My main characters all have dyspraxia!!

[AnyaKimlin]

It's not surprising since I do but recent comments have included the number of times that Angus moves involuntarily like his body is doing things he doesn't want him to do. That's my experience of life and I'm wondering if I should just weave it into my story or try to avoid it? Trouble is I'm not sure how to live a life without dyspraxia - to the point I'm not sure I could imagine it.

 

[tinkerdan]

It might be okay if it's just one of the main characters per story. What I mean by that might be demonstrated best by example of something I recently read.

The author was fond of ending peoples dialogue with [, isn't it.] I still haven't narrowed what this means but its a phrase that might be common somewhere. The problem was that every main character [and there were over half a dozen of those] used this ending somewhere in the book and even minor characters maybe another half dozen were using it. It might be equivalent to what we use here in the form of [, you know.(or)you know what I mean.] But I couldn't pin it down to that with every instance used.

Any way the point was that this was distracting and made the whole story sound satirical or at least attempting to poke fun, but I don't think that was the case. Most of the characters were citizens of the USA and I've never heard [,isn't it] used anywhere I've been. I will grant that this is a parallel world story so there might be some differences expected.

The bottom line though was that the 50 some plus usage of this anomalous phrase was part of what destroyed this book for me.

So I think that if you had a lot of dyspraxia going on with more than one character and it stands out enough you would have to have some explanation such as the whole village was fogged with some strange chemical. But since this is largely diagnosed as a problem that occurs in young and might develop in differing ways based on coping it seem unlikely that you would get a whole village; but would make an interesting story if you wanted to speculate about underlying causes using a whole village as a test case.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

I suppose it depends on whether you want him to have dyspraxia or not. Some people will say that if there's no reason for it in the book, then he shouldn't, but I'm of the opinion that many things happen to people that have no point, and that's just life. If it's part of him, then it's part of him.

However, as tinkerdan slipped in with above me, it would probably not be a good idea for everyone to have it, for no particular reason.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I've only got one main character per story It's rare I ever use another POV.

 

[jastius]

what strengths does it give him? besides creating a unique character?
it does figure into that whole internal flaw ethos..

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Just makes him a bit clumsy - he has trouble tying his shoelaces for example so he mostly goes barefoot so he doesn't have to ask someone to tie his boots for him. It will factor in to how his brain functions and how he thinks. I didn't realised I'd written it into his character.

 

[jastius]

i would wear those velcro shoes.. easy on and off.. like older people wear.. or slip ons.. like mules..

he reminds me of andy griffin.. in the andy griffin show, the big slow talking sherriff with just a hint of a stutter..

 

[Ray McCarthy]

I like velcro fastenings, swedish clogs, elasticated ankle boots, cowboy boots, buckle sandals. I don't like laces. Nasty things that come undone, get knotted, wet, frayed & snap, catch on stuff, trip you up.

 

[Ursa major]

There was an article on the Grauniad, a few years back, written by someone who had dyspraxia. I was rather concerned to see that I had some of the symptoms, albeit of an extremely mild nature, namely: I'm a bit clumsy (though don't suffer from involuntary movements, apart form having restless feet -- currently (and, I hope, temporarily) made worse by my diabetes -- and the usual thing of sometimes wanting to move a limb suddenly when I've been sitting or lying down awkwardly); iffy short-term memory (which means that I find myself checking that doors are locked more than once in a row** ***).

I'm of the opinion that "my dyspraxia" (which is nothing of the sort) is either a demonstration that dyspraxia is a spectrum condition (meaning that everyone is somewhere on the spectrum) or just another example of the way we like to have names for the things we have and do, even if the names are associated with medical conditions; even if we're misapplying the names we've found after a minimal amount of googling (or reading a Grauniad article) and a failure to understand properly what a condition really is.

EDIT: Anyway, to say what I meant to say when I first replied -- but forgot -- is that

• apart from some initial "scene setting" (i.e. subtly letting us know something about the character) you shouldn't go overboard with the incidents of symptoms, but stick to occasions when it impacts what is happening
• the character lives with the condition and its symptoms, so he (or she) will treat it as part of his (or her) everyday existence, i.e. most of the time it is literally unremarkable.

** - I suspect that most of this palaver is more OCD-ish type behaviour, triggered by the general overall feeling that I may have forgotten to lock a door rather than any real suspicion that I haven't.

