these stories, then I could share them with the rest of the world and possibly make a difference in the lives of other people – essentially turning a negative of my condition into a positive.

I was happy to finally have a dream. But now I had a new problem. How exactly was I going to achieve it? I was good at inventing stories, but my writing skills had never been the best. When I tried writing in my spare time, my Autism kept causing me to lose focus and I was never able to write as much as I wanted. It didn’t help either that I was a perfectionist and I spent more time altering what I’d written instead of actually completing the story. As a result, none of my personal projects ever got finished and the lack of progress made me to abandon them together.

I felt really frustrated at myself, because there was so much I wanted to express. I just didn’t know how to do it with my limitations and amateur writing skills getting in the way. I knew that if I really wanted to become an author, then I’d need professional help.

At long last, I had a reason to go to College.

I should say that applying for College was a challenge in itself for me. Any time there’s been a major change in my life, I’ve always needed the help and/or support of another person to do it – the slightest change can be extremely stressful to somebody with Autism.

I told my mum that I wanted to be an author and she helped me find the Professional Writing course at the North Kent College (previously North West Kent). I met with Neil Nixon, who was in charge of the course, and showed him some of the work I’d written in the past (e.g. a ‘Nutcracker’ Panto script and a story I’d based on a ‘Yu-Gi-Oh’ trading card). He seemed impressed with my innovation and said he’d be glad to have me on the course.

However, my challenges weren’t over, yet. I still had to apply for the course online and obtain the necessary qualifications for it.

The application took me several days to complete because there was so much information needed. I should’ve known most of it myself, but I’d never been very good at registering important information in my head. So I had to keep asking other people for help. Luckily, my twin sister was applying for College, too, and she had most of the answers I needed. Even so, my application took longer than necessary. And every day it was left unfinished, I kept worrying I’d miss the deadline.

As for the qualifications, I dedicated hours of my free time to prepare for my tests. I even held mock exams for myself under timed condition, knowing full well my dreams of becoming an author would be over if I failed. At one point I thought I’d done just that and went to see my technology teacher in floods of tears – nothing I’d studied for had come up on the technology test.

One of my biggest regrets in life was deciding not to take English in Sixth Form. It could’ve taught me so much about my writing problems, and how I could improve my skills in language and literacy. However, I chose not to take English, simply because it would’ve added extra hours to my timetable. I learnt the hard way that there’s a difference between the things you ‘want’ to do and the things you ‘should’ do.

But even without an English qualification, my results surpassed everyone’s expectations. More importantly, they were so good I was one of only ten successful applicants to be accepted onto the North Kent Professional Writing course. Honestly, I don’t know where I’d be today if I hadn’t.

(To Be Continued)

If you enjoyed this post then checkout some of the other material I’ve written for this Blog. Leave me a comment if you have any questions – I’ll be happy to answer them – and, as always, stay tuned.

Autism and Challenges

Life is challenging. Anyone will tell you that. It’s full of fears, choices and tasks that will ultimately decide whether you have a life that’s truly worthwhile. To reach your full potential you have to face these challenges head-on and complete them to the best of your ability. Most people find this hard – even the most confident among us – but those who have Autism struggle more because of the additional restraints placed on them by their condition, e.g. short attention, social anxieties and other stresses. I can’t speak for everyone who has Autism, since its effects vary depending on the person. However, these are just some of the challenges I’ve had to face in my Autistic life.

For as far back as I can remember, I’ve always had trouble paying attention. Whether I’m in lessons, sitting with friends or family, working on a checkout, or in any other situation that requires me to listen, I find it difficult to stay focused. The reason for this is I have what I call ‘mind fantasies’. Whenever a situation feels boring – or at least doesn’t feel very interesting to me – I like to remember things that do interest me (e.g. wrestling, anime, TV shows, movies, games, etc.) so my mind doesn’t fall asleep. I often find myself replaying different scenes or stories in my head, and it distracts me from what I’m supposed to be listening to. The result is I end up missing important details, or people think I’m being rude and unsociable – which is never my intention. To help this problem, I had TA (teaching assistant) support throughout most of my time in school. They helped me to stay focused in lessons and repeated information to me that I may’ve missed. Over the years I put more effort into listening myself, until eventually I felt I didn’t need support, and I was able to engage and make conversation with people on my own. My ‘mind fantasies’ do still affect me to this day, however, and sometimes I can only speak to people about their interests if they share some of mine.

One of my greatest challenges in primary school was reading and writing; I found reading boring and writing strenuous. I disliked them both so much that I only read simple books from the library and my TAs had to show me where to write down to in my text books. However, as time would go on, my Autism and ‘mind fantasies’ helped me to not only overcome these challenges, but turn them into something I enjoyed. I found that I liked coming up with stories in my head and wanted to write them down for other people to enjoy. In secondary school, this ambition lead to me wanting to become an author. Then in college, I discovered I could use my experiences with Autism to further my writing skills and raise awareness of my condition – like I’m doing here now. Plus, I read all sorts of material these days to get a better idea of what I want to write. It’s amazing how the things I hated most as a child, ended up being what I did for a living. My problem now is actually being a perfectionist and writing too much.

