tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349779522024-03-13T21:19:32.791-04:00Archetype Writing BlogPart of ArchetypeWriting.com,
the fiction writer's guide to using psychologyCarolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.comBlogger170125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-70106775076725825622012-02-17T18:36:00.000-05:002012-02-17T18:39:18.919-05:00Long Overdue UpdateWell, I've been doing a terrible job of updating the blog, haven't I? I'm definitely still blogging, I've just been focusing a lot of my energy on my <i>Psychology Today</i> blog (<a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psychology-writers">Psychology for Writers</a>) and the <a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/">QueryTracker Blog</a>. You can also find me on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WritersGuidetoPsychology">Facebook </a>and <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/114705227849697554573/posts">Google+</a>!<br />
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If you haven't checked them out, you might be interested in some of my recent <i>Psychology Today</i> posts. You'll notice they're all about characterization—those seem to be the most popular!</div>
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<li><a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psychology-writers/201202/personality-tests-your-characters">Personality Tests for Your Characters</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psychology-writers/201201/nonverbal-communication-and-your-characters-0">Nonverbal Communication and Your Characters</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psychology-writers/201109/what-really-drives-your-characters">What Really Drives Your Characters?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psychology-writers/201010/cardboard-cutouts-make-rotten-villains">Cardboard Cutouts Make Rotten Villains</a></li>
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Over on the QueryTracker Blog, author/lawyer <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1610350197/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1610350197">Leslie Budewitz</a> and I recently exchanged views on the insanity defense. She wrote about <a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2012/01/writing-q-using-insanity-defense-in.html">historical and modern legal approaches</a>, and I wrote about which <a href="http://www.lawandfiction.com/blog/?p=140">psychological disorders your characters</a> would (and would not) need to have to plead insanity. I also do writing-and-fiction Q&As over on the QTB. Recent questions sought information on <a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2011/12/psychology-q-dissociative-amnesia-after.html">dissociative </a><a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2011/12/psychology-q-dissociative-amnesia-after.html">amnesia </a>and <a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2011/10/psychology-in-fiction-q-brainwashing.html">brainwashing</a>. (Forensics specialist Kristy Lahoda has also been doing <a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/search?q=Q%26A+explosives">explosives Q&As</a> over on the QTB!) You might also enjoy:<br />
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<li><a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2011/10/your-heros-dark-side-looking-into-abyss.html">Your Hero's Dark Side: Looking into the Abyss</a></li>
<li><a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2011/08/conflict-characterization-lessons-from.html">Conflict and Characterization</a></li>
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<b>Archetype Writing Site</b><br />
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I have continued to keep <a href="http://archetypewriting.com/">Archetype Writing</a> alive, and today I spent an hour going through the site with a fine-toothed comb to fix some dead and misdirected links.<br />
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<b>The Writer's Guide to Psychology</b><br />
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If you haven't yet picked up a copy of <a href="http://writersguidetopsychology.com/">The Writer's Guide to Psychology</a>, I'm thrilled to say that the book has received excellent reviews and is selling quite well on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1884995683?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1884995683">Amazon.com</a> (where you can get an <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1884995683/?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957&condition=collectible">autographed copy</a>)! It can be difficult to find in brick-and-mortar bookstores, though if you have a local Powell's Books, they're sometimes in stock there.</div>
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<br /></div>Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-76841265577522478072011-01-13T15:53:00.000-05:002011-01-13T15:53:02.759-05:00Q&A Problems Fixed; Book UpdatesIf you've tried to send a question through my Q&A form and it hasn't worked OR if you sent me a question and I never answered it, please re-send. Someone let me know about the problem, and I've gotten the form all fixed now, and I'm receiving the questions properly again! I haven't done any Q&As lately for the blog, and I'd like to remedy that!<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">In Other News...</span></b><br />
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My latest Psychology Today post, <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psychology-writers/201101/what-you-think-you-know-about-psychology-may-be-wrong">What You Think You Know About Psychology May Be Wrong</a>, was selected to be an Essential Read in PT's Creativity area, and was also recognized in a <a href="http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/12/on-the-brain-craving-music/">CNN Health</a> blog. The post is essentially a reiteration of the WGTP's premise, so if you like the post, you'll love the book!<br />
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Writer Stina Lindenblatt posted a wonderful review of the WGTP this morning -- she called it brilliant! You can check it out <a href="http://www.stinalindenblatt.com/2011/01/on-my-writerly-bookshelf_12.html">here</a>.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ISLNS8?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004ISLNS8">Kindle version</a> of <b>The Writer's Guide to Psychology</b> is finally available!! If you prefer a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1884995683?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1884995683">hard copy</a>, of course, you can also get one of those!<br />
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Finally, don't forget my upcoming <a href="http://writersguidetopsychology.blogspot.com/2011/01/book-signing-12211-columbus-ohio.html">book signing in Columbus, Ohio</a>: Saturday, January 22nd @ 2pm at the Borders on Kenny Road.Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-10579190090438037982010-12-10T09:02:00.024-05:002010-12-10T09:02:00.313-05:00Guest Posts & WGTP Giveaway WinnerBe sure to stop by <a href="http://murderby4.blogspot.com/">Murder by 4 </a>for a guest post today (Friday) about mistakes writers make in thriller/suspense fiction, including misconceptions about the Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity plea and The Ambiguously Insane (But Often Brilliant) Villain. On Monday, stop by Mary Lindsey's delightful <a href="http://mary-lindsey.blogspot.com/">Purposeful, Deliberate Waffling</a> blog for a guest post on what I've learned (and wanted to pass on to you) about publishing a book.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">Winner!</span></b><br />
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Thanks to everyone who posted comments here, through the Facebook feeds, and through email! I threw all the names in a hat and the winner of the signed book and the fab mug is....Deb Salisbury! Congratulations! Deb, could you email me with your snail mail addy, please? (My email address is <a href="http://writersguidetopsychology.com/contact.htm">here </a>if you need it.)<br />
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Thank you too to everyone who participated in the blog tour, whether as a reader, a host, or a commenter! If you didn't win a signed copy to keep for yourself or give as a gift (or both!), <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1884995683?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1884995683">Amazon has a great price</a> -- and I've been promised that a Kindle edition is coming very soon! I will be sure to post again here when that happens.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Psychology Today Blog</b></span><br />
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In the meantime, if you haven't had a chance yet to check out out my Psychology Today blog, <i><a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psychology-writers">Psychology for Writers</a></i>, please stop by! So far we've talked about haunted asylums, what makes a good villain, <i>The Vampire Diaries</i>, and what to do when your personal issues show up in your stories!Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-58964865629478947442010-12-01T06:00:00.005-05:002010-12-10T00:00:25.159-05:00The Writer's Guide to Psychology Release & Blog Tour!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xvWATrrocSwWJjzL40IuNFhy0RovfATK8QUDDehJf1mSwNzf9zQ4fRxxhTnQLgmuyBwVzGZ1BIrMhfsWB06C3tyjmK4xQGxf_g3HET3CM0TOSFyWCz6KT3g1H6l7sB7MSL5Vxg/s1600/giveaway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xvWATrrocSwWJjzL40IuNFhy0RovfATK8QUDDehJf1mSwNzf9zQ4fRxxhTnQLgmuyBwVzGZ1BIrMhfsWB06C3tyjmK4xQGxf_g3HET3CM0TOSFyWCz6KT3g1H6l7sB7MSL5Vxg/s1600/giveaway.jpg" /></a>Today is the day! The day every writer waits for and dreams about -- the day her first book hits shelves.<br />
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For me, that book is<b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1884995683?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1884995683">THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGY</a>: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment and Human Behavior</b>.<br />
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If you haven't ordered a copy yet, you can <a href="http://writersguidetopsychology.com/"><b>visit my WGTP website</b></a><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> for more information including the </span><a href="http://writersguidetopsychology.com/MediaKit/WGTP_MediaKit_HIres.pdf">media kit</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> (which includes review excerpts) and a </span></strong><a href="http://writersguidetopsychology.com/press.htm" style="font-weight: bold;">detailed table of contents</a><strong style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">, </span></strong><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Writers-Guide-to-Psychology/127755520585981?ref=sgm" style="font-weight: bold;">follow me on Facebook</a><strong style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">, or visit my new </span></strong><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ArchetypeWriting" style="font-weight: bold;">YouTube channel</a>. And you can always <a href="http://archetypewriting.com/qa/qaform.htm" style="font-weight: bold;">send me your psychology and writing question</a> here <strong style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">at Archetype Writing.</span></strong><br />
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I am also thrilled to announce that in addition to <a href="http://writersguidetopsychology.com/press.htm"><b>enthusiastic blurbs</b></a> from novelists like Jonathan Kellerman, Jilliane Hoffman, and Roberta Isleib, my first reviews are in from the New York Journal of Books, and they're excellent. Please read a brief review from the NYJB <a href="http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/review/writer%E2%80%99s-guide-psychology-how-write-accurately-about-psychological-disorders-clinical-treatme" style="font-weight: bold;">here </a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">and a much more extensive one (by a different reviewer) </span><a href="http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/review/writer%E2%80%99s-guide-psychology-how-write-accurately-about-psychological-disorders-clinical-treat-0"><b>here</b></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">.</span><br />
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I created the Archetype Writing website several years ago with the WGTP still just a seed of an idea in my mind. My goal was twofold: first, to try out the idea of psychology for writers (thank you all for your support along the way!), and second, to build a platform. I know that Archetype has grown a little static as I've worked on the book, but the site is still alive! I hope to be able to update more regularly in the upcoming months.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Blog Tour & Giveaways</span></b><br />
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In the meantime, please celebrate my book release with me! Over the next two weeks, I will be doing a blog tour. Several of the stops will include <b>giveaways of autographed books</b>!<br />
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<b>This week:</b><br />
Dec 1: <a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/">QueryTracker Blog</a> <br />
Dec 2: <a href="http://suzettesaxton.blogspot.com/">Shooting Stars</a> <br />
Dec 3: <strike><a href="http://murderby4.blogspot.com/">Murder by Four</a></strike> (moved to 12/10)<br />
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<b>Next week:</b><br />
Dec 6: <a href="http://myth-takes.blogspot.com/">Danyelle Leafty/Myth-Stakes</a><br />
Dec 7: <a href="http://www.imperfectclarity.net/">Imperfect Clarity</a><br />
Dec 8: <a href="http://christinefonseca.wordpress.com/">Christine Fonseca</a><br />
Dec 9: <a href="http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com/">Elana Johnson</a> -<br />
Also, <a href="http://christinefonseca.wordpress.com/">Christine Fonseca</a> is also going to review the book this day.<br />
Dec 10: <a href="http://murderby4.blogspot.com/">Murder by Four</a> is hosting a guest post<br />
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<b>Bonus:</b><br />
Dec 13: <a href="http://mary-lindsey.blogspot.com/">Mary Lindsey</a> <br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Archetype Book and Mug Giveaway!</span></b><br />
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I'll be keeping you posted on the various giveaways here. I'm also going to be doing one here. Post a comment here, on the Archetype blog between now and next Thursday, December 9th, and you'll be entered to win <i>not only</i> an autographed copy of the book, but also a very special, <i>very </i>rare Writer's Guide to Psychology mug! I'll announce the winner here on Friday, December 10th.Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-40236048597133637102010-10-15T15:48:00.000-04:002010-10-15T15:48:25.883-04:00Emotional Intensity Book Winner!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwivzYBZGPeSg0-rxVEbVBpJevxGHP6zURK1jHoUvQRcRhKarSvuKmPsemZgsfi8XcAEOctkzQKFYp-I781P2M5iXLA20NWBDi7lsHs1ojckxzdyH6U8vDnJdXnJzV3iXw0R9WQ/s1600/4900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwivzYBZGPeSg0-rxVEbVBpJevxGHP6zURK1jHoUvQRcRhKarSvuKmPsemZgsfi8XcAEOctkzQKFYp-I781P2M5iXLA20NWBDi7lsHs1ojckxzdyH6U8vDnJdXnJzV3iXw0R9WQ/s200/4900.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>Thank you to <i>everyone</i> who commented on the <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/goog_2066134763">interview with </a><i><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/goog_2066134763">Emotional Intensity</a></i><a href="http://archetypewriting.blogspot.com/2010/10/interview-book-giveaway.html"> author Christine Fonseca</a>. Time to announce the winner! I printed out the comments, cut them up, and threw them into a hat and out came Kay Elizabeth's name!<br />
