Psychotherapy and Writing Fiction

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
In real life, I have a real job that is miles away from writing. I’m a psychologist. A neuropsychologist, actually. And while my practice tends to focus on assessment and diagnosis of neuropsychological difficulties such as learning disabilities, Autism, developmental disabilities, acquired brain injury, etc. I’m also trained in cognitive behavioral therapy. It’s not really my forte, but I do it on occasion.

I was reading a novel in the paranormal romance genre when a thought struck me. Now, maybe I’m biased because of my job, but as I read through it seemed to me that the female protagonist had an awful lot of inner dialogue going on that consisted of negative thoughts. This got me thinking about cognitive therapy and the human experience in general.

In cognitive therapy the theory is (according to Aaron Beck and others) a person’s emotions and behaviors are largely determined by the way he/she structures the world. That is, thoughts or “cognitions” (verbal or image-based events in the stream of consciousness) are based on attitudes and assumptions developed from previous experiences. The goal of therapy with people who are feeling depressed or anxious or otherwise experiencing difficulties is to identify, reality-test, and correct distorted conceptualizations and beliefs that underlie these cognitions.

People in general have underlying thoughts that may or may not be in conscious awareness based on their past experiences. Trauma like divorce, a death in the family, an accident, or anything that is subjectively upsetting can have long lasting effects, causing us to interact with the world in a way that is affected by these events. For example, children whose parents divorce and subsequently lose access to one parent often feel that they are not important enough to be loved. A death or an accident can cause subconscious thoughts about lack of control in an individual’s life. Something as common as bullying at school can cause children to grow up with the recurring thought that nobody truly likes them.

Now, how does this work into writing? Well, it's a universal human experience to have these underlying thoughts. Everyone suffers some kind of trauma in their life that shapes the way they engage the world and other people. In the paranormal book I mentioned above (and as I think is frequently the case in this genre), the female protagonist was experiencing feelings that she was unworthy to have someone like the male lead love her. She was too damaged, too unattractive, too unimportant for someone as incredible as him to take an interest in. The majority of the tension in this book was created by him doing things to prove the contrary (reality-testing if you will) until I, as the reader, was practically screaming at this girl to open her bloody eyes and see the truth. The climax comes when they have a hot and heavy intimate session where she is forced to change her distorted belief (at least for the moment).

This seems to frequently be the case across genres. The protagonist is struggling against thoughts of inadequacy based on past experience, yet forced to confront these distorted beliefs and overcome them when faced with extreme events. Think J.R.R. Tolkien’s Frodo (or Bilbo for that matter) – how can anyone as unimportant as him carry out such a huge task? This makes for great tension. It also is a natural way to develop character growth. What a cool thing to consciously incorporate into writing fiction.

I recently ran across another blog post on Writer Unboxed related to therapy, albeit a very different concept from what I outlined above. It’s very worth checking out.

Looking forward to hearing comments on this post and get the perspective of people with different backgrounds than mine!

(How to) Moon People

You don't want to miss this review of "The Worst Book Ever."

The post is accompanied by glowing endorsements from Amazon reviewers like this one:

"A good book. I like the spaceship on the cover. This is a book. And Also its a Good book, one to read. The auther who goes by the Name of Daryl M. Corteney really has a nack for Good science Fiction telling. Also the Story. Now I dont want too Give to much away. In my review, So your going to have to. Read, the Book you’re self. But serve ice it to Say, your going to Read some things here. That you really did’nt expect. I Took one star Off for being Short and Singlespaced. But hey."

The Use (And Misuse) of Negative Space in Writing Fiction

I’ve been thinking about how negative space is used in writing fiction.

Here is the use of negative space I’m most familiar with as illustrated by Chekov in his story The Lady With The Dog:

The attitude of Anna Sergeyevna – “the lady with the dog” – to what had happened was somehow peculiar, very grave, as though it were her fault – so it seemed, and it was strange and inappropriate. Her face dropped and faded, and on both side of it her long hair hung down mournfully; she mused in a dejected attitude like “the woman who was a sinner” in an old-fashioned picture.

“It’s wrong,” she said. “You will be the first to despise me now.”

There was a watermelon on the table. Gurov cut himself a slice and began eating it without haste. There followed at least half an hour of silence.

Anna Sergeyevna was touching; there was about her the purity of a good, simple woman who had seen little of life. The solitary candle burning on the table threw a faint light on her face, yet it was clear that she was very unhappy.

“How could I despise you? asked Gurov. “You don’t know what you are saying.”

Chekov uses the watermelon - Gurov eating without haste followed by at least half an hour of silence - as a pause or a representation of time passing where the reader feels the slowness of pace, the awkwardness, how the absence of writing is more meaningful than any other mundane details would be.

