*ABUSE TW* For an (autistic) character who is regularly abused physically, emotionally, and mentally, would it be plausible for that character to shut down during such abuse, only for emotions to come back in full force once it's "safe" (that being when the abuser leaves the room, in this case) For me, I'd cry right on the spot (bad at hiding emotion), but just wanted to see if that reaction would be realistic.
Yes, this is absolutely a realistic reaction! You’re good to go.
What are some tips for writing autistic traits (stimming being a main one) without it coming off as forcing it and stilting the progress of the plot?
@scriptautistic has you covered!
I'm writing a character who is autistic, and already prone to anxiety. Plot is, put basically, someone is after them and their uncle. Would it be unreasonable to have the MC become more anxious, and how could I portray this properly?
It seems quite reasonable for your character to become more anxious in this circumstance. In fact, I’d be more surprised if your character didn’t become more anxious.
Escalating anxiety can be shown in a couple different ways, specifically:
I’ll go into a little more detail:
Developing additional symptoms:
You can pick a few more symptoms from the criteria of the specific disorder(s) your character is experiencing. Note that it’s rare (but not impossible) to have a character experience every single symptom.
I also suggest considering adding panic attacks (see criteria here), if your character does not already experience them.
Amping up existing symptoms:
Increase the intensity, frequency, duration, scope, prevalence, and / or consequences of existing symptoms.
Here are a couple examples:
The character has had trouble sleeping due to anxious thoughts keeping them awake. To escalate it, you could have your character double the time it takes for them to fall asleep.
The character has a specific phobia about needles. To escalate it, they might start experiencing phobic reactions to additional stimuli, such as being in a hospital or seeing a doctor.
The character has agoraphobia when in a crowd or in an enclosed space with other people. It can escalate to the point where the character is too anxious to leave their house entirely.
I’m leaving the autistic part aside, as that’s more @scriptautistic‘s area of expertise. However, I will say that meltdowns are probably more likely to be triggered when your character is in a more anxious state.
