If you’re one of the estimated 10% of people throughout the United States who have dyslexia, your school years may have been quite challenging. Can you relate to others who have this condition and say they felt stupid in school or, worse, were called stupid by others? You may have thought (or still think, perhaps?) that the last thing in the world you could become is a writer.
Well, guess what? By the time you’re done reading this post, you’ll see just how wrong that assumption might be. In fact, there are many best-selling authors who have had dyslexia in common, including big names like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Agatha Christie and Jules Verne. If you dream of becoming an author, don’t let dyslexia keep you from pursuing your goals.
Issues that cause dyslexic writers stress
If you have dyslexia, writing your thoughts might pose specific challenges or cause you stress. The following list shows some of the issues that often act as impediments to writers with this condition:
- Processing difficulties when writing in long hand
- Trouble spelling words
- Anxiety caused by spacing issues or graphic size
- Trouble forming thoughts
- Difficulty identifying letter and word sounds
While one of these issues might not cause a tremendous amount of stress, several issues combined can be a recipe for a disastrous writing experience.
Writing tools to help overcome dyslexia-related problems
If you want to be a writer, there’s no reason not to pursue your goal, even if the issue that’s causing you to procrastinate is dyslexia. Advanced technology provides numerous resources that can make writing as a dyslexic a lot less stressful, such as:
- Digital dictionaries
- Zooming in on text
- Speech recognition software
- Smart pens
In addition to these tools, you’ll want to build a strong support network as you strive to become a writer who happens to have dyslexia. This network might include family and friends who are willing to proofread your work and provide constructive feedback.
Professional services that can come in handy for dyslexic writers
Beyond family and friends, there are several professional services that can help dyslexic writers overcome the challenges that the condition presents as they’re working their way from start to finish in a story. Such services include:
- Developmental edits for help in improving concepts, content and structure
- Copyediting to spot errors and refine flow, tone and voice
- A pre-submission review to obtain professional recommendations before submitting a manuscript to a publisher
If people with dyslexia could never become writers, we wouldn’t have great classics, such as “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,” “The Great Gatsby,” or “And Then There Were None,” among others. Dyslexia can make writing challenging in many ways, but it needn’t keep you from pursuing your dream to become an author.
