Unnecessary Risks.

I got 30,000 words into this novel before I ran into complications.

Some of that is inevitable. You set the story up, then you have to spin out the ramifications, and so it gets a little more complicated.

Anyway, I had one of the secondary characters, a graduate assistant, being a Asperger's person. I'm not sure why that happened, he just appeared.

I had a employee for several years who was Asperger's so I felt I had a pretty good handle on his outer actions, but then I went into his head.

This is obviously more of risk. I tried to use my own experiences as a agoraphobic for a number of years, my own love of routine, my own obsessive nature, as guides.

It feels right, and with writing, that's everything.

Anyway, the plot then turned a little on me. The very deadly neurotoxin of the sea snakes turns out to have an effect on autism. Suddenly, it becomes a major part of the story. Jerry becomes a central character, and even becomes pretty much the hero of the story. I bring in another character, who is more severely autistic.

Now I'm talking the politics of the syndrome. What's normal? Is a "cure" even necessary.

I go into Jennifer's head, and this is a little more alien, but again it feels right.

There much more relationship oriented material in this book -- which isn't completely necessary for an action, entertainment book. In fact, a straight entertainment novel doesn't need the autism angle and so on.

It's a risk. An unnecessary risk.

But why am I writing if I'm not will to take risks? I'm trying to stretch myself with every book. Well, not trying, per se, but just letting whatever happens happen, and that turns out to be something different with every book.

It probably doesn't matter, except maybe to me. I feel like I'm improving, though there is no way to judge that. But it feels right.