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Kay, Christine will be contacting you to get your address so she can send out your <i>signed copy</i>!<br />
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If you'd still like a copy, you can <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593634900?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1593634900">order one from Amazon</a> (they are waiting for another shipment in a couple of weeks, if you can wait that long). If you want one <i>right now</i>, you can order the book or even get a PDF copy directly from the publisher, <a href="http://www.prufrock.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=1520">Prufrock Press</a>.<br />
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Thank you again to everyone who participated!Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-24782271151889961472010-10-11T09:00:00.009-04:002010-10-12T16:26:59.064-04:00Interview & Book Giveaway! Author/Psychologist Christine Fonseca on Giftedness & The Writing Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593634900?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1593634900" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ecgLqxWIL8QVRXv8gNkfo-J7bpF_kiwXuGYLy81O8heBN-Yh4y-0JOhH2pVcCEmdjAGAZABn8eHTu1KBgtjbNjnmI9kDyP4FSuyD-hvqeR2D4aG4lMLSyTeYJTJnpD5GR-4ZfA/s320/Fonseca.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Today we're joined by fellow author and psychologist Christine Fonseca, who's talking to us about giftedness, the writing life, and book promotion. Read on to learn about why you (and your children) may be intense, and how to deal with that perfectionism!<br />
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To celebrate the release of her first book, <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593634900?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1593634900"><i>Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students: Helping Kids Cope With Explosive Feelings</i></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">, we're giving a copy away! I'm going to throw the names of everyone who comments on this post into a hat (seriously...I have lots of hats...love hats) and draw a winner. So...to enter, leave a comment below! I'll post the winner here on <s>Wednesday </s> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>Friday </b></span>(deadline extended)!</span></b><br />
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<b>1. How did you decide to write <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593634900?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1593634900">Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students: Helping Kids Cope With Explosive Feelings</a>?</b><br />
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After working with families of gifted students through the school district, I became increasingly aware of how society perceives the emotional aspects of giftedness as opposed to the cognitive attributes. Most people love the way a gifted child can solve problems with intensity, but do not understand that same intensity when it comes through via their emotions. As a result, too many kids grow to believe their emotions make them less – make them crazy. <br />
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Something needed to be done to help kids, parents and educators understand the emotional aspects of giftedness. Thus the idea for this book was born.<br />
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<b>2. How do you define giftedness?</b><br />
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Great question. As you may know, there is no standard agreed upon definition of giftedness. That being said, I like this one the best (From the National Association for Gifted Children, NAGC):<br />
<blockquote>“A gifted person is someone who shows, or has the potential for showing, an exceptional level of performance in one or more areas of expression.”</blockquote>To expand that a bit, I would also say that a gifted individual demonstrates a specific set of attributes within their cognitive and emotional domains consistent amongst the gifted. This includes a high level of intensity in all aspects of their lives – cognitively and emotionally.<br />
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<b>3. Why can gifted people be so intense?</b><br />
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I find the intensity to be a nature part of giftedness, related to how gifted kids interact with the world. Unfortunately, while being cognitively intense is generally a great thing at any age, being emotionally intense can be problematic – especially if you have not yet developed the emotional tools necessary to work with the intensity. <br />
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I remember working with a group of 3rd and 4th grade gifted students recently. I asked them to tell me the top things they worry about. Instead of the typical answers you may expect to hear from 8 and 9 year olds (my grades, my parents, my dog dying – that sort of thing), these children confessed their fears about the wars our country is involved in, the natural disasters that had been occurring, global warming and whether or not the country was headed for problems economically. <br />
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A gifted child truly approaches life looking through a very different lens – one that is much more global and intense.<br />
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<b>4. Perfectionism is a problem for so many writers, and also for many gifted students. Do you have any tips to help people deal with their perfectionism?</b><br />
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I think the first thing to do is set realistic goals. If you, as a writer, tend to average 500 words during your writing sessions, don’t set a goal for 1K. <br />
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Next, it’s important to focus on the process – the journey – not just the outcome. If I had been outcome oriented when I queried that first novel, I would have quit three years ago. But I didn’t, because I focused on what I was learning, not on the fact that I hadn’t yet achieved my goals.<br />
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Check your perspective. Too often we have a faulty perspective of our world. When we get one rejection, we say “EVERYONE hates this book, again.” Not true. A better statement would be “This isn’t the right story for this agent.” Same event, two distinct ways of looking at it.<br />
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Bottom line, perfectionism is not completely bad – it is a driving force that enables us to continual grow and develop. But, taken to an extreme, it will paralyze us. It’s important to utilize some of the above strategies to prevent perfectionism from keeping you from achieving your goals. <br />
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<b>6. What have you learned along this journey toward publication, both about yourself and about being a writer?</b><br />
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Needless to say, my journey towards publication did not really start with that first novel. Or the second. It started with my nonfiction.<br />
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Through this journey, I have experienced amazing highs – finding an agent, selling my first…and second…books, holding my galleys in my hand, holding the book in my hands. I have also experienced extreme lows – having to shelve a novel…and another, rewriting a story from a blank page, endless rejections, endless confidence issues, jealousy.<br />
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All of it has been part of my journey, teaching me what persistence really means, patience, tolerance, and an acceptance that this is NOT a journey I could have done alone. These are things many gifted individuals never get a chance to learn. Perhaps that is why so many gifted peeps are drawn to the creative arts – for a chance to not only express themselves, but to find a true challenge.<br />
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<b>7. In addition to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593634900?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1593634900">EMOTIONAL INTENSITY IN GIFTED STUDENTS</a>, you have another book coming out this spring: 101 SUCCESS SECRETS FOR GIFTED KIDS: THE ULTIMATE HANDBOOK. Where do you find your ideas?</b><br />
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Giftedness is a significant underserved population when it comes to advice books. My ideas come from endless conversations with gifted adults and children – listening to their concerns, answering their questions, offering help when I can.<br />
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Fiction is a different story. These ideas come from people-watching. Yes, that’s right – I LOVE to spy on people, listen to the things they talk about, how they interact with each other. All of my stories usually start there – whether I am writing a contemporary “issue” piece, or exploring some dark gothic fantasy.<br />
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<b>8. How do you find the time for your writing?</b><br />
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Like every other writer balancing multiple careers, I scrap time whenever and wherever I can. I am a pretty driven and disciplined person when it comes to work (unlike my approach to exercise), so finding time usually isn’t a problem. My issue, is remembering to stay balanced – take some down time in between projects, take time to flake out, that sort of thing.<br />
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<b>9. Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about your book/s?</b><br />
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I just want to take a moment and thank everyone for the wonderful support I’ve had for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593634900?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1593634900">EMOTIONAL INTENSITY IN GIFTED STUDENTS</a>. The stories of hope and the ah-ha moments parents have emailed me about make every moment of this entire process worth it.<br />
<br />
Thanks for having me Carolyn. I can’t wait to celebrate YOUR book release soon. (<i>Isn't she awesome? -Carolyn</i>)<br />
<br />
Want more info on Christine and her books? You can <a href="http://christinefonseca.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/emotional-intensity-watermarked.pdf">read the first chapter of <i>Emotional Intensity</i> here.</a> You can also visit her <a href="http://christinefonseca.com/">website</a> or <a href="http://christinefonseca.wordpress.com/">blog</a>, or find her on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/christine.fonseca#!/pages/Christine-Fonseca-Author/226271671435?ref=ts">Facebook</a> or <a href="http://twitter.com/chrstinef">Twitter</a>. The book is now available, and you can <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593634900?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1593634900">order it here</a>, or get the e-reader version<a href="http://www.prufrock.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=1520"> here.</a>Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-56905171575117051002010-10-06T16:33:00.002-04:002010-10-06T16:33:11.082-04:00Archetype Writing Site: Back Up!I got in touch with the person with the power to fix things, finally, and the Archetype site is back up! Apologies again for the interruption, and I'm hopeful that won't ever happen again!Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-83859760740335708452010-10-05T17:46:00.003-04:002010-10-05T17:47:59.648-04:00Archetype Writing: What's Going On<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzw8WbcWnFDMe8rrO74_IEjxzzRu4TTc9kuMq97p71lPLwTF3yUbnFig_h91-QzQiii7jzlykRnENn9vn5w7TavRdh9rI7pmYrY4UKm7W26cDDPrugoe9VPtFbAicgVIt11nz2/s1600/TV+Test+Pattern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzw8WbcWnFDMe8rrO74_IEjxzzRu4TTc9kuMq97p71lPLwTF3yUbnFig_h91-QzQiii7jzlykRnENn9vn5w7TavRdh9rI7pmYrY4UKm7W26cDDPrugoe9VPtFbAicgVIt11nz2/s320/TV+Test+Pattern.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does this test pattern remind anybody else of <br />
the Amityville Horror?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Just wanted to let you know why the ArchetypeWriting.com site appears to be gone. (I promise it's temporary!)<br />
<br />
<b>The short explanation</b>: The people I registered the domain name with changed the way their logins work and, in the process, they locked me out. As a friend of mine would say, <i>ruh-roh</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>Extended explanation</b>: The domain name is whatever you name your website, in this case, <i>archetypewriting.com.</i> You pay a special fee for the right to use that name. When I initially built the Archetype site, I purchased the domain name (the right to use the name/address) and the server space (the physical space where the actual site material is stored) at the same time. Sometime between then and now, the company that I purchased from transferred the domain name part of their service over to another company. When they went to renew my server space and domain name, the server space (which they still control) went through fine, but the domain name (which is now handled by someone else) wouldn't go through.<br />
<br />
I then got an email alerting me to the problem, and started trying to sort through what had happened.<br />
<br />
I worked my way through several websites yesterday until I figured out who is holding my domain name hostage. I called their technical support today and talked with a tech guy, and he told me that since the domain name expired two days ago while I was trying to figure out what was going on, I now have to talk to someone else...who works weird hours.<br />
<br />
I will be calling her tomorrow, credit card in hand, to--I hope--get everything worked out and the domain transferred over to the service I normally use (which I've never had problems with locking me out). I'm hopeful that the site will be back up by Thursday or Friday.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, rest assured that the Archetype site is safe. The server space I use (where the actual website is stored) has the material right where it belongs, and of course I maintain backups locally. <br />
<br />
Apologies for the temporary down-time. We'll be back up ASAP!Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-84012850435078381192010-08-02T09:00:00.001-04:002010-08-02T09:00:08.429-04:00Q&A: Bipolar Disorder and Sociopathy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIL7eM6-J3c_Z3bnDq2DnUyMXCdRlj_233c1oaejImpM6m8sgRksFvFpDoGfovl-aqTWbCfgwduzxywJYUAenMRT1g3-VBoOorJnAG7aq8lLZC9hXnj3UmEnqLtdAvvDYqvbHkw/s1600/psychINfictionQ&A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIL7eM6-J3c_Z3bnDq2DnUyMXCdRlj_233c1oaejImpM6m8sgRksFvFpDoGfovl-aqTWbCfgwduzxywJYUAenMRT1g3-VBoOorJnAG7aq8lLZC9hXnj3UmEnqLtdAvvDYqvbHkw/s1600/psychINfictionQ&A.jpg" /></a></div><blockquote><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">QUESTION</span></b>: I have A LOT of questions pertaining this one idea since I'm so determined to get the character's psyche right. I'm writing a story in which my character has un-diagnosed bipolar disorder.<br />
<ul><li>How would this, if left untreated, affect a sociopathic character?</li>
<li>I know that bipolar disorder gets worse if left untreated, but how much worse could it get before the character is driven to suicide?</li>
<li>HOW, specifically, would the disorder get worse?</li>
<li>What would have to have occured in his childhood to spark the desire to kill?</li>
<li>What would prompt him to choose his victims? Is it just random or would a small force (specifically, accidentally insulting them) set him off?</li>
<li>Would the antisocial personality disorder account for the bipolar symptoms, or would they have two completely different sets of symptoms?</li>
</ul></blockquote>We have two different diagnoses going on here, right? Bipolar I disorder (the worst form of bipolar d/o) and Antisocial Personality Disorder (the official name for sociopathy).<br />