*** - The worst example was the car. Okay, because I always lock with the key fob remote, not the key itself, I could lock it "again" from a distance, but I'm sure this behaviour is what kept draining the battery, requiring over-frequent changes. Thankfully, my current car "closes" the wing mirrors on locking, so now I have a visual clue that I've locked the car.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I'm of the opinion that "my dyspraxia" is either a demonstration that dyspraxia is a spectrum condition (meaning that everyone is somewhere on the spectrum) or just another example of the way we like to have names for the things we do and have, even if the names are associated with medical conditions, even if we're misapplying the names we've found after a minimal amount of googling and a failure to understand properly what a condition really is.

It's far from an entirely negative diagnosis as usually it comes with a lot of positives.

In my son's case it affected his speech. Up until 5 he hardly had any words and now he's a bit Jonathan Ross. Everybody is a bit clumsy but Dyspraxia affects far more than that. It's a bit like describing ME as a "bit tired." Dyspraxia was on the lowest rung of the ASD spectrum I'm unsure if that is still the case it has been through many stages since I was a child. Not least a bewildering number of name changes.

Often to show people how it works they put them in oven gloves to do tasks but for me that's a bad analogy. One of my bosses used to call it a helicopter brain - it spins round at such a rate and they stood by waiting to catch the great idea! And that's what it's like - you don't feel dizzy but it's like trying to do something whilst being dizzy. Hope that makes sense. A lot of people with dyspraxia just need time to work out how to do things there way because instructions were written for people without that kind of wiring.

 

[Ursa major]

Note that I've edited my post to add what I originally wanted to say (but didn't actually get around to saying ).

 

[Ray McCarthy]

because I always lock with the key fob remote

Cool ... I can remotely unlock your car! (but only if it's one of the more expensive kinds, they have the worst security!)
If my next car doesn't have real locks, I'll add them!

 

[AnyaKimlin]

EDIT: Anyway, to say what I meant to say when I first replied -- but forgot -- is that

• apart from some initial "scene setting" (i.e. subtly letting us know something about the character) you shouldn't go overboard with the incidents of symptoms, but stick to occasions when it impacts what is happening
• the character lives with the condition and its symptoms, so he (or she) will treat it as part of his (or her) everyday existence, i.e. most of the time it is literally unremarkable.

I haven't actually mentioned it. I didn't intend for it to happen but more than one reader has spotted it and said that his reactions to things are odd lol To me they're perfectly normal. It would also explain how and why he processes emotions the way he does.

Little things like his body reacts independently of his mind a few times. When he is involved in a task he doesn't note anything else going on around him. Plus the whole shoes thing.

 

[Ursa major]

I haven't actually mentioned it. I didn't intend for it to happen but more than one reader has spotted it and said that his reactions to things are odd lol To me they're perfectly normal. It would also explain how and why he processes emotions the way he does.

As far as I can tell, what you're saying you've done seems perfectly fine to me.

 

[Ursa major]

Cool ... I can remotely unlock your car! (but only if it's one of the more expensive kinds, they have the worst security!)

If my next car doesn't have real locks, I'll add them!

My Škoda -- so yes, a very expensive car -- does have real locks** (no KESSY for me), and I have to turn the key in the ignition to start the engine.


** - To be fair, the physical lock on the outside of the door is hidden. (In fact, you have to use the key to gain access to the lock....)

 

[Wanderlog]

To me they're perfectly normal. It would also explain how and why he processes emotions the way he does.

Any author can't but use parts of his/her own personality when creating a character. In the end, yourself is the only person you know really good (well, presumably), and characters need to incorporate real traits to look alive. However, you can't use your own personality to create ALL characters, it'd look unnatural. So you must watch other (real) people, notice their traits and use them as building blocks. In the process, you'll learn typical patterns in the characters you invent and find a way to avoid them.

Reader's comments in a great way to learn your own mistakes. The only problem is finding enough readers who can and want leave their comments.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Hi Anya, Sorry I only just saw this thread and haven't time to go through what has been said comprehensively (I'm trying to be good and get another 1k words down today on the WIP).

I just wanted to say dyspraxia is so much more common than people think; in my dance classes I have so many students who are, in fact, in many schools now I wear a red trainer on my right and blue on my left as the kids use that to differentiate. The one week I forgot they were all there in their own red and blue trainers cursing me as they fell all over the place

pH

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I appear to be keeping it. He's got one eye and dyspraxia - makes him easier to write. Like when he's given a knife his brother takes it off him worried he is more likely to stab himself.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Some of my characters seem to have foot and mouth disease like me. When I open my mouth, I put my foot in it.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Some of my characters seem to have foot and mouth disease like me. When I open my mouth, I put my foot in it.

Don't worry, Ray, I also have that, although my strain is where I put my foot in someone else's mouth. I pay rent on a cell in Walthamstow cop shop

pH