Another way to use negative space in writing fiction is with breaks. This is something I haven’t thought about a lot, but I’m starting to consider how to make better use of my breaks.

As Nick Mamatas explains in his book Starve Better: Surviving the Endless Horror of the Writing Life, “scene breaks all but invite an editor to stop reading at the break, so be sure you use them only when necessary and proper.”

Nick goes on to explain “a scene break is thus primarily useful when the break is profound and signaling it is thus very important.”

In other words, don’t put in a scene break between a character waking up and then driving his car shortly afterward. Nick asserts that a scene break does not mean “and then” or “meanwhile.”

Here is an example from Starve Better of when to use carriage returns, scene breaks, and chapter breaks:

“You’ll never take me alive, imperialist pigs!” Joseph shouted, raising his AK.

(two carriage returns)

Later that night, in prison, Joseph tried to enjoy his Salisbury steak.


“You’ll never take me alive, imperialist pigs!” Joseph shouted, raising his AK.

(scene break) #

At Joseph’s funeral, his son, Joseph Jr. vowed revenge on America.


“You’ll never take me alive, imperialist pigs!” Joseph shouted, raising his AK.

(chapter break) II.

Harvey always enjoyed Martyr’s Day. The government not only outfitted him with slightly longer leg irons for the holiday, it also let him eat all the pigeons he could kill as part of their statuary protection program.

Seeing that all the busts of Joseph-Leader, Founder, and Father of all of us-made a more popular toilet than anything else, Harvey wondered if there wasn’t something in the way the bronze of Joseph’s bald head gleamed under the sun.

Negative space is like breathing. How long do you want that breath to be? A short gulp – maybe carriage returns. A deep inhale – maybe a chapter break to show a more significant change.

It was interesting for me to go back and reread some of my stories giving more attention to negative space. It’s fascinating how the use of non-writing can change a story.

Podcasts for Writers

Odyssey has over 40 great podcasts by wonderful writers like Theodora Goss, James Morrow, Shawna McCarthy, Gardner Dozois, Jeff VanderMeer, Bruce Holland Rogers, and many more. Check it out here.

Double Trouble

This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending two conferences: The Rochester Writers' Conference held at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan and Conclave held at the Sheraton in Romulus, Michigan.
First, I was told by some delightful folks at Conclave that this short video is a must watch, so enjoy!



Second, I was asked to put up some of the handouts from my panels. And here they are:

How To Write A Synopsis

by Christine Purcell

Helpful Hint: Editors read a lot of submissions. They like to find the information they need quickly. Headings make it easy for editors and their tired eyes and this makes editors grateful. 

Sample set-up for a synopsis.

One-Sentence Summary:

Give your editor a powerful, one-sentence hook.

Main Characters:

Describe your characters' strengths, weaknesses, and what makes them unique. Describe their relationships with your other main characters when relevant. You want to describe your protagonist and your antagonist as well as a few other characters that have significant impact on the main characters/events in your story. 

Character 1 is an obsessive technomancer, and although she intends her inventions to positively impact society, her ability instead makes her an outsider….

Character 2

Character 3

Character 4

Plot Summary:

This should generally be in chronological order with main events flowing logically into each other so the editor can clearly see your narrative arc. You can also describe your intentions/inspirations here if you wish.

Economy is important. Look at each word and see if it is visual – descriptive and energetic.

You don't want every word to be growled/chortled/chastised by any means. However, you do want Kryptonite rather than green rock; man of steel rather than tough guy; and Lex Luthor instead of everyone else.

Ending:

Yes, include your ending. Much of an editor's decision may be based on whether your ending is both surprising and satisfying.

Links:

How to Write a Cover Letter

How to Write a Biography

Dialogue

Writing a Scene

And a great example of how to start off with very strong opening paragraphs that include a sense of your character's attitude, something your character wants, and how your character is starting to change: The Collectors by Matt Bell

  

Ads of Yesteryear

A friend of mine recently sent me these pictures. Maybe you write alternate history, historical fiction, steampunk, whatever. Some of these ads make the fantasy seem more real than our recent past reality. These are are real. I'm not joking. 
I guess it's time for my three-year-old to start drinking cola!

A New Adventure in Slush

I get a lot of weird stuff that comes into the Elder Signs Press e-mail slushpile. There's the "Hi, I'm submitting my Dungeons and Dragons campaign" and the word salad stories that read like the author got thesaurus happy.
But this is a new one:

As I mentioned above, I’m great at following directions and as such and per your submission guidelines, I have attached the first three chapters of “(name changed to protect the innocent),” and a synopsis, as well as a self-addressed stamped envelope for your anticipated reply.

 Wow. Now that's talent!