<br />
Let’s make sure we get each one defined first. Bipolar disorder means your character has both devastating <a href="http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/mjrdepep.htm">major depressive episodes</a> and full-blown <a href="http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/manicep.htm">manic episodes</a>. To be diagnosable, these episodes should cause “clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.” <br />
<br />
You also note that the character has not been diagnosed – in other words, no counselor or doctor has said “this is bipolar disorder” and suggested treatment.<br />
<br />
The most notable way that bipolar disorder may affect sociopathic behavior is that during manic episodes, when the character’s judgment and impulse control go down, he may do things that are more hurtful to others than someone might otherwise. In other words, the manic episode exacerbates the sociopathic behavior.<br />
<blockquote>I know that bipolar disorder gets worse if left untreated, but how much worse could it get before the character is driven to suicide? HOW, specifically, would the disorder get worse?</blockquote>If bipolar disorder goes untreated, the character will begin to swing more rapidly between manic and depressive episodes, and the episodes may become more intense. “Rapid cycling” bipolar disorder means that there are at least two cycles a year (mania, depression, and then again, mania, depression). In other words, the character is cycling over months rather than over years. Ultra-rapid cycling occurs over weeks to days, and ultradian cycling happens over days.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCy9s1wtLSCmYiAEUojFGGQUrohjK0xs0pujVgWRd0m3tsQDZifQKyzqsqjOAOahfJesJI-89D8texiNXZwpDyDX2TcKwN-gTwSR-ASXeMlm6RUbHh_7kgl4tu4JQWXZ4Q_rM6A/s1600/rapidcycling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCy9s1wtLSCmYiAEUojFGGQUrohjK0xs0pujVgWRd0m3tsQDZifQKyzqsqjOAOahfJesJI-89D8texiNXZwpDyDX2TcKwN-gTwSR-ASXeMlm6RUbHh_7kgl4tu4JQWXZ4Q_rM6A/s400/rapidcycling.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Note that rapid cycling happens more as someone becomes older if the disorder is untreated. Also note that your character doesn’t have to be cycling ultra-rapidly if you want him to be moody. Since people with bipolar disorder have a mood “thermostat” that is easily knocked off balance by things like stress, he can be a mercurial sort even if he isn’t cycling rapidly from up to down and vice versa.<br />
<br />
Suicide is not always a given with a mood disorder. Many people consider suicide to try to escape the pain of such extremes in mood, but others do not. And of those who consider it as an option, only some choose to act on it.<br />
<blockquote>What would have to have occurred in his childhood to spark the desire to kill?</blockquote>Okay, now we’re talking about the sociopathy. Typically there are a few different things that can trigger the type of dangerousness you’re interested in. The most common are abuse and severe neglect. Children who grow up around violence tend to learn violence as an acceptable way to deal with problems.<br />
<br />
Some genetic mutations, brain abnormalities, and frontal lobe (of the brain) injuries can also contribute. You can probably get away with that generic info, but if you want more details, I suggest picking up a copy of my forthcoming book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1884995683?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1884995683">The Writer's Guide to Psychology</a>: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment and Human Behavior.<br />
<blockquote>What would prompt him to choose his victims? Is it just random or would a small force (like, specifically, accidentally insulting them) set him off?</blockquote>Most people with APD recognize that breaking the law will get them locked up if they get caught. So they’re probably not going to flip out on someone for something small…unless, of course, they’re in the middle of a manic episode, when their judgment is extremely poor.<br />
<blockquote>Would the antisocial personality disorder account for the bipolar symptoms, or would they have two completely different sets of symptoms?</blockquote>Definitely two different sets of symptoms! They’re two totally different disorders.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Need accurate and easy-to-understand information on bipolar disorder, antisocial personality disorder, or why villains act the way they do for your story? I've got you covered with lots of information on all of those topics in </b></i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1884995683?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1884995683"><b>The Writer's Guide to Psychology</b></a><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment and Human Behavior </span>at your favorite online bookstore today! </b></i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1884995683?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1884995683"><i><b>Pre-order a copy now</b></i></a><i><b>!</b></i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Remember, if YOU have a psychology in fiction question you want to see answered here, use the </i><a href="http://archetypewriting.com/qa/qaform.htm"><i>Q&A form on the Archetype site</i></a><i>. </i>Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-25817520981996007462010-07-22T09:00:00.000-04:002010-07-22T09:00:12.988-04:00Psychology in Fiction Q&A: Splitting and Alter Egos<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIL7eM6-J3c_Z3bnDq2DnUyMXCdRlj_233c1oaejImpM6m8sgRksFvFpDoGfovl-aqTWbCfgwduzxywJYUAenMRT1g3-VBoOorJnAG7aq8lLZC9hXnj3UmEnqLtdAvvDYqvbHkw/s1600/psychINfictionQ&A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIL7eM6-J3c_Z3bnDq2DnUyMXCdRlj_233c1oaejImpM6m8sgRksFvFpDoGfovl-aqTWbCfgwduzxywJYUAenMRT1g3-VBoOorJnAG7aq8lLZC9hXnj3UmEnqLtdAvvDYqvbHkw/s1600/psychINfictionQ&A.jpg" /></a><br />
<blockquote><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">QUESTION: </span></b>My MC (Andrew) exhibits many symptoms of <a href="http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/borderlinepd.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">borderline personality disorder</span></a>, including splitting. With the splitting, he basically thinks of himself as a "good" Andrew and a "bad" Andrew. In his thoughts, the good part of him (whom he calls Leif) talks with the bad part. At first, it's just jumbled thought, sometimes doesn't make sense, and as it progresses, it develops two distinct voices. He thinks the bad Andrew is just worthless and a street whore (he's a prostitute) and the good Andrew is who he is trying to change into, to fix his life. I don't think this is split personality or multiple personalities because they are aware of each other, and it really is like two aspects of the same thing. Does this make sense, psychologically? Is it still borderline, or is this something else?</blockquote><br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">ANSWER:</span></b> It sounds like you've got the gist of splitting, which is pretty commendable, since it's a tough concept. Typically, though, adult splitting is seen as a kind of defense mechanism, so people aren't really aware that they're doing it.<br />
<br />
Let me explain splitting a little more, just so that makes sense, and then we'll talk about what might work well for your story.<br />
<br />
According to object relations theorists like Melanie Klein, newborns essentially believe that the world is part of the same entity as them. In other words, they can't differentiate between themselves and the world. Later, they differentiate between "me" and the world, but Mommy (or Daddy, or whoever the primary caregiver is) is seen as part of "me." Still later, the child begins to understand that "me" and Mommy are different, but they have trouble seeing "good Mommy" (who acquiesces to them and fulfills their needs) and "bad Mommy" who says "no" or is otherwise frustrating or disappointing as the same person. This is splitting, and it's natural around 3-4 months of age. As we get older (i.e. around 6 months of age), we learn to see "good Mommy" and "bad Mommy" as part of the same person. That's why we can love and hate someone at the same time.<br />
<br />
This natural process is interrupted in people who have borderline personality disorder, typically due to trauma of some kind (usually abuse). As a result, these children never stop splitting other people and either idealize or devalue them. They may swing back and forth very quickly from one side to the next, but they aren't really able to simultaneously integrate the good and bad.<br />
<br />
People with borderline personality disorder never learn to regulate their emotions, so they have extremely tumultuous, even destructive relationships with others as they frantically try to get others to help them deal with a world they feel they can’t deal with alone.<br />
<br />
You say Andrew has other borderline tendencies, but if splitting is the primary reason you’re using the borderline diagnosis, it might be simpler to move away from that diagnosis. (Borderline personality is an extremely painful disorder for the person who has it, and they often have depression, anxiety, PTSD, and incredibly disruptive behavior patterns, and that’s a lot to try to portray!)<br />
<br />
At the same time, you’re right, it doesn’t sound like Andrew would qualify for dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder). His relationship with his alter ego, Leif, isn’t dissociative enough.<br />
<br />
It sounds to me like Andrew has just named a normal ego state and is relating to it in a way that works for him. Which is entirely possible and probably is not in itself diagnosable.<br />
<br />
Everyone has multiple ego states. That’s normal. For example, the “you” that goes to Thanksgiving dinner with the in-laws probably acts a little different than the “you” that goes out for a raucous evening on the town with friends. Both parts are you, but they’re different sides or facets of you. <br />
<br />
Some people are more aware of these different ego states than others, especially if they play very diverse roles in life. That sounds like the case for Andrew.<br />
<br />
It’s even pretty normal for people to give their ego states names, though they may think of those ego states as “the party girl” or “the writer” or whatever. People also adapt their names based on the setting they're in. For example, an Andrew might be Mr. Whomever at work, but Drew with friends and Andy to his lover. And I know people who go by their given names (e.g. James) in formal situations but by a middle name or nickname that's completely different in informal settings (e.g. Tim).<br />
<br />
If you want or need a diagnosis for Andrew, based on the brief description you gave me, I’d probably lean toward some kind of a mood disorder, maybe dysthymia (a chronic, low-grade, but extremely wearing depression) or a major depressive disorder (which is more crippling at its worst, but tends to get better and then worse and then better again over the years). An anxiety disorder is another possibility.<br />
<br />
<i><b>For more information on borderline personality, dissociative identity disorder, mood and anxiety disorders, treatments, therapies, and character-building, be sure to </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1884995683?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1884995683"><b>pre-order</b></a><b> a copy of </b></i><a href="http://writersguidetopsychology.com/"><i><b>The Writer's Guide to Psychology</b></i></a><i><b>: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment and Human Behavior at your favorite online bookstore today!</b></i>Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-40586534064879805982010-07-18T14:41:00.001-04:002010-07-18T14:42:56.565-04:00Reflections on Shutter Island<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHMvMx45O-akM6ZbaRODvT5pPd5RTy_Kid6xCyIWnEq7CVZkvG0yziifKdR8GTRr3ZTKKiUmwaqYvvGdqS0gj9C335Iuiq8M2C3CMzkZtdg7wKeAKQ9wKnE67X2IlzQVc1u9pOhw/s1600/shutter-island-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHMvMx45O-akM6ZbaRODvT5pPd5RTy_Kid6xCyIWnEq7CVZkvG0yziifKdR8GTRr3ZTKKiUmwaqYvvGdqS0gj9C335Iuiq8M2C3CMzkZtdg7wKeAKQ9wKnE67X2IlzQVc1u9pOhw/s1600/shutter-island-poster.jpg" /></a></div>I finally saw <a href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=archetyppsych-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B001GCUO5M">Shutter Island</a> last night. I didn't know a lot about it other than that it was Leonardo DiCaprio on an island that was an asylum for the criminally insane. I'd also heard that it was the same kind of mindbender as the 2000 film <a href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=archetyppsych-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B00003CXZ4">Memento</a>, which I enjoyed.<br />
<br />
I really enjoyed the movie, and if you haven't seen it, it's worth watching. (And I'm going to be careful not to include spoilers below.) In addition to the story itself, it's an interesting study of psychology as it stood in the mid 1950s. Psychotropic medications, most notably antipsychotics, had just entered widespread use, but earlier, more destructive treatments like lobotomies were still being widely used (and misused) on difficult patients.<br />
<br />
It's too bad that they didn't place a little more emphasis on how mental institutions at the time were self-sustaining. Patients helped do things like farm, and in addition to providing sustenance, it gave them purpose and responsibility and dignity and improved their overall mental health in many cases -- which makes a lot of sense when you consider that the alternative in many cases was to be stuck in a closed room.<br />
<br />
One of the things I loved most about the film was the portrayal of DiCaprio's character's experiences as a soldier in WWII. He was part of the regiment that freed Dauchau, and as the movie progresses it becomes clear that he has <a href="http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/ptsd.htm">post-traumatic stress disorder</a> (PTSD) complete with intrusive recollections, recurrent nightmares, amnesia for certain events, hypervigilance, and irritability. And rather than using washed-out frames to portray the memories, Scorsese hyper-saturates the scenes, giving them a vibrant, even jarring hyper-realism.<br />
<br />
The one thing that drove me crazy through much of the movie was the assumption that the new antipsychotics (chlorpromazine, or Thorazine, in particular) <i>caused </i>hallucinations and delusions when in fact they do the exact opposite. But it was all explained in the end. I promised not to spoil the film for you, so I'd better stop there...<br />
<br />
Definitely worth a watch, though, if you haven't seen it.<br />
<br />
I'm really looking forward to seeing another mindbending DiCaprio movie next weekend: <a href="http://inceptionmovie.warnerbros.com/">Inception</a>. If that one has as much psychology as this one did, I'll be writing another one of these in a week! (But hey, if you've seen it, no spoilers for me in the comments, okay? I wanna be surprised! :)<br />
<br />
<b>Need accurate and easy-to-understand information on antipsychotics, lobotomies, historical or modern mental institutions, and disorders like PTSD for your story? I've got you covered with </b><i><b>lots</b></i><b> of information on all of those topics in <i><a href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=archetyppsych-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=1884995683">The Writer's Guide to Psychology</a>: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment and Human Behavior </i>at your favorite online bookstore today! Pre-order a copy <a href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=archetyppsych-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=1884995683">now</a>!</b>Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-14701470847097654212010-06-16T09:00:00.005-04:002010-06-16T09:00:06.724-04:00Creating Your Author/Book Website: The How<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRihjDiVH8-8deEzxPnURTYqK4jxAsHhB8MYFjCB48Yy4_GwU9y_ML9-ThqWEKY7Sjrf2rzGUfu2H5PgbkVomzSeuJUdaWP_PFOYNQutLxCFP7cGg8dcA4ZDj9mTimxoQO_XqkuQ/s1600/storyboard.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRihjDiVH8-8deEzxPnURTYqK4jxAsHhB8MYFjCB48Yy4_GwU9y_ML9-ThqWEKY7Sjrf2rzGUfu2H5PgbkVomzSeuJUdaWP_PFOYNQutLxCFP7cGg8dcA4ZDj9mTimxoQO_XqkuQ/s320/storyboard.gif" width="320" /></a></div>On Monday we talked about the importance of having a website for your book/s. Today we're going to talk about how to get that website built.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">Storyboarding</span></b><br />
