May 31 2017

Writing Prompts/Exercises Continued: #11-20.

Here’s another 10 writing prompts/exercises for you. I have tried to keep them broad so they could fit with any genre. As I’ve been developing this list, I’ve realized that what I’ve got here are prompts and exercises that may help in strengthening your writing or later be folded into a complete story. If you’re working on a story now, try using these exercises with the characters in that story. If you’re not working on anything at the moment, try using these exercises to help you develop some new characters.

Again, write for only 10-30 minutes and no editing. Have fun and let your imagination run wild.

On the subject of sharing your results. I realized that since the instructions say no editing, many of you (and myself) may not feel comfortable sharing. That’s perfectly okay.

Prompts and Exercises

11.  Your character is interacting with someone who is: (Remember: show, don’t tell)

a.  Insecure

b.  Shy

c.  Narcissistic

d.  Depressed

e.  Happy

f.  Grieving

12.  Your character is chasing something/someone. (Let your imagination go for it!)

13.  Reverse #12: Your character is being chased by something/someone.

14.  Your character is talking about someone he/she is strongly attracted to, perhaps even loves, but is not really aware of the intensity of his/her feelings. Show this in the conversation.

15.  Write a short dialog, but do not use any sort of “he said/she said.” Make sure your reader can follow who is saying what. (Hint: use actions to identify the speakers.)

16. Write a short dialog, but do not use any sort of “he said/she said.” Make sure your reader can follow who is saying what. (Hint: use actions to identify the speakers.)

17. Your character is in a physical fight. Describe at least part of it.

18.   Write the lead-up to a sexual encounter. (SF writers have fun with this but be sure you understand the biology involved.)

19.  Write a sexual encounter for your character. It’s up to you how explicit. (Does your character really want this encounter?)

20.  Write the opening page of a story.

 

 

 

May 30 2017

Cognitive Dissonance or How a villain sees herself

Writing a villain can be fun, particularly if you’re going for humor. Take a look at Alan Rickman’s performance as the Sheriff in “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.” It’s absolutely over the top. He portrays the Sheriff as totally evil. The audience ends up laughing. If you want that reaction from your readers, go for it, by all means. (Take a look at The best of Alan Rickman in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.)

alan rickman

The difficulty comes when we’re not writing humor. This brings us to the concept of “Cognitive Dissonance.” Back in 1957, Leon Festinger came out with a theory that posited that people strive to maintain internal, psychological consistency. In other words, we strive to make sense of ourselves to ourselves even when we maintain contradictory beliefs. For example: Your character believes himself to be a good person, but is a serial killer. To most of us, this is very contradictory. We often write off such a person as “a monster.” It reduces our own cognitive dissonance. But what about the villain herself? How does she live with herself?

There are several tactics that can be used. Your villain could simply ignore the dissonance or deny reality. She could even call the contradiction “fake news.” (Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.) She could use some sort of justification. “They deserved to die.” This seems to be fairly common across a range of horrendous behavior. The idea in reducing dissonance is to make those contradictory beliefs/behaviors somehow compatible.

Remember that few of us see ourselves as bad, evil. Some do, however.  I think this is often an issue of very poor self-esteem. Dissonance is reduced by agreeing with one side and rejecting the other. Our serial killer might just reject the idea she is basically good and accept that she is evil. I think (without any research), that she would still use some sort of justification such as genetics or upbringing. “I’m evil because it’s in my blood. I come from a long line of evil people.”

Profilers often talk about post-crime behavior as a possible tip-off. They note that after committing the crime, the perpetrator often displays a change in behavior. Maybe she starts drinking a lot, or becomes reclusive, or any of a myriad of behaviors that aren’t typical. I wonder if this change is driven by the dissonance and attempts to reduce it.

The bottom line here is that even your villain has to make some sense of herself to herself. She can do this through denial, justification or acceptance of one belief and rejection of the other. Her behavior may change as she grapples with her cognitive dissonance and this can be a tip-off to investigators or witnesses.

