by Debbie Burke
The 1988 Dustin Hoffman movie Rain Man introduced autism to a wide audience and won four Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Hoffman), and Best Screenplay.
It also created a stereotype for the face of autism as a humorless savant with uncanny abilities and a flat affect.
Three neurodivergent authors, Oliver Blakemore, V.L. Andromeda, and Mariah Ankenman, shredded that stereotype during their panel at the recent Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold conference in Denver. They were articulate, intelligent, animated speakers who kept the audience laughing with wild, outrageous humor.
Oliver Blakemore author photo
Oliver gestured at the other two and himself, saying, “We’re like aliens.”
At the beginning of their panel, each shared their various diagnoses.
Oliver calls himself “a recovering intellectual and an undiagnosed neurodivergent” with anxiety disorder and a little autism.
V.L lives with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), along with anxiety, depression, and “some other little things.”
Mariah deals with OCD, autism with anxiety, and audio processing disorder—difficulty making sense of what she hears despite normal hearing. “My mother always said I didn’t listen to her.”
The isolation and disruption of previous routines caused by Covid affected all three. That led to their increasing self-awareness of variations of neurodivergence.
Oliver requires structure and needs to schedule every hour to keep him from totally losing track of time. Each hour’s alarm is a specific musical piece that he associates with a particular task.
He describes his soon-to-be-published book City Song as: “Punk rock noir urban fantasy. Dealing with hard questions like, ‘What if I don’t believe in magic anymore?’”
His published short story collection Ragged Museum: Untidy Stories are wildly imaginative, off-kilter fantasy tales that could be called literary in style.
He works in marketing and communication with clients ranging from “baby rock bands” and authors to bars and large startups.
V.L Andromeda author photo
In contrast, V.L. doesn’t function well with routine and structure. Although her actions may seem scattered and disorganized, she says, “My least productive day is usually more productive than most people’s productive days.”
I can personally attest to her productivity. As a conference volunteer and Published Author Liaison, V.L. quickly, efficiently, and graciously accommodated my last-minute request to be included at the Saturday night book sale/signing.
V.L.’s Marks of the Broken series is a “nobledark, romantic fantasy.” Another series is a contemporary thriller romance. The first book Terabytes and Temptation is set in the complex world of cyberhacktivists and espionage where justice is achievable by unconventional means.
Mariah Ankenman author photo
Mariah depends on routines and structure. She creates “fake deadlines” for herself to complete tasks. She’s a plotter who uses photos to visualize her characters and plans out scenes with Dungeons and Dragons precision.
Her routine is obviously effective: she has more than two dozen published books she dubs as “sassy and swoon-worthy romance” from billionaire love stories to dark supernatural daemons.
The panel offered their opinions on TV and film depictions of neurodivergence. They all enjoyed “The Big Bang Theory” series. “Monk” turns his disability into a superpower to solve crimes. Mariah thinks “Scrubs” does a good job representing OCD, where Michael J. Fox continually washes his hands, saying “I haven’t done it right yet.” Oliver talks about “disability villains” but thinks authors shouldn’t blame the disability for bad behavior.
They joked about their challenges when writing neurotypical characters or “normies.” V.L. says, “Dealing with normies is annoying,” and adds the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders used by health professionals) is changing. Many formerly set diagnoses are moving toward a “spectrum” of various disorders.
In their own fiction each has a particular style when crafting neurodivergent characters.
Mariah intentionally writes neurodivergent characters and goes deep with them. Her website even features a page of “Disability Reps” and book titles that include them.
V.L. plays off stereotypes, making divergency funny with punchlines that sum up certain behaviors. Her characters with PTSD are featured as heroes with strong moral compasses struggling to do the right thing in a world that doesn’t value ethics.
Oliver strives for a “holistic understanding.” Neurodivergent characters play roles in his story worlds the same as they do in real life but are not necessarily spotlighted. He views stories as an opportunity to build empathy with readers about different ways of thinking than they’ve encountered before.
Even though all are high functioning productive artists, guilt was a surprising common theme expressed by them.
Mariah is trying to be forgiving of herself when she’s not as productive as she thinks she should be.
V.L. feels no matter how much she accomplishes, it’s never enough.
Oliver’s anxiety requires constant reminders to keep himself on task. He must be succeeding because he’s the 2026 honoree of the prestigious Jasmine Award for exceptional service to Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.