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The first thing you need to do is sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and storyboard a bit. What is your primary graphical symbol going to be? What do you want your menus to say? Will you have submenus? How will you lay them out?<br />
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To the right you'll see what a basic storyboard looks like for me...and how that might translate into a completed site. My sites rarely look just like my storyboards, but they're often quite similar.<br />
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Once I've come up with a basic storyboard, I do a lot of thinking in Photoshop and Dreamweaver. I try combining things in different ways to see how they look. I went through nearly 15 iterations of the Writer's Guide to Psychology website before I was happy with the design. To the right and below are just three of them (the bottom one being what I settled on).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDRImmMJiaKxYzZztRujPqdE_Guz-qSzALbUIjqQEnF8yJyHHTDrnqPsUmEE5Pzgic1gVxxKRsWSdI_Wjw5QoQi9R4t_Ks_iZbTaCo1hZsIoS_jtSqlNrNUpsxIxAREksaBJgMnQ/s1600/iterations.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDRImmMJiaKxYzZztRujPqdE_Guz-qSzALbUIjqQEnF8yJyHHTDrnqPsUmEE5Pzgic1gVxxKRsWSdI_Wjw5QoQi9R4t_Ks_iZbTaCo1hZsIoS_jtSqlNrNUpsxIxAREksaBJgMnQ/s320/iterations.gif" width="147" /></a><br />
In other words, don't worry if it takes you a while to get it right. Trial and error is often the best way to figure out what's going to work for you and your book.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">Actually Building the Site</span></b><br />
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I'm one of the lucky ones -- I've been creating webpages since 1995, and I love doing it. It's fun for me to design a site; create the graphics, text, and other media; and tweak until I'm happy.<br />
<br />
You may not feel that way, or you may not yet know how to build a website on your own. If either of these things is the case, you have several options.<br />
<br />
<b>1. Hire someone to build the site for you.</b><br />
<ul><li>Pros: You don't have to get your hands dirty. You pay someone and the work is done.</li>
<li>Cons: You're trusting your site to someone else, and you don't get the same opportunity to play around until the site feels just right. Having someone else build a site for you an also be expensive, especially if you rely on them to do all your updates.</li>
</ul><b>2. Use a website that provides templates.</b><br />
<ul><li>Pros: You can build a site on your own without having to understand how the coding works.</li>
<li>Cons: These template sites vary widely in quality, ease of use, and functionality. Many (if not most) of them scream <i>amateur</i>. Some require you to have some basic knowledge of how the web works. Some are costly. You are limited by the template you choose, especially if you're plunking down hard-earned cash to use a particular one. And there's no guarantee someone else won't be using exactly the same template.</li>
</ul><div><b>3. Use a blogging website like WordPress or Blogger to create your site.</b></div><div><ul><li>Pros: Easy to use and update, lots of templates to choose from. In many cases you can tailor a blog to look more like a website than a blog. WordPress and Blogger both offer a way to make different pages so everything isn't running through the blog engine.</li>
<li>Cons: Custom templates can be buggy, and they often require some HTML and/or CSS knowledge to really tweak them. Instructions on how to make changes vary from very good to extremely poor. </li>
</ul></div><div><b>4. Tackle a website-building program like </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CNIR7G?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002CNIR7G"><b>Microsoft Expression Web</b></a><b><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=archetyppsych-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002CNIR7G" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> or </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003D8XEG8?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003D8XEG8"><b>Adobe Dreamweaver</b></a><b><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=archetyppsych-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B003D8XEG8" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b> (or find a friend who knows them and can help you).<br />
<ul><li>Pros: You have complete control over your site and the possibilities are limitless.</li>
<li>Cons: Advanced knowledge and patience are required. (If you're going to try to learn Dreamweaver, I highly recommend <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596522924?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0596522924">Dreamweaver CS4 Missing Manual</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=archetyppsych-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0596522924" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596802447?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0596802447">CSS: The Missing Manual</a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=archetyppsych-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0596802447" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />if you want to really understand CSS.) MS Expression web is considerably cheaper (unless you're a student or teacher) and has very similar functionality to Dreamweaver. There are also plenty of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26x%3D0%26ref_%3Dnb%5Fsb%5Fnoss%26y%3D0%26field-keywords%3Dexpression%2520web%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Dus-stripbooks-tree&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957">books to help you learn MS Expression Web</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=archetyppsych-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, though I haven't read any of them, so I can't make any particular recommendations. (Once you learn one of the programs, you can move back and forth pretty easily between them.)</li>
</ul>For the novice, I suggest using a blogging platform like Blogger or WordPress. Overall, they're easy to use, there's lots of help available, and they're fairly easy to customize.<br />
<br />
A little tip as you build, especially if you're using someone else's templates. Remember, just because you <i>can</i> do something doesn't always mean you <i>should</i> do something. In other words, simple is often better.</div><div><br />
</div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">Your Domain Name</span></b><br />
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If you're not using Blogger or WordPress (or sometimes even if you are), you'll want a website address (aka a domain name) that refers to you or your product. Fortunately, domain names are inexpensive, often around $10 a year. <a href="http://godaddy.com/">GoDaddy.com</a> is an easy place to buy a domain name, though I prefer <a href="http://www.sslcatacombnetworking.com/">SSL Catacomb Networking</a>, as they're often cheaper and I like the control they give me over my domain names.<br />
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Dot-com (.com) names are the most popular because everyone automatically tacks ".com" onto a website address, but you can use all kinds of domain extensions (.net, .info, etc.) if .com is already taken. Though website domain sellers often encourage you to buy every extension under the sun, that's really not necessary.<br />
<br />
Once you have your domain name and host service, you're ready to upload your finished site. (I use <a href="http://websitesource.com/">Website Source</a> because you can do pretty much everything with it...including shell in if you want to. Don't worry if you don't know what shelling in is...it's the ability to do high-level customization of your site on the server side.) Programs like Dreamweaver and Expression Web will help you upload straight from the program.<br />
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<b>So...if you have a website, what approach are you using? Do you like it? Would you do anything differently if you were starting over?</b><br />
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<i>A PS on websites: I was going to do a major overhaul of the Archetype site, paring it down quite a bit, but in the end I decided it was best to let the site stand mostly as-is, unwieldy though it may be. After all, my goal in writing the book has been to add to the information available to writers on accurate psychology, so it seems almost counterproductive to be reducing the information already available online.</i>Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-16893679312376721692010-06-14T09:00:00.008-04:002010-06-14T09:00:00.768-04:00Creating Your Author/Book Website: The WhyMy forthcoming book, THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGY, now has its own <a href="http://writersguidetopsychology.com/">website</a> and <a href="http://writersguidetopsychology.blogspot.com/">blog</a>!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://writersguidetopsychology.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb8vWt69Ay3NYf1NrjI_QQbXH41n5vvr27iFBa13rM4_StpSGK7i7xZdD4pAzXJsRAhGFHOVD61S9Z4tmw8h_GLWYyfTF2I88EAjK5_jr_qvZPmJm6mIwustFWR5synfDV0tg7rg/s320/website.jpg" width="320" /></a>As I've made this journey, I've been sharing the ins and outs with you, so I figured I'd talk a bit about the importance of websites in promoting your book.<br />
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I'm going to quote <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1884956971?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1884956971">PR THERAPY</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=archetyppsych-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1884956971" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> author Robin Blakely, because she says it so well:<br />
<blockquote>It's mandatory in today's world to have an Internet presence. Currently, that internet presence must, at a minimum, consist of an e-mail address and a website or landing page.</blockquote>Why is a website so crucial? Well, partly because the first thing many of us do when we hear about a product that interests us is go online to find out more. A website dedicated to the author/book in question serves several purposes:<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">1. It legitimizes the author and the book. </span></b><br />
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<div>In the social sciences (like psychology), something that has been legitimized has clout and power behind it. It feels somehow more <i>real, </i>more authoritative, than something that has not. Think about the mega-authors, the bestselling authors, the ones who are household names -- they all have websites. It's part of the product that <i>is </i>[insert mega-name author here]. </div><div><br />
</div><div>In a digital world, especially one in which it's so easy to create a webpage, there's really no excuse for <i>not</i> having a site.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">2. It gives you a way to brand yourself.</span></b></div><div><br />
</div><div>I've talked about <a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-to-put-on-your-writer-website.html">branding</a> on the QueryTracker.net blog, and about how I developed the Archetype Writing brand:</div><div><blockquote>Before we get into [website] content, let’s talk a little bit about design. You need to pick a theme or symbol to represent you. Something that’s unique to your site and your work. In advertising, we call that branding.</blockquote><blockquote>I have this really cool pen that my mom got me as a stocking stuffer one year. The barrel is clear, and there’s a little light in there that changes colors. I turned it on, put it on a white sheet of paper and started snapping photographs as it changed colors. That silly little gift, with the light orange, has become my symbol for Archetype Writing. I have it on my site; I have it on my blog. (I also have it on notepaper and my business cards. I'm getting oodles of mileage out of that pen.)</blockquote>I also used specific colors to go with the Archetype brand -- most notably orange, a color I chose because it is associated with adjectives like <i>energizing, vital, friendly</i>, and <i>fun</i>. I paired it with black to ground it, since black brings to mind adjectives like <i>bold, strong, powerful</i>, and <i>sober</i>. In other words -- I was going for a site that is fun to visit, but also includes authoritative information. (If you're particularly interested in the psychology of color in branding and advertising to help you build your site, I highly, <i>highly </i>recommend the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0966638328?ie=UTF8&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0966638328">Pantone Guide to Communicating with Color</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=archetyppsych-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0966638328" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> by Leatrice Eiseman.)<br />
<br />
Over on my new <a href="http://writersguidetopsychology.com/">Writer's Guide to Psychology</a> website, the brand is strongly influenced by my book cover. I decided to carry over the image of the brain, along with the typewriter font and the warm, robust colors, particularly dark red. If someone has seen the book, I want them to know they've reached the right website the second they see it, and vice versa.</div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;"><b>3. It provides interested parties with additional information -- information that </b></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;"><b>you</b></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;"><b> control.</b></span></div><div><br />
</div><div>Sites like Amazon.com provide fantastic information on books. They give us all the details on the publisher, let us browse reviews, and even let us order a copy for ourselves. But while newer features like <a href="https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/landing?ie=UTF8&%2AVersion%2A=1&%2Aentries%2A=0">Author Central</a> give writers ways to customize their pages and bios, they still can't control a lot of the information published there.</div><div><br />
</div><div>On <i>your</i> website, you can include as much information as you like -- and make sure it's accurate. You can provide excerpts, tips, and tidbits to really get potential readers intrigued.</div><div><br />
</div><div>So how do you go about creating your own website? Tune in later this week to find out!<br />
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<b>In the meantime...what have I missed? What else does a website do to help a book? And as a writer, do you have your own author or book website?</b></div>Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-16832248372066063382010-04-07T09:00:00.062-04:002010-04-07T09:00:10.778-04:00Exciting News! How a Book's Title and Cover Are Chosen<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX135lzMSQm6MY_36xO1ceDr9sTUL8P9fiu3ziL2YHYOyuB6PqNK9DJSU9PyaXi3HHXeaqhIcYa53VmHWCkKvxwtMjZB7bHszyrtXw-HSaPazQuCxkdpJ6Tp4OAOSLQMbFaeCf_A/s1600-h/Writer's-Guide-to-Psychology-Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX135lzMSQm6MY_36xO1ceDr9sTUL8P9fiu3ziL2YHYOyuB6PqNK9DJSU9PyaXi3HHXeaqhIcYa53VmHWCkKvxwtMjZB7bHszyrtXw-HSaPazQuCxkdpJ6Tp4OAOSLQMbFaeCf_A/s400/Writer's-Guide-to-Psychology-Cover.jpg" width="266" /></a>You'll all have to forgive me for being so very <i>in absentia </i>of late. I've had a lot going on with the upcoming book, but I'm excited to finally be able to unveil some information: the cover, the title, and the publication month. Since you're all writers too, I thought you might be interested in the process we went through to reach these decisions -- read on!<br />