Another difficult challenge I’ve faced is starting at a new school or college/university. Being in a new environment, is difficult for most people, because they’re unfamiliar with everything and everyone. For me though, it’s about more than just leaving things behind and replacing them with new ones (e.g. friends). Having Autism means I like to keep everything organised, so I often live my life like a routine. Week in and week out, I feel that if I stick to this routine then I’ll know all I need to about life and can easily live through it. But with life comes changes, and every time a change is made to my routine it throws me out of my comfort zone. Adjusting to small changes is hard enough, so whenever a major change occurs, and I have to come up with a completely new routine, it literally feels like I’m starting life all over again – a life where I have to become a new person, without any of the comfort I’m used to. Sometimes changing who you are can be for the better. But if you’re not happy with the person you’ve become then what’s the point? Over the years I’ve learnt it’s important to keep something of your old self, and old life, so the transition into a new environment, like school or college can feel less stressful. When I left primary school I still had my sister, ‘mind fantasies’ and TA support, so I was bringing something of my old life to secondary school. Plus, there was a room (the spectrum base/centre) where I was able to meet new friends who shared my interests. These small things helped me to adjust to the new environment and I soon had a new routine in place. The transition into college was similar. I started a Facebook account, so I’d stay connected to the friends I made in secondary school. Plus, my new college group had only 9 other students in it and we soon became close friends. This made working easier, too, because we were able to work off each other to complete tasks.

School and college weren’t the only things that made changes to my routine. During secondary school, I was part of a drama group for two years. Like school, it was a new environment, with unfamiliar people and I had to listen to learn new skills. In a way, my Autism was both a constraint and a benefit in drama. On the one hand, I found it slightly difficult to speak and interact with other people in the group, because I didn’t know much about them. However, because they shared my love of acting, we were soon working together very well. Plus, because my Autism gave me a creative mind, I was helping everyone come up with ideas and it brought us closer together. Even listening and learning was easy in drama, because I was always interested in what I was being taught, so there was no reason for my mind to wander. Another thing I had to overcome in drama was my nerves; my Autism makes me uneasy in big or important situations, and when I get nervous, I GET nervous. But getting up on stage and performing was easy once I swallowed my fear. I was used to acting out scenes from my favourite TV shows, movies, etc, because of my ‘mind fantasies’. So doing it in front of people was almost no different. Fear never goes away, but it’s possible to contain it when you’re doing something you love and know well.

Another scary new experience for me was learning to drive. Before going to drama, I was nervous to even use public transport on my own, let alone get behind the wheel of a vehicle by myself. I knew driving required a lot of attention: if you’re not 100% focused the mistakes you make can potentially be fatal. I wasn’t sure if my ‘mind fantasies’ would distract me, so I put off taking lessons until after I finished secondary school. When I eventually did start learning, my instructor was friendly and I warmed up to her very well. Soon I became quite the capable driver, but my Autism did still cause me troubles. I never got distracted or caused an accident, like I feared, but sometimes I did forget things, which resulted in several close calls. I would always let these mistakes get to me too much and the rest of the lesson wouldn’t go so well. Things didn’t help either with the pressures of university distracting me, too. However, my driving instructor never gave up on me. She told me to keep trying not matter how many times I came up short. So, after taking a break to finish my course, I returned to driving with more determination. It took me six tries, but I was finally able to get my licence. My challenge now is driving new routes unsupervised, which is still a little scary.

One of the biggest challenges I’m faced with today is finding paid work. In the past I’ve always had help finding opportunities: my mum allowed me to work in her school as an assistant helper for Year 11 work experience; my grandad let me work in a pound shop his friend owned; my aunt’s husband worked as a manager in ASDA, and he helped me and my sister get jobs there. When it comes to applying for things myself I find it incredibly nerve-wracking. I often have no idea where to start looking for jobs and even when I do I find the process of applying for them long and stressful. Plus, there’s all the uncertainty about whether the job is right for you or how much of your life it will take up – sometimes I’ve applied for things and half-hoped my application wouldn’t be successful. However, I know how important experience is when it comes to being a professional writer. With the support of my family, I’ve successfully applied for several roles, such as a volunteer library Book-Picker, a Student Ambassador and – most recently – a Youth Patron for ‘Ambitious about Autism’. My next stage is to find something in full-time employment. I know it will be hard, but it’s also valuable to the next stage of my life.

In conclusion, there are times when people with Autism need help to achieve things, but it helps us to grow and eventually become more independent. What we do in life can be amazing. Albert Einstein was autistic and he was one of the greatest scientists who ever lived, Satoshi Tajiri was autistic and he invented the Pokemon franchise. I’m autistic and I hope someday to be a novelist. Life is challenging – especially when you have Autism – but the rewards are great if you overcome your limitations.

If you liked this post, then feel free to check out my other pieces on this blog. Also, please check out the blog of Alex Lowery – a fellow Youth Patron – where I first uploaded this piece. His work and ambitions to raise awareness of Autism are the same as mine, and he very generously posted a link to my blog on his site, so it’s only right I post one for his (http://www.alexlowery.co.uk/). Please continue to support us both in our writing. Leave me a comment if you have any questions – I’ll be glad to answer then – and, as always, keep an eye out for the next post. Stay tuned.