Writing a book about my MD experiences

[The1andonlyAbber]

I'm 15 and I want to be an author when I grow up. I was thinking that maybe I can write an autobiography or memoir about my life with Maladaptive Daydreaming. I was planning on writing what Maladaptive Daydreaming is as the introduction. I'm thinking about maybe calling the book "Life on Saurus" (Saurus is the main planet in my daydreams), but Saurus has only been in my daydreams for a few months. I really like that title, though. (Any other suggestions?) And where do I start? How much detail should I put in (I've had a very eventful life so far)? Should I only write about parts of my real life related to my maladaptive daydreaming? How much detail about my fantasies should I put in (there are a TON of details, and I'm sure readers will be curious about what I daydream about if I don't put any details in at all and just say I daydream)? Advice please?

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

Why not start a blog about it first, and if you end up writing enough, you could transform it into a book?

[The1andonlyAbber]

Good idea! Thanks. :-)

[The1andonlyAbber]

My parents might not let me start a blog, though. Maybe I could just start writing and see what happens?

[Alex]

I've never completed a work about my MD mainly because it's just so extensive and I have ADD  (also I had a horrible time changing the names of real people, fictional characters, and celebrities).  But I've finished other novels. 

When I was working on it, I decided I wouldn't explain it at all. And honestly, that's best for fiction. Exposition is the poison of good writing. At the least, wait until chapter two before adding exposition, but I try to avoid it altogether since I have a really bad habit of explaining everything. Your reader doesn't need his or her hand held. Just jump in and let the reader's mind go wild with questions that you'll answer when the action happens. 

Another format I used was alternating each chapter with what was happening in reality at the time with what was happening in my alternate reality. I liked this format because it was clearer that these were fantasies, again without explaining exactly what it was. 

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

Abber, this is a blog.  I meant you could blog on here.  

[The1andonlyAbber]

@Alexandra, I meant a nonfiction book about my struggles in life. (I also do not write books about my daydreams for those reasons--although when I write other fiction stories, it is like a form of daydreaming for me.)

[The1andonlyAbber]

Started writing the book yesterday. :-D And I came up with the perfect title, too. I'm going to call it "Paper Dragons" because when I was little I would make baby dragons out of paper and have them be characters in my daydreams. When I'm finished I'm going to try publishing it.

[The1andonlyAbber]

I've noticed that I don't daydream as much when I'm writing a lot.

[Azure Magic]

You should open it up by saying that Saurus is but one place you've daydreamed about; there are many others, but Saurus is special to you because you got the idea during the period of time you were daydreaming about Saurus.

Maybe you should give details as you go along. Maybe when you were a child you could talk about the daydreams you had as a child. I'm no editor or publisher, but I think you could talk about it with them.

[The1andonlyAbber]

I don't think I'll open it up by talking about Saurus, because I want the events to be in order. But I definitely agree that I should mention that Saurus is the most special daydream location. Saurus is special because:

a) Yes, I got the idea to write the book while daydreaming about Saurus.

b) I got rid of all of my old daydreams because they were very limited and about only one topic, so I got bored of them. The daydream featuring Saurus, however, is the most complex and the best one yet, and even though I only started it a few months ago, I think it's here to stay. The daydream universe I've made is huger than ever, and it has several different themes and story arcs at once. I've actually spent a long time trying to find one permanent daydream, and I think this is finally the one. It actually features a few of the best parts of my old daydreams. :-D

c) The daydream with Saurus was my daydream when I first discovered that I had maladaptive daydreaming.

(b and c are the most important reasons)

[The1andonlyAbber]

And I agree that I should talk about the daydreams I had as a child, too. I thought of an idea where maybe I could write the daydream events down as if they actually happened, but use a different font and end them with my daydreams being interrupted by real-world events.

[jey]

This sounds awesome Abber! I totally think you should do it; I'm a little older now and I wish I had kept better written records of what I was dreaming (pretty sure I was most imaginatively "fertile" as a teen). Feel like I lost a lot of stories just because I thought I'd always remember them.

Also love the title "Paper Dragons."