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I turned in my completed and polished manuscript last October to the fab team at <a href="http://www.quilldriverbooks.com/">Quill Driver Books</a> (hereafter referred to as QD). We took the holidays off and then dove into January with some fine-tuning in anticipation of the book listing going out with Quill Driver's fall catalog. (Yes, it's just now spring, but remember, publishing almost always operates months in advance.)<br />
<br />
First, we changed the title from <i>Nervous Breakdowns and Psychopathic Killers: The Writer's Guide to Psychology</i> to <i><b>The Writer's Guide to Psychology: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment and Human Behavior</b></i><i>. </i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
Why? Well, my original goal was to create a title that grabbed the browser -- NERVOUS BREAKDOWNS AND PSYCHOPATHIC KILLERS! -- and made her want to pause long enough to look at the subtitle and then the book. However, QD made a really good point: many, many people browse books online, and the subtitle often isn't visible. So we needed a title that made clear the book's purpose. We banged around some possible titles and subtitles and finally came up with one that not only clearly explained what the book was about, but was interesting, too.<br />
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Next came the book cover. QD had a design firm come up with three different cover options, all of them quite different. I asked some of the people I was closest to what they thought; meanwhile, QD discussed the options internally and also asked the book distributor folks for their input. In the end, we chose a design that best seemed to convey the concept captured by the new title. Seeing the book cover is kind of like putting on a wedding veil -- you realize in a way you hadn't before that <i>this is really going to happen!</i><br />
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Most recently, I got a publication month: December 2010 -- just in time for holiday shopping! The book isn't yet available for pre-order, but it should be soon. I'll be sure to let you know.<br />
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In the meantime, I'm starting to think again about publicity. At the top of my list is the Archetype website.<br />
<br />
I first created Archetype several years ago while I was building my initial <a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2009/06/building-your-platform.html">platform</a>. One of my goals over the next few months is to rebuild the <a href="http://archetypewriting.com/">Archetype website</a>. There's a good chance I'll be starting from scratch and creating something that aligns even better with the book than the current site. Never fear -- I'll definitely be keeping the <a href="http://archetypewriting.com/qa/qaform.htm">Q&A</a>, though I may switch it over to a blog format -- blogs are so easy to update!<br />
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If you have thoughts or suggestions on the new site, by all means, now is the time to speak up!<br />
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More soon!Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-22421984263481584492009-11-03T09:00:00.004-05:002009-11-03T09:00:08.951-05:00Psychology in Fiction Q&A: Effects of Being Isolated from Men<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvVOuYkP5ll4q_g7TircZ4ROzteSrKWnUzWV8l_8HYRlt_285RR6txpdg4Hz1dUTZLM1p8bitIaSg6nohixlSurZU493UlZVresbPSTnAMvh45TDPRIWRkjYP-HnZiUCemFlwQg/s1600/psychINfictionQ&A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvVOuYkP5ll4q_g7TircZ4ROzteSrKWnUzWV8l_8HYRlt_285RR6txpdg4Hz1dUTZLM1p8bitIaSg6nohixlSurZU493UlZVresbPSTnAMvh45TDPRIWRkjYP-HnZiUCemFlwQg/s320/psychINfictionQ&A.jpg" style="text-decoration: underline;" /></a><span style="color: red;"><strong>QUESTION:</strong></span> <span style="color: black;"><b>A young girl is taken prisoner along with a number of her family members. The women are separated and sent to separate prisons from the men, and my character eventually ends up being held in isolation in a nunnery, though not outright treated cruelly. After eight years, after her father wins his rebellion, she is returned home. What would the emotional effects of this be?</b></span><br />
</div></div></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span style="color: red;">ANSWER:</span></b> I'll start with the isolation: The biggest thing that strikes me is that without a lot of contact with other people, especially kids her age, she would be emotionally and developmentally immature. In other words, she would have essentially stopped aging emotionally in a lot of ways. She would still be at the emotional maturity of a younger girl.<br />
</div><br />
It doesn't sound like she'd be traumatized by the <i>isolation</i>, necessarily, since she wasn't treated poorly, but depending on what you want to do with her, she could be someone who lives very much in her head (ie in fantasy) and who kind of eschews contact with others, possibly because they're loud and unpredictable and therefore frightening. If you wanted to take this to an extreme, she could be very closed off from others, even seeming cold and withdrawn.<br />
<br />
Alternately, she could be very clingy with someone who was extremely kind to her once she's been freed, because she's terrified of being alone again. If she was taken care of primarily by women during her isolation, she would probably be freaked out a bit by men.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Finally, whether she's able to recover and live a normal life is going to depend a lot on what her life was like before her abduction. If she had strong, healthy relationships, she's more likely to recover as an adult than<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">if she did not.<br />
</div><br />
<b>The writer then supplied me with a little additional information and asked for some clarification: She had healthy relationships before but I think your comment about being fearful of men is a strong possibility. In what way would she be most likely show being freaked out by men do you think? She has grown up into a mature young woman with no interaction with men. This is so totally outside my experience I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around whether she would be more likely to try to please them or avoid them. Also how she would relate to her father who she might blame for years of imprisonment--or might be grateful that he finally managed to force her release. Before she was imprisoned, she witnessed/was part of a couple of horrendous battles thanks to his rebellion... </b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
Since she saw some horrendous battles she could also have some lingering <a href="http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/ptsd.htm">PTSD</a> (nightmares, anxiety attacks, a tendency to withdraw from others, a tendency to startle easily:). If you wanted to, since she's been around women so much, you could make men a trigger for PTSD symptoms -- that is, they might remind her of the awful battles; she might see them as scary and brutish and dangerous. She might experience nightmares or panic attacks, or have trouble sleeping or be extremely watchful around them. She might drink when she had to be around them so she'd feel less anxious. Depending on what you want to do with your story (eg if there's any romance to it), that would give your hero a bit of an uphill battle to overcome her automatic fear reactions. He would have to be patient and kind (though nobody could blame him if he got frustrated sometimes)..<br />
</div><br />
Those are all kind of extreme reactions, but in a lot of ways that's the nice thing about dealing with individual differences -- you can make the story go in the direction you need it to if you understand the basic psychological possibilities. That is, we can say "she could do x, y, or z depending on the temperament she was born with" and you can say, "Ah, y would work best for my story."<br />
<br />
So having the reactions above toward men -- fear -- are one possibility.<br />
<br />
Another would be to have her want to please them, but I see that being the least likely possibility. If she's mostly spent time around women, she's either going to see women as strong, capable creatures who don't necessarily need men, or as victims of men's behavior -- it depends on the messages she got as a captive. If she was constantly being told in some way that "this is the evil men do," then she will see women as victims and be more obsequeious with men. If men simply weren't a part of these women's lives, though, I think it's more likely she would just see men as strange and different and women as capable. I see her being very cautious around men. They're strange creatures, and how to understand strange creatures? You sit back and observe. I think she'd be a sponge, watching how other people react to men, how they react to each other, how they treat her. She might even respond to them the same way she has learned to respond to other women, and be confused when they don't always respond the way she expects. How analytical she is will depend some on how smart she is, and how curious.<br />
<br />
You can go in whichever direction you want with her feelings about her father. It would probably depend on how she remembers him -- as distant and punishing or as kind and loving. It would also depend on the messages she was given about him. If the nuns constantly told her she was there because of her father and seemed angry or disapproving, she'd pick up that attitude.<br />
<br />
Finally, given that she needs to get married and whatnot, she might also feel some resentment toward men for changing her life so profoundly. You and I might think of being isolated as horrible, but people adapt to the situations they're in and find ways to survive. Change is hard, and going from being isolated to being around lots of people would probably leave her wishing at times that she could just be left alone, or even that things hadn't changed. Because while being isolated might not have been fun, it was familiar.<br />
<br />
You can combine several reactions as she re-integrates into society -- just make sure her changes aren't sudden flips, that they happen gradually and that we see enough of what's going on with her to get why maybe she went from being terrified of men to being willing to sleep with one. :)<br />
<br />
Remember, if YOU have a psychology in fiction question you want to see answered here, use <a href="http://archetypewriting.com/qa/qaform.htm" style="color: #324765;">the Q&A form on the Archetype site</a> or send me an email at w e b m a s t e r (AT) archetypewriting (DOT) com. (Take out the spaces in the first word and please use Q&A in your Subject Line!). If you would prefer to have the question answered on the <a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/" style="color: #324765;">QueryTracker.net Blog</a>, you can email your question to c k a u f m a n (AT) querytracker (DOT) net. Again, please use Q&A in your Subject Line!Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-36706727083991161432009-10-28T09:00:00.002-04:002009-10-28T09:00:17.678-04:00Psychology in Fiction Q&A: Partner Abuse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvVOuYkP5ll4q_g7TircZ4ROzteSrKWnUzWV8l_8HYRlt_285RR6txpdg4Hz1dUTZLM1p8bitIaSg6nohixlSurZU493UlZVresbPSTnAMvh45TDPRIWRkjYP-HnZiUCemFlwQg/s1600-h/psychINfictionQ&A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvVOuYkP5ll4q_g7TircZ4ROzteSrKWnUzWV8l_8HYRlt_285RR6txpdg4Hz1dUTZLM1p8bitIaSg6nohixlSurZU493UlZVresbPSTnAMvh45TDPRIWRkjYP-HnZiUCemFlwQg/s320/psychINfictionQ&A.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>QUESTIONS:</strong></span> <span style="color: black;"><b>1. What kind of therapy would a teenage girl go through after she's been in an abusive relationship? 2. Are there any books or websites you could recommend for more information dealing with therapy post break-up? 3. Since there is a new love interest in the MC's life, would he be involved in any sessions? 4. Is there a way for him to learn how to be there for her, or is that something that is never considered? 5. From what I've read, girls who've experienced relationship abuse may have posttraumatic stress disorder after it's over. Do you have any other resources you'd recommend?</b></span><br />
</div></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span style="color: red;">ANSWERS:</span></b> For readers who aren't familiar with the signs and causes of domestic violence, you may want to drop by the <a href="http://www.helpguide.org/mental/domestic_violence_abuse_types_signs_causes_effects.htm">HelpGuide </a>for a comprehensive overview.<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">On to the questions!<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. What kind of therapy would a teenage girl go through after she's been in an abusive relationship? </span><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> If you're looking for the name of a therapy, I'd say the most likely choice would be Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) coupled with feminist therapy. The feminist aspect is the most important part of therapy for DV (domestic violence, a catchall term for relationship violence) because it does <i>not </i>blame the survivor (note the use of the word survivor rather than victim); in fact, it looks at how society cultivates violence against women via things like the popular media, attitudes that women should be subservient, court systems that don't provide adequate consequences for batterers, and so on.<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Are there any books or websites you could recommend for more information dealing with therapy post break-up?</span><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><br />
</b><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Getting a sense of the feminist theories and approaches that make therapy for DV unique will be a big help.<br />
</div><ul><li>PDF Article: <a href="http://new.vawnet.org/Assoc_Files_VAWnet/FeministTherapy.pdf">Beyond Victim Blaming: Feminist Therapy and Battered Women</a></li>
<li>Online Article: <a href="http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/theory-and-techniques-of-feminist-therapy/">Theory and Techniques of Feminist Therapy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/theory-and-techniques-of-feminist-therapy/"></a>I have not read Lenore Walker in a long time, but she is one of <i>the </i>experts on DV. You might <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26ref%255F%3Dnb%255Fss%26field-keywords%3Dlenore%2520walker%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Daps&tag=archetyppsych-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957">check Amazon</a> or your local library to see whether they have copies of her work.</li>
</ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Since there is a new love interest in the MC's life, would he be involved in any sessions? </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><br />
</b><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">No. Definitely not, unless, say, they're ready to get married and wanted to do some premarital counseling. Even then, I'd want them to see a separate therapist for the couples therapy. Since I worked exclusively with DV for a year, I can say pretty confidently that if a client asked me if she could involve her new boyfriend, I'd want to explore what made her want to bring him into therapy. My response would vary based on what she said, but without any extra information (as I write this), I'd probably wonder about her confidence in her independence and ability to function without a man. Not in a blaming way, but I'd want to work with her even more on autonomy, recognizing her unique strengths, and feeling (and behaving) as if she is equal in a relationship.</span><br />
