Writing Unmasked: I'm So Confused - Weekly Writing Contest

May 16, 2025

46:49

forum

Ask episode

view_agenda

Chapters

auto_awesome

Transcript

info_circle

Episode notes

Part of our 12-Week Writing Series for autistic creatives and late-diagnosed adults.

In this episode of Writing Unmasked, Dr. Angela Kingdon explores the disorienting experience of social confusion in autistic life—and how writing through that confusion can become a radical act of clarity, healing, and voice reclamation.

As part of our Neurodivergent Narratives writing series, this episode dives into how stimming, grief, and misunderstood interactions often translate into literary gold. For autistic writers, confusion isn’t just a state—it’s a signal that something needs to be named, explored, or rewritten.

We also announce the winners of our Week 1 writing prompt contest—the launch of our 12-week series!

🎧 What You’ll Learn

How social confusion impacts autistic people—and why it’s not a deficit
The meaning of “The Double Empathy Problem” and why autistic communication breaks down across neurotypes
Why writing through confusion helps reframe internalized shame as cultural mismatch
How stimming, sensory overload, and narrative tangents are key tools for identity integration
The emotional fallout of late-diagnosis grief and the healing power of storytelling
How fiction becomes a form of sensory sorting, emotional stimming, and social decoding

🏆 Week 1 Winners

🥇 First Place:

“The Snowglobe”

by Jessica Weiss

“Shaken, settled. Shaken, shutdown. Shattered…Spilled.”

🥈 Runner-Up:

by Daisy

“Sensitive, oddball, mystic, or undiagnosed autistic?”

Congratulations to our featured writers, and thank you to everyone who submitted! Want to see their full entries? Read them here.

📝 Neurodivergent Narratives Presents: ‘I’m So Confused’ Contest

Prompt: Write a fictional short story in any genre that includes the line: “I’m so confused.”

🖊️ Open to: Everyone