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A directory of all of my posts
Hello! My name is Ren. I’m a proudly autistic and ADHD writer living in the north of England. I write a lot about neurodivergence and living as an ND person in this batshit world of ours. I also write about other topics too, including sobriety, identity, and my love of books.
I started writing this newsletter in October 2024 and have amassed a collection of essays. I thought it’d be useful to group them into categories here and to keep adding to this post as I write. I hope you find this useful!
All my posts are paywalled after 3 months and become exclusive to my Patreon paid membership only.
If you’d like to support my writing, please consider becoming a paid member of my Patreon. Paid members gain access to my entire archive, including the Book Diaries, a series where I am documenting the process of writing and hopefully self-publishing my first book. Members also get access to all other creative work including zines and poems.
About Me
A Wavy Q&A - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
Whose Wavy Thoughts are these?
Returning to the Written Word - by Ren Riley
In which I explain my love of writing trumps speaking, what turned me off from writing, and what the hell all this is anyway.
Just like starting over - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
Burnout, illness and a new, vague plan
33 lessons I've learned in 33 years as an Autistic and ADHD mess
I am here to impart my limited wisdom
I hyper-focused on Substack for 12 whole months, please clap
Celebrating a year of Wavy Thoughts
Autistic Burnout
The Embers of Autistic Burnout - by Ren Riley
Coming out of the other side, really fucking slowly. Plus, a realisation.
'Slow Down' - a phrase I'm trying to understand
It is one the essentials to ensure recovery from autistic burnout, but how do I actually do that?
A Head Full of Bees - My Need for Solitude - by Ren Riley
For autistic people, time alone can be precious, beautiful and necessary
Pausing in the park - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
My daily trips to the park during autistic burnout
Autistic burnout strikes again - by Ren Riley
When will I ever learn?
Bet you can't guess who's burnt out again? - by Ren Riley
Spoilers: it's me!
If this isn't nice, what is? - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
AKA 'What I did on my holidays'
Books
Celebrating reading again - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
Reflecting on getting back into reading with 20 mini reviews
The Book Diaries Series
The Book Diaries #1 - Self-publish a book with me!
The ADHD is ADHD-ing!
The Book Diaries #2 - A Realistic Self-Publishing Plan
Time I stopped living in cloud cuckoo land
The Book Diaries #3 - Fear and Burnout in Lancashire
Poking my brain with a stick whilst muttering "Write something."
The Book Diaries #4 - Learning the art of memoir writing
Maybe I've unlocked a new special interest?
The Book Diaries #5 - Break the Rules! - by Ren Riley
Black and white thinking strikes again!
The Book Diaries #6 - Dreaming Big - by Ren Riley
What are your book-related dreams?
The Book Diaries #7 - Flip-flopping on Amazon
Ethics vs Ease
Cover Design Ideas 🐝 - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
The Book Diaries #8 - A non-designer attempts book design
The Book Diaries #9 - Brain Static and Stage Fright
The Book Diaries #9 - Book writing brain go brrrrr
Book Diaries #10 - Deadline, Shmeadline - by Ren Riley
Thinking about my book reluctance, or 'rebooktance'
The Book Diaries #11 - A Letter from the Library
The Book Diaries #11 - Remembering why I am doing this
Creativity
Keep going, keep going, keep going - by Ren Riley
The world needs you and your art
On Frivolity - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
Being a silly sausage in a cold world
My Top 5 Substack Tips for my fellow autistic and ADHD messes
More wavy thoughts from Wavy Thoughts
Food for Wavy Thoughts Series
Food for Wavy Thoughts: Monthly Roundup #1 - by Ren Riley
Articles, books, music, TV and other media I've been loving.
Identity
Tomboy - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
The joy of realising that who you are is not who they say you are.
Cut your hair - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
A haircut made me see myself for the first time
Masking
The Importance of Being Selfish - by Ren Riley
Recovery from autistic burnout means something has got to give.
I unmasked and no longer knew who I was - by Ren Riley
Taking off the mask as an autistic person to find no one there is frightening
Overachieving is a form of masking - by Ren Riley
Head girl energy is literally just autism
How does someone mask their autism? - by Ren Riley
Listing the main ways I masked my autism
Experiments in Unmasking - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
Learning to accept limits and work with them
Masking autism on 0% battery - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
Self-awareness is a curse
Mental Health
I keep finding grey hairs - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
And it brings me joy
Shrinking My World - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
Coping with autistic burnout by keeping things close
Mindfulness for Busy Brains - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
For those of us who can't sit still, gardening is a good way to achieve a modicum of peace.
PMDD - A Monthly Subscription to Hell - by Ren Riley
PMDD, AuDHD, WTF
The Swamp - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
Thinking of recent times
Neurodivergence in general
Do It For You - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
You don’t owe anyone an apology for who you are.
I get tattoos to remind me that my body exists
The feeling of being a floating head
You'll always find me in the bathroom at parties
Should we do a little scream? Should we have a little cry?
The Colour of Music - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
Synaesthesia, autism and me
Begging journalists to read a book about autism
On how the media writes about us
Echolalia: Sounds Worth Repeating - by Ren Riley
Echolalia is loads of fun
Why am I crying? - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
Alexithymia. What a bastard.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you." - by Ren Riley
I don't do eye contact.
In defence of Beige Food - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
You enjoy what you enjoy
"Congratulations, you're autistic." - by Ren Riley
The grief of late diagnosis
Is Pepsi OK? - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
My undying love for a drink that may contribute to my death
Autistic Me and ADHD Me are Not Friends - by Ren Riley
The dichotomy of AuDHD
Allow yourself to stim - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
Stimming is necessary and beautiful
Sobriety
The Liquid Scaffolding - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
Alcohol and I don’t mix
I'm autistic and I am 9 months sober. This is what I have learned.
No longer waking up with a mouth that tastes like a landfill is a plus.
One Year Sober - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
365 days of 'no thanks'
Special Interests
The Joy of Cringe - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
One person's special interest is another person's ick and I really don't care anymore.
Wanted: A Special Interest - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
I'm currently without a special interest and it sucks
The AuDHD Pendulum - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
When will it swing?
Little Miss Know-It-All - by Ren Riley - Wavy Thoughts
Trivia is the one special interest that has followed me throughout my life.
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