#081: Ellie Middleton — Writing While Neurodivergent & Building An Audience, Writing Nonfiction, Content Creation & Going Viral
Nov 4, 2023
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Ellie Middleton, Autistic and ADHD creator, talks about writing while neurodivergent, building an audience, and going viral. They discuss content creation, writing nonfiction, managing time and projects with ADHD, and raising awareness and accommodations in the workplace. They also touch on the concept of masking and the journey to unmasking neurodivergent traits.
Ellie Middleton's journey from math-oriented to pursuing a career in writing highlights the evolution of career paths and unexpected fulfillment.
Ellie's diagnosis of ADHD and autism served as a turning point, empowering her to change society's perception and inspire others through her book Unmasked.
Valuable advice from Ellie Middleton includes seeking relatable experiences, prioritizing authenticity and shareability in content creation, and setting boundaries for social media engagement.
Deep dives
Ellie Middleton's Journey of Sharing Her Work
In this episode, Ellie Middleton discusses her journey of sharing her work publicly. She talks about how her posts went viral and how she built an audience of 300,000 followers. She also shares the rules she follows for content creation. Ellie dives into her path towards becoming a published author and talks about her experience of writing and publishing her nonfiction book, Unmasked. She discusses the process of content creation and what it means to build a following today. This conversation provides insights into Ellie's diagnosis of autism and ADHD and showcases the importance of sharing one's journey.
Discovering the Writer Within
Ellie Middleton reflects on her journey as a writer and shares her experience of discovering her passion for writing. While she had always been drawn towards math and science, Ellie recognizes that she also had a creative side. She discusses her transition from being more math-oriented to exploring her creative interests and how she unexpectedly found herself pursuing a career in writing. Ellie's story underscores the idea that our career paths can evolve and change over time, leading us to unexpected and fulfilling places.
The Transformative Power of Diagnosis
Ellie Middleton recounts how her late diagnosis of ADHD and autism served as a turning point in her life. After receiving her diagnosis, Ellie embarked on a mission to change the way society perceives and thinks about autism, ADHD, and neurodivergence. Her debut book, Unmasked, serves as a guide to understanding these conditions and shares her personal insights and experiences. Ellie emphasizes the transformative power of diagnosis, highlighting how it can bring clarity, self-understanding, and the opportunity to educate and inspire others.
Key Insights for Sharing Your Journey
Ellie Middleton offers valuable advice for individuals looking to share their own journeys and passions publicly. She recommends seeking relatable experiences from others who share similar backgrounds or identities, as their stories can help validate and guide one's own feelings and experiences. She also emphasizes the importance of authenticity, relatability, and shareability in content creation. Ellie encourages aspiring writers to start by sharing their thoughts and ideas in a raw and genuine manner, focusing on connection and making an impact rather than striving for perfection. Additionally, she discusses the significance of setting boundaries and respecting one's own energy when managing social media interactions and public engagement.
The Importance of Making Information Accessible
The podcast episode highlights the significance of making information accessible to engage a wider range of readers, particularly those with ADHD. The speaker emphasizes the need to present information in a way that is friendly to the reader's brain and captures their attention. This inclusivity extends to the creation of an audiobook version, recognizing that some individuals may struggle with reading but can benefit from alternative formats. Short paragraphs and avoiding unnecessary details are effective strategies used to make the content more readable and approachable.
The Challenges of Writing a Personal Story
The podcast episode delves into the challenges faced by the author in writing a personal story, particularly in certain chapters that explore traumatic experiences. The process of writing became a therapeutic journey, but also an emotionally draining one as it involved processing past events in real time. The author deliberated on what to include in the book, balancing vulnerability and the need for personal comfort. The collaboration with the publishing team helped strike a balance between sharing and overexposing personal details, ultimately creating a relatable and approachable narrative.
Youtuber and author Ellie Middleton on how she started sharing her work publicly, her viral posts, how she’s built an audience of 300k and rules she follows for content creation. Plus her experience of writing and publishing her nonfiction book Unmasked: The Ultimate Guide to ADHD, Autism and Neurodivergence.
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ABOUT ELLIE MIDDLETON
Ellie Middleton is an autistic and ADHD creator, speaker, writer, consultant and founder of the (un)masked community for neurodivergents. After a lifetime of feeling misunderstood, she was diagnosed with both Autism Spectrum Condition and ADHD at the age of 24. Since then, Ellie has gone on to build an audience of over 300,000 people online, create the (un)masked community for neurodivergents, and work with global brands like The Independent, Google & LinkedIn to change the narrative on neurodiversity.