</b><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Is there a way for him to learn how to be there for her, or is that something that is never considered?</span><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><br />
</b><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Absolutely, there are things he can do, and he'd be a keeper if he really tried to do these things!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/07/03/sexist-jokes-may-be-linked-to-domestic-violence/6898.html">Many people believe DV is rooted in sexism</a>, so fighting sexism in himself and the people around him would be huge.<br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">A man who has feminist attitudes can be a great support. I should probably clarify -- a lot of people feel like "feminist" is a bad word. Like many people, until I was exposed to feminist therapy and truly began to understand what feminism meant, I bought into the stereotype that feminists are militaristic man-haters. Though certainly some fall into that category, they are the exception rather than the norm. All feminism is is the belief that women should have equal rights and opportunities.<br />
<br />
The Maine Coalition to End Violence has <a href="http://www.mcedv.org/getinvolved/men.htm">a great resource that shows what a feminist man's attitudes</a> and <br />
behaviors would be like.</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
<br />
The nice thing is that younger men often <i>do </i>have more feminist attitudes than older men. Overall a supportive man would believe that what had been done to your character was <i><b>wrong</b></i><b> </b>and that she didn't deserve it and doesn't deserve any blame for it. He wouldn't push her around, smother her, or breathe down her neck -- he'd trust that she is a capable human being. </span></b><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Other attitudes that are much more subtle are things like avoiding assumptions of male privilege. For example, he doesn't assume he should be the one who drives, even when they're taking his car. He can open doors and be nice, but he's not seizing control of things just because he's male. </span></b><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">He wouldn't put up with sexist jokes and overt exploitation of women -- ie he's not going to endorse pornography that shows women saying "no" when they "really" mean yes. He's not going to see shoving yiour character against the wall or pinning her down as sexy. (Don't get me wrong, perfectly healthy couples can play at things like that if they've agreed to it and have safety words in place -- but something like this would probably scare someone who's been abused. So he'd need to be sensitive to things like that.) </span></b><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">He would need to leave room for her opinions, and respect them even if he disagrees with them. (He can disagree openly, but he doesn't try to intimidate her into anything, or blame her if, say, she chooses a movie he <br />
doesn't like.)<br />
<br />
I don't know how old your characters are or if they're sexually active, but if she was raped, that's definitely something to address in therapy. He would really need to respect her boundaries and he'd want to make sure she knew it was okay to ask him to stop if she got scared or uneasy.</span><br />
</b><br />
</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 5. From what I've read, girls who've experienced relationship abuse may have posttraumatic stress disorder after it's over. Do you have any other resources you'd recommend?</span><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><br />
</b><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">An absolutely fantastic book on PTSD is <a href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=archetyppsych-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=157224058X">Aphrodite Matsakis' I Can't Get Over It: A Handbook for Trauma Survivors</a>.</span><br />
</b><br />
</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>Remember, if YOU have a psychology in fiction question you want to see answered here, use </i><a href="http://archetypewriting.com/qa/qaform.htm" style="color: #324765;"><i>the Q&A form on the Archetype site</i></a><i> or send me an email at w e b m a s t e r (AT) archetypewriting (DOT) com. (Take out the spaces in the first word and please use Q&A in your Subject Line!). If you would prefer to have the question answered on the </i><a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/" style="color: #324765;"><i>QueryTracker.net Blog</i></a><i>, you can email your question to c k a u f m a n (AT) querytracker (DOT) net. Again, please use Q&A in your Subject Line!</i><br />
</div>Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-51956002020724220132009-09-16T09:00:00.005-04:002009-09-16T14:54:31.392-04:00Do Your Characters Send the Messages They Intend To?<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVkkuc-pMN9XfzqNcNByb_on_aWlyxtgDemBoRjDdz-fpH_mQEXrH9ayyYrqH57GE3NVdESg95DS99Dp4-lmRMj7y5p9jJT0j_pg6hwiKAriyNPI8-oZ_BlXPAhyphenhyphenJacBTSEjWlA/s1600-h/wolfT01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVkkuc-pMN9XfzqNcNByb_on_aWlyxtgDemBoRjDdz-fpH_mQEXrH9ayyYrqH57GE3NVdESg95DS99Dp4-lmRMj7y5p9jJT0j_pg6hwiKAriyNPI8-oZ_BlXPAhyphenhyphenJacBTSEjWlA/s320/wolfT01.jpg" /></a>I did quite a bit of driving around town today, and at one point I was on the highway behind a guy on a motorcycle. He had what appeared to be a wolf tail attached to his back fender. This led to three thoughts:</div><ol><li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I saw a bunch of people wearing similar tails at DragonCon. What's with the wolf tails? Is it a <i>Twilight </i>thing? </li>
<li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">What exactly is this guy trying to convey by attaching a wolf tail to the back of his motorcycle? Because I'd bet quite a bit of money that the message he's trying to send ain't the one I'm getting. </li>
<li>What's up with those people who attach big metal balls to the back undercarriage of their trucks? Because that's messed up too. (I did a little Googling. They have all kinds of not-so-clever names, and they've been banned in some states. Unfortunately, Ohio is apparently not one of those states. If you haven't seen them and you really want to put yourself through it, you can see some pictures <a href="http://www.toplessrobot.com/truck20nutz.jpg">here</a> and <a href="http://www.truck-nuts.com/index.html">here</a>. No more explicit than what you're probably imagining, but maybe not so good to click at work or around small children who might ask awkward questions.)</li>
</ol><div>Keeping questions 1 and 3 in mind, let's focus on Question 2 and relate it back to writing. </div><div></div><br />
<div>Everybody does something called <i>impression management</i>. Impression management is the process by which we try to control what impressions other people form of us. People who are <i>high self-monitorers</i> are more likely to monitor how they're being perceived and adjust their behavior to make the impression they want to make. They see themselves as flexible and good with other people. <i>Low self-monitorers</i> pay less attention to how they're affecting others and just say what they have to say. They see themselves as pragmatic and less easily swayed by others. (If you want to take the self-monitoring scale and see where you fall, you can do that <a href="http://pubpages.unh.edu/~ckb/SELFMON2.html">here</a>. Let me know how you come out in the comments!)</div><div></div><br />
<div>Both high and low self-monitorers use impression management, they just use it differently based on how they want to be perceived. One wants to be perceived in whatever way is most favorable in that particular situation; the other wants to be seen as independent and unswayed by others.</div><div></div><br />
<div>Start paying attention to the way people around you manage impressions. Because the guy with the tail on his motorcycle, he was trying to give a particular impression. I sincerely doubt it was <i>Team Jacob</i>, but that did come to mind. Maybe he was going for something cool and independent like <i>lone wolf</i>? If he was, it backfired, because I just thought <i>seriously, </i><i>what's up with that?</i> and then started thinking about other weird things that make me wonder the same thing (hence, the truck balls).</div><div></div><br />
<div>Honestly, if I'd seen him in a parking lot, I'd have gone up and asked him what was up with the wolf tail, just to find out what he really was thinking.</div><div></div><br />
<div><b>What impressions do your characters want to give other people? Do they want to seem competent? Cool? Friendly? Sexy? Something else?</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><br />
<div><b>How do they try to convey that? (For that matter, how do <i>you </i>try to convey that in the story?)</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><br />
<div><b>How might it backfire?</b></div><div></div><br />
<div>I'll be interested to read your thoughts in the comments!</div>Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-44690175871660528162009-09-10T09:00:00.000-04:002009-09-10T09:00:00.580-04:00Strong Female Protagonists<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3EDQBtGAUUtryTmcDvO8kGxbLnLhlbuisBVzExukrLx98kF37lvR3z3reU1GkHvkKzthMdi9E_YrsK2YkKRpDD56HdKhO5ye5xzlu7bQrUlTHvdPdKhq-xs4tXVT-JzcnwidrgA/s1600-h/alias.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3EDQBtGAUUtryTmcDvO8kGxbLnLhlbuisBVzExukrLx98kF37lvR3z3reU1GkHvkKzthMdi9E_YrsK2YkKRpDD56HdKhO5ye5xzlu7bQrUlTHvdPdKhq-xs4tXVT-JzcnwidrgA/s320/alias.jpg" /></a>I went to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Con">DragonCon</a> over Labor Day weekend. It was pure chaos, spread out across four massive hotels with nary a sign in sight to direct you most of the time. DragonCon has panel tracks, and there was a writing track, so I trekked my way up the hill to the Hyatt and then down into the bowels of the place in search of a panel called Strong Female Protagonists. Ah, I thought. Someone was going to talk about <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/15/AR2008081503099.html">the Anti-Bella</a>. Yay feminism!<br />
<br />
Not so much.<br />
<br />
Some of the authors on the panel talked about how their female protagonists aren't really strong -- they're just so incredibly vulnerable that they have no choice but to buck up a little bit to survive. Others talked about how their heroines' strength was born out of how much said heroines hate themselves. (Which is, sadly, <a href="http://www.archetypewriting.com/articles/writing/CV_urban-fantasy2.htm">a cliche of the urban fantasy genre</a>.) It felt like half of them were <em>apologizing</em> for female characters who were seen as strong.<br />
<br />
And then the whole thing devolved into a discussion of how explicit your sex scenes should be. <br />
<br />
You know what I learned from the panel? How incredibly uncomfortable our society still is with strong, independent women. So uncomfortable, in fact, that people retreated into a discussion about the most primitive way for men and women to relate: sex. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good conversation about sex as much as the next person, but not when it's a way to avoid the elephant we <i>really </i>came to discuss.<br />
<br />
In fact, the only truly useful part of the panel was when one author mentioned that the role of Lt. Ripley, the heroine of the Aliens movies, was originally written for a man. When Sigourney Weaver was cast instead, nobody bothered to rewrite the script. What we got was one of cinema's most unapologetically powerful women.<br />
<br />
My favorite strong female character is probably Jennifer Garner's Sydney Bristow from TV's Alias series. I was so impressed with Sydney's toughness and independence because it was balanced with heart and intelligence. Sydney was competent and confident, and nobody questioned that. If she and her partner Michael Vaughn got in a tight situation, you know who fought their way out? Well, they worked together, but Syd just happened to be the better fighter. Sydney did dress up and emphasize her sex appeal from time to time, but it was a tool in her arsenal, her way of taking advantage of stereotypes, and just one of the many approaches she was capable of using.<br />
<br />
Who are your favorite strong female protagonists? Why do you like them?Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-9653467763735728492009-09-01T09:00:00.001-04:002009-09-01T09:00:00.945-04:00Using Double Binds to Raise TensionFollowing <a href="http://archetypewriting.blogspot.com/2009/08/psychology-in-fiction-q-schizophrenic.html">my post</a> on the double bind theory originally developed to explain why people develop schizophrenia, a couple of people asked me to write more about double binds.<br />
<br />
I said:<br />
<blockquote>Double-bind theory is Gregory Bateman's 1950's-era proposition that what causes schizophrenia is repeated no-win dilemmas in the child's family life. In other words, the child was repeatedly confronted with statements that contained two contradictory statements (i.e. a double bind). Because of the child's attachment to the caregiver, he was eager to do as the caregiver asked -- the problem was that by meeting one demand, he would be defying the other.</blockquote>So what are some examples of double binds, people asked? Not necessarily with regards to schizophrenia, but in general?<br />
<br />
First, it's important to understand that most human communication doesn't involve words. In fact, only 7% of communication is attributable to the words' explicit meaning. Fifty-five percent of communication is body language, and the remaining 38% is vocal inflection and tone. So a double bind may or may not involve two explicit contradictory statements. The contradiction may be between body language and words, or between tone and words.<br />
<br />
Sometimes double binds are called "no-win situations," though double binds are often psychologically more complex than the average no-win situation.<br />
<br />
The double bind happens like this:<br />
<br />
<ol><li>The individual is given one command, with an explicit or implied "or else." The individual needs the relationship with the person giving the command, and therefore feels obligated to obey.</li>
<li>The individual is given a contradictory command verbally or nonverbally.</li>
<li>Sometimes other rules are imposed to keep the person from escaping the double bind. Usually there is something keeping the person from remarking on the paradox, either because she doesn't truly understand the paradox, or because the situation prohibits her from commenting on the paradox to help her resolve it.</li>
</ol><br />
For example, imagine a character who has a temper and withdraws love when something upsets him. Now imagine that this character insists that he will leave his partner (or otherwise stop loving her) if she doesn't provide him with negative feedback he knows she holds. Suddenly she's trapped in a double bind. If she doesn't give him the negative feedback, he will withdraw love. If she does give him the negative feedback, he will withdraw love. If she tells him that he's providing her with an unfair situation, he will withdraw love. Several of these messages are nonverbal, but they're there.<br />
<br />
Here are a couple websites that address double binds that you may find helpful. Both give examples.<br />
<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.kevinfitzmaurice.com/commu_double_binds.htm">How to Handle Double-Bind Questions</a></li>
<li><a href="http://changeminds.org/techniques/questioning/double_bind.htm" style="text-decoration: none;">Changing Minds.org's Entry on Double Bind Questions</a></li>
</ul><br />
As I'm writing, I keep thinking about the movie <i>Saw</i>. The villain, Jigsaw, confronts people with double binds; I think that's part of what makes the first movie so intriguing psychologically. He provides each victim with something horrific that he can stop only by doing something just as horrific.<br />
<br />