The hour sped by. Afterward, I heard attendees talking about their own experiences with neurodivergence and how reassured and heartened they were by this open, forthright, articulate discussion.
Oliver, V.L., and Mariah are all savants with uncanny abilities whose intelligence and humor energized the room.
Not a stereotype in sight.
~~~
TKZers: Do you include neurodivergent characters in your fiction? Please share in the comments.
I based a character in Justice Betrayed on a friend’s daughter who lives in a group home. The character helped catch the villain, and with Erin’s permission, I named the character after her. She loved it, and I enjoyed showcasing her unique abilities.
Pat, who wouldn’t love to play a role in catching the villain? How fun for Erin.
What a fascinating look at neurodivergent authors, Debbie. Wish I had been there to enjoy the panel discussion.
The character Lacey in my novel Lacey’s Star was an autistic child who was fascinated by the world around her.
Kay, pilot Lacey is a compelling hero who uses her skills to solve mysteries.
Sherlock Holmes was brought up in the discussion as likely being on the spectrum long before there was a name for it.
In my science fiction mystery/thriller series, one of the main characters is a highly successful businessman who has developed compensations for his ADHD, much like the neurodivergent folks on the panel.
In my fantasy mystery River Madden series, the main character has schizophrenia. When I sent the book off to a developmental editor, she insisted that by the second chapter, River needed to be on medication and all the schizophrenia symptoms needed to stop. He had to transform into a normal heroic mystery detective by popping a few pills. I ignored her advice. For me, the whole point was that neurodivergent people are people first and fully capable of being heroes. The book got decent reviews.
Kathy, kudos to you for sticking to the truth of your character. “Popping a few pills” is not realistic. “People first and fully capable of being heroes” perfectly sums up how to portray characters authentically.
Love this beat!
Thanks for stopping by, Sue!
I myself have a mild case of Cerebral Palsy and care for an Autistic brother. I’ve also self-published over two dozen books on Amazon and Audible and outside commitments for a few more. A few of my self-published works have touched on disabilities, but the more recent unpublished works delve into them on a personal level. And, indeed, a couple of them have been signed for the aforementioned outside commitments, but I won’t divulge anything until it’s time.
I found this to be a great article, Debbie. Thank you for emailing me the link.
Justin
Justin, congratulations on your upcoming publications! Please keep us posted. Drawing from your unique experience, you’ve tapped a deep well of inspiration.
TKZers, Justin was a good friend of former TKZ contributor, the late Joe Hartaub, whom we still miss.
Enjoyed this look at neurodivergent characters — and people. I haven’t attempted one in my novels because I don’t feel I could properly portray this person.
As V.L. said, divergence is on a spectrum. As writers, we try various personalities. Plus we can have authenticity readers make sure representations are accurate.
I loved learning about these three neurodivergent writers, Debbie! I love how each has embraced who they are and aligns their creative process with their neurodivergence.
I have yet to write about a truly neurodivergent character. However, last year I was diagnosed with Adult ADHD, which explained several things about myself. At some point, I may well write about a character with ADHD.
Hope you have a wonderful day! Thanks again!
Dale, diagnoses later in life sure gives answers to long-standing questions and concerns, doesn’t it? You’ve learned to work productively and creatively, like the three panelists.
Thanks for this look at a fascinating topic, Debbie! I’ve not written a character I know to be neurodivergent — yet. Today is launch day for a women’s fiction/mainstream novel by a writer I know through the mystery world, Laura Jensen Walker, called The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch, featuring a 70 retired library worker who fulfills a lifelong dream of visiting Hey-on-Wye, the book town in Wales (or Cornwall? I forget), and in the process, discovers that the “peculiarities” and isolation she’s dealt with all her life stem from neurodivergence. It’s a deeply touching book I highly recommend, drawing on the author’s own experiences, and portraying the neurodivergence with empathy and compassion.
Leslie, what a memorable name! Great reading involves climbing inside the skins of characters who are different from ourselves and seeing how they view life.
Always glad when you stop by TKZ!
One of my characters is a social isolate. One has PTSD from being a witness protection kid. One is wildly and dangerously obsessed with a crisis center employee. One is a spirit possessing a kid because he needs to express his PTSD. One wants to be a fly on the wall to understand people better.
Karen, you really get to the heart and soul of these characters with amazing loglines for them.
What a wonderful visit with you! Thank you for your gracious hospitality and for sharing good times!