Mark interviews October K. Santerelli about neurodivergence as it relates to the writing life.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a personal update, and shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation Mark and October talk about:

October's start with writing during a 7th Grade poetry unit project receiving an A+
Dedicating his first book to that teacher who was so inspiring and supportive
Getting a publishing deal offer at the age of sixteen
Doing a lot of fantasy writing (that got finished) as well as Queer fiction (that never got finished)- Loving the act of "spite writing"
The terms of Neurotypical, Neurodivergent, and their understanding within the writer's life
How ADHD and Autism spectrum can have really powerful effects on your writing career
The way that many of the "rules" for writers don't align with a brain that isn't neurotypical
Giving a general guideline on how something might feel - ie, the results rather than the strict processes
October creating mini "celebrations" to accompany completely particular small victories
Showing how he re-frames some of the standard bits of advice that work well for him
The useful and valuable tool of doing writing sprints and how it creates a short and very immediate deadline
And more...

After the interview Mark shares a few reflections and reminds authors that not all "how to" and recommended processes are a "fit all" option. Adaptation into one's own manners and systems is important.

Links of Interest:

October K Santerelli is a fantasy author from the mountains of Denver, Colorado, USA. He is an LGBTQ+ writer and sensitivity reader, as well as a public speaker on disability, neurodivergency, and Own Voices writing in the publishing industry.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

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