I am a writer who struggles to be understood in polite society. I am considered minimally speaking and have autism, so conventional rules of comportment don’t mean much to me. My autism offers special compensations, however. My social calendar is wide open, so I have plenty of time to think about my next sentence. I have an important story to tell about the lives of tragically overlooked and devalued people who present like me. It’s so vital to identify your story and to cherish it like a deserving friend. The best lesson my autism teaches is the value of routine. I adhere to routine just to stay calm and grounded. My routine fuels my writing as well. I have a time to meditate, a time to write, and a time to read. When done every day, I don’t need another motivation. I don’t need to feel like writing, it’s just what I do in the appointed hour. My favorite writer is Haruki Murakami, and I understand he also thrives on routine and isn’t very social, so I am in great company. Routine may sound monotonous if you’ve never lived that way, but I find it productive and liberating.
—Woody Brown, author of Upward Bound (Hogarth, 2026)
Photo credit: Matt Garrett