For example, in the first movie two men wake up, chained across a filthy washroom from each other. One victim, Dr. Gordon (remember, doctors are taught to "do no harm," and this value is important to Gordon) must kill the other man; otherwise, his family will be killed. But that's not the real double bind. The double bind is that there's another alternative -- Dr. Gordon can also saw off his own leg to get away and go try to save his family himself. There is nothing unethical about sawing off your own leg, and you can even hope that Dr. Gordon will know enough about the human body to tie an effective tourniquet. But both alternatives are so abhorrent psychologically that Gordon (and the watcher) are paralyzed.<br />
<br />
Creating truly paralyzing psychological double binds for your characters will raise tension and make the story intriguing. Here's how to do it:<br />
<br />
<ol><li>You must establish your hero's values so we see there is really no out to his situation.</li>
<li>You must raise the stakes high enough that each alternative is truly perilous for your hero.</li>
<li>You must demonstrate in some way that the villain will truly follow through with her threats if the hero does not choose one of the (psychologically unacceptable) alternatives.</li>
<li>You must not be afraid to go there psychologically <i>yourself</i>. (This is what holds a lot of people back from a truly great double bind in their fiction, so really think about this one.)</li>
<li><i>You </i>can't remain paralyzed by the situation. Once you paint your character into a truly awful corner, you have to force him to make a decision. Part of what makes Saw so shocking is that Gordon <i>does </i>make a decision, and it really is awful.</li>
<li>You need to acknowledge the fallout of that decision. If the alternatives are truly awful, there's going to be fallout of some kind, and that should be awful too.</li>
</ol><br />
It <a href="http://archetypewriting.blogspot.com/2009/02/breaking-pointand-beyond.html">scares a lot of people to really Go There</a>; that is, to really go through all six of the above steps. It scares them because they have to own up to the fact that they imagined something really awful and inflicted it on their characters. It scares them because they don't want to sully their shining hero with a truly awful decision. It scares them because they don't want to have to make a truly awful choice, and they <i>must </i>if the story is to continue.<br />
<br />
It's okay to be scared. Write with the fear, share it with your characters, and see where that takes you.Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-86072493712347681752009-08-25T09:00:00.003-04:002009-11-11T12:15:15.378-05:00Psychology in Fiction Q&A: Schizophrenic Families<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvVOuYkP5ll4q_g7TircZ4ROzteSrKWnUzWV8l_8HYRlt_285RR6txpdg4Hz1dUTZLM1p8bitIaSg6nohixlSurZU493UlZVresbPSTnAMvh45TDPRIWRkjYP-HnZiUCemFlwQg/s1600-h/psychINfictionQ&A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvVOuYkP5ll4q_g7TircZ4ROzteSrKWnUzWV8l_8HYRlt_285RR6txpdg4Hz1dUTZLM1p8bitIaSg6nohixlSurZU493UlZVresbPSTnAMvh45TDPRIWRkjYP-HnZiUCemFlwQg/s320/psychINfictionQ&A.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, san-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is intended for writing purposes only and does not represent psychological advice.</span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"></span><br />
<blockquote><span style="color: red;"><strong>QUESTION:</strong></span> <span style="color: black;"><b>What would a sibling of a person with schizophrenia function like? What are the traits of a schizophrenic family bind that I used to hear about?</b></span><br />
</blockquote><b><span style="color: red;">ANSWER:</span></b> Because schizophrenia is a biological disease, siblings of people with schizophrenia are 10 times more likely to develop the disorder than other people; they are also at greater risk for schizophrenic spectrum disorders like <a href="http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/schizotypalpd.htm">schizotypal personality disorder</a> and <a href="http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/schizoaffectivedis.htm">schizoaffective disorder</a>. In other words, some siblings may have schizophrenia-like tendencies of their own, even if they don't have the full-blown disorder.<br />
<br />
Double-bind theory is Gregory Bateman's 1950's-era proposition that what causes schizophrenia is repeated no-win dilemmas in the child's family life. In other words, the child was repeatedly confronted with statements that contained two contradictory statements (i.e. a double bind). Because of the child's attachment to the caregiver, he was eager to do as the caregiver asked -- the problem was that by meeting one demand, he would be defying the other. Because he was presented with such double binds on a regular basis, and because he doesn't have the cognitive maturity to know how to choose one statement over the other to escape the double bind, he eventually escapes from the extraordinary stress the double bind causes by retreating from the "real world" and into psychosis (i.e. delusions and hallucinations).<br />
<br />
Double-bind theory has fallen out of favor with regards to schizophrenia for two reasons. First, we have so much data that demonstrates a biological cause for schizophrenia, not an environmental one. Second, double-bind theory is nearly impossible to test, so there is little empirical research that can support it.<br />
<br />
There is research, however, to support the idea that a problematic family environment can contribute to the relapse of someone who's been treated for schizophrenia. Most notably, people with schizophrenia are likely to relapse when their family is high in expressed emotion (EE). Expressed emotion consists of three parts: criticism, hostility, and emotional overinvolvement.<br />
<br />
People with schizophrenia are extremely sensitive to stress, and being treated with constant dislike, disapproval, rejection, disrespect, and the assumption that they are not capable human beings is enough to stress anyone out!<br />
<br />
So even if the siblings in your story don't have schizophrenic tendencies themselves, you could make them somewhat critical and hostile people who show a lot of expressed emotion toward their brother or sister!<br />
<br />
Hope that's helpful!<br />
<br />
<i>Remember, if YOU have a psychology in fiction question you want to see answered here, use </i><a href="http://archetypewriting.com/qa/qaform.htm"><i>the Q&A form on the Archetype site</i></a><i> or send me an email at w e b m a s t e r (AT) archetypewriting (DOT) com. (Take out the spaces in the first word and please use Q&A in your Subject Line!). If you would prefer to have the question answered on the </i><a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/"><i>QueryTracker.net Blog</i></a><i>, you can email your question to c k a u f m a n (AT) querytracker (DOT) net. Again, please use Q&A in your Subject Line!</i>Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-76198779789470522062009-08-18T09:00:00.001-04:002009-08-18T09:00:01.195-04:00Psychology in Fiction Q&A: Repressed Memories<blockquote><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFctiuSBUYVJxaNzSBY0ORpLVrP9fEGcnCBKZtiNR4PxoiwOT8Qrk8epA8hCDN4UkJRJNosEmoLgry2QLz2vAb_pLX3NIweVxk8GM_xSLh9izi43kNFEEj7LR4OQuRm0l8QBUc6Q/s1600-h/psychINfictionQ&A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" sj="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFctiuSBUYVJxaNzSBY0ORpLVrP9fEGcnCBKZtiNR4PxoiwOT8Qrk8epA8hCDN4UkJRJNosEmoLgry2QLz2vAb_pLX3NIweVxk8GM_xSLh9izi43kNFEEj7LR4OQuRm0l8QBUc6Q/s320/psychINfictionQ&A.jpg" /></a></div><b><span style="color: red;">QUESTION:</span> How realistic is it for a man in his early twenties to have few conscious memories of his childhood? What could account for this volume of lost information (if it's even possible)?</b><br />
<br />
<b>Additional Information:</b> The protagonist was put up for adoption at age two, because his mother had died and his father was unable to support him. After only a few months, he was adopted and raised by an older couple. He has convinced himself that his childhood somehow doesn't "count" because of his father's absence. He is also convinced that he can restore a traditional father/son relationship, and is obsessively looking for him. It seems he holds little or no value in his life with his foster parents, so I can see how he could ignore those years to the point of outright forgetting them.</blockquote><br />
<b><span style="color: red;">ANSWER</span>:</b> It's plenty realistic, if it's happening for the reason it normally happens.<br />
<br />
What you're talking about is referred to as "repressed memories," or memories that have been pushed down/away from the conscious because they're too painful to recall. Repression, in other words, is a defense mechanism. Painful can mean a lot of things. Humiliating, scary, incredibly sad, confusing, etc.<br />
<br />
Not knowing much about your story, I would suggest that perhaps you put the protagonist up for adoption just a bit later in life. I think you need to give him a bit more time to attach to his dad and theoretically have made some memories to repress. I mean, let's face it, most people's first memories are from age three or four or even five years old in the first place. This is arguably because a) The brain hasn't developed far enough to retain memories in an adult way or b) The child hasn't yet developed enough language to store the memories in a way that can later be retrieved by the adult brain.<br />
<br />
If your protagonist is put up for adoption at age five or six and then has few memories of his childhood, perhaps including after he got adopted, you've got something pretty darn realistic as far as repressed memories go. It would also help if the couple who adopts your protagonist is not an ideal family. They can be good people, but perhaps they don't really know how to relate to a child and so they're distant, or aloof, or just extremely busy with their own lives. Or maybe they're not great people--not abusive, per se, but maybe they're cold and critical, and your protagonist unconsciously puts his father on a pedestal and that's why he's obsessive about finding him as an adult. I could see someone discounting his life with his adoptive parents if they were never really "there" for him emotionally, and yearning for a connection with this father he's built up in his head.<br />
<br />
I hope that's helpful! Let me know if you have additional questions!<br />
<br />
Remember, if YOU have a psychology in fiction question you want answered, use <a href="http://archetypewriting.com/qa/qaform.htm">the Q&A form on the Archetype site</a> or send me an email at w e b m a s t e r (AT) archetypewriting (DOT) com. (Take out the spaces in the first word and please use Q&A in your Subject Line!)Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-73390115930217519622009-08-10T09:00:00.002-04:002009-08-10T09:00:06.345-04:00Google Power: Finding ANYTHING on the Web Part II<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiClZfOi9DX94XQgiUGfDKFUxc030FqnTs7qAsHI310v9j62lt9ChFCuqe8F9jvQsg0SefbAeLsKw6pI_oVSdvjbui2l-uyJ8MvsazamFPS-TEFH4LufFsZx0nEANQEymyKLGq4CQ/s1600-h/ninja2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" sj="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiClZfOi9DX94XQgiUGfDKFUxc030FqnTs7qAsHI310v9j62lt9ChFCuqe8F9jvQsg0SefbAeLsKw6pI_oVSdvjbui2l-uyJ8MvsazamFPS-TEFH4LufFsZx0nEANQEymyKLGq4CQ/s320/ninja2.gif" /></a>So now you know <a href="http://archetypewriting.blogspot.com/2009/08/google-power-finding-anything-on-web_07.html">how to use some of the great Google tools</a>. Want to know how to do a super specialized search? These tricks are so advanced that even advanced researchers use them less than 5% of the time. But they unleash a huge amount of power. They're what make you a full Google ninja! </div><br />
Here are two of my favorites: <br />
<br />
<b>Phrase Search</b><br />
<br />
Erich Fromm is one of my favorite philosopher/psychologists. He wrote this fantastic paper called "On Disobedience," in which he explains why disobeying authority is sometimes the truest form of doing what is right. If you Google <i>erich fromm on disobedience</i> (I'm too lazy to capitalize sometimes, and Google doesn't care) you get a list of sites that list, quote, or talk about the paper. But say that's not what I want. I want to see if the paper itself is online. <br />
<br />
The trick is to put quote around a short phrase from the paper itself <i>exactly</i>, including any punctuation. (Personally, I try to avoid using punctuation, but if there is any, you must use it exactly.) Now, I'm geeky enough to know the first couple of lines of the paper by heart, so I put a phrase in quotes beside my original search. Now my search query looks like this: <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=erich+fromm+on+disobedience+%22human+history+began+with+an+act+of+disobedience%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a">erich fromm on disobedience "human history began with an act of disobedience"</a></i> </div><br />
Now I'm only getting sources that include that exact phrase. Unfortunately, it's a quotable quote, so what I ended up with is a bunch of <a href="http://archetypewriting.blogspot.com/2007/02/paying-others-to-make-you-stoopid.html">websites that sell bad term papers to students</a>. <br />
<br />
So I need to pick a more obscure phrase from the paper. I get out the handy-dandy book that contains the paper and search <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=erich+fromm+on+disobedience+%22man+has+continued+to+evolve+by+acts+of+disobedience%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a">erich fromm on disobedience "man has continued to evolve by acts of disobedience"</a></i> </div><br />
Bingo. Now I have a Google Books result. <br />
<br />
But that's still not good enough. So I'm going to pick <i>an even more obscure phrase that's less likely to be someone's quotable quote. </i>So I pick something that really captures the style of Fromm's writing but isn't likely to be quoted anywhere but in the actual article: <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>"my conviction and my judgment, if authentically mine, are part of me" </i></div><br />
Now I have three results, including a web-based copy of the article. Ta-da! You can read it <a href="http://eqi.org/fromm.htm#On%20Disobedience">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<i><strong>Excluding Terms</strong></i><br />
<br />
From time to time I Google my name. (Come on, admit it, you do it too.) My excuse is that sometimes when I work with journalists, they don't tell me they're using a quote I gave them. And sometimes Google Alerts don't catch those articles when they're posted online. So I Google myself in search of them so I can print them for my expert portfolio. <br />
<br />
Until the internet age, I thought I had a unique name. Turns out there are other people out there named Carolyn Kaufman. (Humph.)<br />
<br />
If you search my name, <i>my </i>information pops up to the top (ha! take that, other Carolyn Kaufmans!), but it turns out that there's also a Carolyn Kaufman who's a former professor and the CEO of a corporation, another who's an RN, and another in Orange County who says she has "Indigo Children" -- kids who have special powers to see the future. (Holy oh noes. What will this do to my professional credibility?) There are a few others out there, too, mostly Twitter and Facebook links and marriage announcements. There's a Carolyn J. Kaufman (not me), a Carolyn C. Kaufman (not me), and a Carolyn A. Kaufman (also not me). Which leaves me a lot to sort through. <br />
<br />
So the first thing I'm going to do is make my name into a phrase search to exclude any results with middle initials, because I don't usually use mine: <i>"carolyn kaufman"</i><br />
<br />
Then I'm going to start excluding phrases. In other words, I'm going to tell Google not to give me search results if they include this term or word. So to remove all the Indigo Children listings, I type a minus sign in front of the word I want to avoid: <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>"carolyn kaufman" <b>-indigo</b></i></div><br />
