How does this or other mental conditions affect writing?
Asperger's Syndrome
I too have Aspergers. And yes, I'm a compulsive writer. If I'm not writing I get very uptight and anxious. To people unfamiliar with AS, it is a form of high-end autism mainly males.
I wouldn't call myself a sufferer, as it gives me an unusual take on the world that I use in writing but I echo your experiences with sound. The slightest noise when I'm trying to write is utterly annoying. Plus the feel of clothes and other sensations try to crowd me out when I concentrate. At this mo a piece of dog-eared paper is occasionaly touching my wrist as I type and I'm going to go beserk. I am fascinated with shape and angles, I know this sounds weird to non-asperger people but obsession with words and numbers gives me security. Words and numbers and facts can never change, whereas people and society do. And that's the scary part for an Asperger. I'm by no means shy, but my social interactions are driven by the need to preserve peace / harmony in a kind of secure bubble around me. I seek that in familiar places and faces.
And another sign is that i blabber too much or not at all.
I take it you've both read "The Curious Incident....." I love that book.
a friend of mine has autism (a slightly milder form I don't know the formal word for it) and he writes creative (not comedy) but once he puts his mind to it he WILL get it done, I see him becoming quite the writer when he leaves college.
I see it as a curse and a gift you guys been able to get all those ideas out of your head and onto paper.
I read curious incident and it was good but was gutted as i'd written a novel in which lead character was Asperger and the reader doesn't find out til halfway thru, which then explained some odd things early on in the novel. I thought I'd get in first with an AS novel but was beaten to it. Darnation.
Quote: Ginger Jesus @ November 29, 2006, 4:28 PMI take it you've both read "The Curious Incident....." I love that book.
Yeah, a double-joy for me as I don't like dogs!
I probably wouldn't be a writer if it weren't for my Asperger's, because I would have a social life.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Speed_of_Dark
An interesting scifi novel by a mother of a child with autism, more sophisticated but less funny/readable than CIOFTITDN
I've always suspected I have Asperger's on some scale but feel fobbed off I don't have the high functioning part.
I don't know but I'm booking my appointment today! 
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=odd&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
That's it don't mess as I am officially ODD. That's it I'm oppositionally defiant, I can't help being an awkward person or be told what to do.
I don't have any of your cool mental conditions. 
*comforts herself with tiny bit of OCD*
I become very agitated when I watch flatscreen telly, I think I may have HDHD.
*skulks away into the dark, shaking his head at that one*
....