Fantastic, now all the Indigo Children listings are gone, but let's say I want to exclude all those other CKs I mentioned, too? Well, I just keep excluding terms: <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>"carolyn kaufman" -indigo <b>-ceo -rn</b></i></div><br />
That search leaves me with a Google search page that includes only one listing that isn't about me. I'm pretty happy with that. But let's say you're even picker. So I note that the other CK in the list of my results is from California, so I just add that to my list of exclusions: <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>"carolyn kaufman" -indigo -ceo -rn <b>-ca</b></i> </div><br />
And so on. I can also make things more specific by including my unique credentials. For example, I have a doctorate in clinical psychology, a Psy.D., so I can add that (note that I am adding it, not excluding it, so there is no minus before the psyd): <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"carolyn kaufman" <b>psyd </b>-indigo -ceo -rn -ca</span> </div><br />
Ooh, now we're really getting somewhere. <br />
<br />
If you're name-searching someone, you should also use common variations of their name. If you're looking for a Dave, for example, also try searching with the name David. If you're searching for a John, also try Jonathan, Johnny, and Jon. <br />
<br />
Congratulations, you are now a Google Search Ninja! There are more weapons in the Ninja Arsenal, and as I said before, if people find this really helpful, I'll see about writing about more of themCarolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-32082694784650569402009-08-07T09:00:00.002-04:002009-08-07T11:27:03.259-04:00Google Power: Finding ANYTHING on the Web Part I<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6-ynmD4hWYiQnyLi62Ej004QDjRyCFA9XS7voU-1zgiliBAP6CUoyjw7quwVkgI6QQNg2kDUuZ09Z0b9yoFxKamufEMT1HoV3hSWpBGR1MALmAyygWtBEAQ53Njc-AOEvANp-w/s1600-h/ninja.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" sj="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6-ynmD4hWYiQnyLi62Ej004QDjRyCFA9XS7voU-1zgiliBAP6CUoyjw7quwVkgI6QQNg2kDUuZ09Z0b9yoFxKamufEMT1HoV3hSWpBGR1MALmAyygWtBEAQ53Njc-AOEvANp-w/s320/ninja.gif" /></a></div>I am a Google ninja. I can find darn near anything (or anyone) on Google, because I know how to use all its secret tools. And it has a lot of secret tools. Journalists I’ve worked with sometimes call or email me asking me to help them find something on the internet. I'm just that good. (And totally modest about it, too.) <br />
<br />
I'm going to do a short series today and Monday to teach you how to use the same mad ninja skillz. <br />
<br />
Today we're going to look at basic searches and Google search tools. On Monday we're going to look at my favorite advanced search tools. If I get an overwhelming response, I can add additional parts to the series. <br />
<br />
One little caveat: It can be scary to realize just how much information about you is available on the internet. You are <i>not</i> anonymous online. If someone really knows what they're doing, they can track down all kinds of free information about you by using <i>just </i>your email address or <i>just </i>your name. We'll look at name searches tomorrow -- you may find them especially useful if you have a detective in your story. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Google Basics</span> <br />
<br />
Most people know how to conduct a <a href="http://www.google.com/">basic Google search</a>. You type a word or words into the Google Search box and go. You can even type your query in the form of a question. <br />
<br />
So let’s say I want to learn more about plagiarism. I just type <i>plagiarism</i>, and I get results like Plagiarism.org, which explains what it is and how to avoid it; the Wikipedia entry; and the Purdue OWL, which is the college’s writing help center. <br />
<br />
Maybe I want to learn about anti-plagiarism software, which compares a paper's contents to a huge database of written material. I change my query to <i>anti-plagiarism software</i>. <br />
<br />
<b>Basic Built-In Google Tools</b> <br />
<br />
Did you know you can use Google as a calculator? A dictionary? A spellchecker? Here's how. <br />
<br />
<i><b>Calculator</b></i>: Simply type the equation into the Google search box, and Google will give you an answer. <br />
<ul><li>For example, <i>5*9=</i> or <i>6/3=</i></li>
</ul><i><b>Dictionary</b></i>: Type define and the word you want to define, and you will get back a list of definitions. <br />
<ul><li>For example, <i>define anorexia</i></li>
</ul><div><i><b>Spellchecker</b>: </i>Just type the word you have in mind, and if you're close, Google will respond with "Did you mean: (correct spelling)?" <br />
<br />
<b>Built-In Google Search Tools</b> <br />
<br />
If you want to search for a term and its synonyms, <b>use the tilde sign (~) before your search term</b>. <br />
<ul><li>Example: <i>~anorexia</i> pulls up information not only on anorexia, but also on eating disorders.</li>
</ul>If you want to find web pages that have <b>content similar to the site you're on, type </b><i><b>related:</b></i><b> </b>followed by the web address. <br />
<ul><li>Example: <i>related:blogger.com</i> pulls up alternate blogging systems, including WordPress and LiveJournal.</li>
</ul><div>If you want to <b>search within a particular site</b>, use [search term] site:[site] <br />
<br />
<div><ul><li>Example: <i><a href="http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GGLS_enUS326US327&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=plagiarism+site:archetypewriting.blogspot.com">plagiarism site:archetypewriting.blogspot.com</a> </i>pulls up every incidence of the word plagiarism in this blog.</li>
</ul>Once you've got these tricks down, come back for the truly advanced tricks, the ones that will help you find <i>anything </i>(and any<i>one</i>).... </div></div></div>Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-78573380870328521662009-08-03T09:00:00.003-04:002009-08-03T09:00:03.201-04:00Writing a NF Book - Process and Deadlines<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwy0q_hPXJcniowAqE6kUpfmNnqltZ_vnR8xLeb3eIXw0uxnC6S7HWdgwfIjdeoo_7jqr6jwSixRhwEe-irY3C_imDGQxpzwVgyT0bBUx8-HsB0unCs1EOouvIhxSqQdS5LjLkQ/s1600-h/puzzle-lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwy0q_hPXJcniowAqE6kUpfmNnqltZ_vnR8xLeb3eIXw0uxnC6S7HWdgwfIjdeoo_7jqr6jwSixRhwEe-irY3C_imDGQxpzwVgyT0bBUx8-HsB0unCs1EOouvIhxSqQdS5LjLkQ/s320/puzzle-lg.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I'm not a procratinator, really. But sometimes I don't push myself hard enough with my writing schedule. Writing a nonfiction book with a publisher deadline has certainly taught me that I have to push myself the entire time so I can get to the finish line with not just a complete project, but also one that's of excellent quality.<br />
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When I was in high school, I got my papers written long before anyone else even started. Same thing with college. In graduate school I had to learn to stop doing that, because when my classmates started asking questions of the professor, the assignment would sometimes morph into something else. Which meant I had to rewrite it.<br />
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But when I had 9 months to write an entire nonfiction manuscript, I was like "aw, no problem." I mean, 50,000 words in 9 months? Come on, I wrote that many for <a href="http://archetypewriting.blogspot.com/2008/11/do-you-nanowrimo.html">NaNoWriMo </a>in <i>one </i>month!<br />
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Turns out that writing the sort of nonfiction I'm writing is just a <i>teeeeensy weensy</i> bit different from NaNoWriMo. Whodathunk?<br />
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As you all know by now, my nonfiction project, which is going to be published by <a href="http://www.quilldriverbooks.com/">Quill Driver Books</a>, is to teach writers--especially fiction writers--to use psychology accurately in their stories in far more depth than my <a href="http://archetypewriting.com/">website on the same topic</a>. (Don't worry, I'll let you all know the publication date the instant I find out!) So, writers won't embarrass themselves anymore by confusing schizophrenia with multiple personalities, or by showing people having actual full-body convulsions during electroconvulsive therapy. <br />
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The trick to all of this is that I have to do a lot of research to make sure <i>I'm</i> getting things accurate. In other words, it's not good enough that I "know" something in my head -- I had to find written evidence to back everything up. Not because this is going to be like a peer-reviewed journal article with a million citations, but because I'm supposed to be the expert here, and I'd darn well better have my expert information straight. I have two full 4" binders full of journal articles, and then shelves and shelves of books I've referenced. At any given time over the past few months, you could walk into my writing room and find towers of reference books.<br />
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Anyway, so I started writing back in February, before the contract with Quill Driver was completely hammered out, because I wanted a head start. I did some great <a href="http://archetypewriting.blogspot.com/2009/03/work-in-progress-wednesday-32509.html">interviews with people who worked in mental hospitals</a> and pounded out about half the chapters (unedited). <br />
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In May, my awesome agent <a href="http://www.epsteinliterary.com/">Kate</a>, who's reading over my chapters after I finish each one (never, <i>ever </i>let anyone badmouth a boutique agency to you--getting that kind of personal attention is <i>such </i>a help), suggested I create a schedule for when I would complete the remaining chapters so she'd know when to look forward to each batch. (I also have to mention my fantastic readers here, who are looking at my chapters before I send them to Kate and helping me clear up anything that's confusing.)<br />
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So here's the schedule I sent her:<br />
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June 1 - Ch 1-5 (5 ch -- these were attached)<br />
July 1 - ch 6-8 (3 ch)<br />
August 1 - ch 9-10 (2 ch)<br />
September 1- ch 11-12 (2 ch)<br />
September 15: TOC, index, etc. <br />
October 1, 2009: publisher due date <br />
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July nearly killed me, with 3 chapters. I mean, I wrote more than half of what I'd gotten done so far (ie 5 chapters) that month. I may not be a procrastinator, but I'd been far too lackadaisical about my writing schedule. Still, somehow I got it all done. This month was kind of rough, too, especially because I burned myself out a bit last month, but I managed. Now I just have to get through August and get my final chapters done.<br />
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When everything's written, I'm going to print the whole thing out and read through it with a red pen, trying to clean up any rough edges. I believe in having everything as polished as possible before it goes to an editor. I know that when I edit someone else's work, if I'm dealing with big things I ignore the small things. So when I edit my own work, I try to get all the big things so the editor can teach me new ways to be a better writer with her edits. <br />
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Oh...and my contract also says that the book will be published within <i>x</i> months of me submitting the manuscript...assuming the manuscript is satisfactory. If a writer submits a rotten manuscript, it can negate the entire deal. No pressure, right?<br />
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So what are you working on, dear Reader? How do you keep yourself on track with your writing?Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34977952.post-173825392718105322009-07-17T23:10:00.002-04:002009-07-20T13:09:56.728-04:00There Is Nothing New Under the SunMy writing buddy <a href="http://anniewritesaboutwriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/blog-chain-i-have-this-great-idea-but.html">Annie</a> asked the question for this round of the blog chain:<br />
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<b>Do you ever get inspired by a real-life event or news story and fear you're ripping off the story too much? Do you ever get inspired by a song or poem or line from a book and worry you're stealing that original person's idea? What if your research is overtaking your originality?</b><br />
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What popped into my head immediately upon reading this were those old Ecclesiastes verses:<i> What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.</i><br />
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Like most people, I have been inspired by other people's works, and from time to time I've even used those works as a springboard for my own. For me, the nice thing is that as I find the story's voice and work with the characters, it all becomes uniquely mine.<br />
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I just started reading <a href="http://jessicaverday.com/#splash">Jessica Verday's upcoming novel The Hollow</a>, and it's set in the town of Sleepy Hollow, and quoted at the beginning of each chapter is a bit of <i>The Legend of Sleepy Hollow</i>. Jess took a story most of us know and found her own spin on it. That's not plagiarism, that's creativity.<br />
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Your question makes me think a bit about fanfiction. Fanfiction is the use of someone else's copyrighted characters and universe in a story. Fanfiction ranges from atrocious to amazing; it also runs the gamut from poorly-retold episodes or stories with an obvious <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue">Mary Sue</a> inserted to wildly new and inventive tales that expand the "canonical" story in exciting ways.<br />
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Early on, i.e. when the internet was just starting to boom, companies like FOX went after fanfic writers to try to make them stop using copyrighted characters (e.g. The X-Files' Mulder and Scully). Soon, though, even FOX realized that fanfiction was just a way to expand the buzz about a show. These days, writers of shows like <a href="http://www.cwtv.com/shows/supernatural">Supernatural</a> work inside jokes acknowledging fanfic--and therefore fandom--into their episodes.<br />
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None of that is to say that fanfiction can't cross some boundaries that writers need to be wary of. And because the characters are copyrighted, it's rare for fanfiction to find an outlet in the traditional publishing world.<br />
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And it's good to be aware that plagiarism is a problem. Certainly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaavya_Viswanathan">Kaavya Viswanathan</a> learned that lesson the hard way. And even <a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6518522.html">Cassie Edwards</a> has been called to the table. But as long as you aren't mimicking entire passages, characters, situations, etc. from someone else's work...that is, as long as you are putting your unique spin on things, really telling the story through a new character's eyes...as long as you're using your inspiring source as nothing more than a <i>springboard</i>...you're on the right track.<br />
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<b>What do you think, dear Reader? How do we stay original when we're inspired by someone else's work? And where is the line we must be careful not to cross?</b><br />
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<a href="http://ulbrichalmazan.blogspot.com/2009/07/back-on-blog-chain-whose-idea-is-it.html">Sandra </a>came before me and <a href="http://katekaryusquinn.blogspot.com/">Kate </a>is up next!Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07715666518147779502noreply@blogger.com13