In this post, I have talked mostly about “villains,” but the concept applies to any and all of your characters. It applies to all people, though beliefs are likely to differ based on culture. In writing your characters, it might be helpful to try to get into the head of each of your major characters and think about how each justifies herself to herself. You might just end up with much more believable characters.

 

May 26 2017

Fiction Writing Prompts/Exercises

While this is not necessarily psychology related, I thought I’d post this for all of you. This list of prompts/exercises is being developed because I couldn’t find anything like it in the various lists on the Internet. I’ve been looking for prompts or exercises to get my must awake. However, most of those prompts on the net are very restricted and/or seemed to be prompts for stories. They also didn’t work for genre fiction. I wanted a list of short suggestions that at the same time could be used no matter what genre a person is working in.

The idea for this came from a high school creative writing class. The teacher had us write about a character walking. As I remember it, there was supposed to be something distinctive about the walk and it was to be from the point of view of another character who is observing. I loved the exercise. (I must have to recall it so very many years later, even if for the life of me, I can’t recall the teacher’s name.)

In constructing this list, I thought about exercises that would help me and you develop our writing skills. I would suggest that you spend no more than a half-hour on each, though ten minutes should be a minimum. No editing. Write in what that teacher of mine called “white heat.” Just go for it.

 

Prompts/Exercises 1-10

 

  1. Write about someone walking, from the point of view of someone watching. (This was from the high school assignment.)
  2. Write a scene in which the weather figures significantly.
  3. Write a scene about a character waiting for another in a bar
    1. The bar is in a casino/hotel
    2. The bar is in a poor or working class section of town
    3. The bar is high class
  4. Write a scene in which a character is visiting a historic landmark.
    1. He/she has been there before
    2. He/she has NEVER been there before
  5. Your character is fixing a meal
  6. Your character comes across a dead body (can be anything)
  7. Without dialog, show you character feeling:
    1. Bored
    2. Angry
    3. Sad
    4. Happy
    5. Anxious
  8. What does your character see outside his/her window?
  9. For some reason, your character is unable to see. Describe what he/she can perceive.
  10. Show your character interacting with a companion animal.

 

When I get one of these done, I’ll post the result here in comments. If you want to  post your results, please feel free. And, of course, if you have any questions or comments, I’d be happy to hear from you.

 

Apr 5 2017

Needs and Motivations

The past several years have been difficult. At last, my life is improving and I feel like writing again. Many years ago (actually in 1943), Maslow published his Hierarchy of Needs. At the bottom are Physiological (food, water, sleep) and Safety. Until these are assured, the later, higher level needs generally won’t be of much importance. For me, my writing fulfills the highest need: Self-actualization. It also touches on Love/Belonging and Esteem. Here’s the usual graphic of Maslow’s Hierarchy.

1052px-maslowshierarchyofneeds-svg

 

Now that I’ve got those basic needs taken care of, I can turn to the higher needs and begin fulfilling them. I’ve set aside several hours each morning to work on writing.

Character Motivation

This is a basic way to view the motivations of your characters, both the good guys and the bad guys. The cliché of a person stealing food is familiar to most of us. But what about a character who kills another over access to water? Can you think of a scenario where access to air is a critical factor for one of your characters? This might be a good motivation for a science fiction story, but then I’m probably biased. 😉

Of course, how a person reacts to the lack of various needs will depend on the individual. A child who grows up experiencing frequent hunger is likely to have a large focus on food in later life. He or she might become obese. Or possibly a farmer or grocer. Maybe a biologist working to increase the yield of crops. Can you think of other reactions? The idea here is to make the reaction logically consistent with the denied need from childhood.

None of this implies that the individual is aware of his/her motivation at this level. Most people just aren’t that self-aware. A serial killer who kills prostitutes could justify his/her behavior by proclaiming a “moral” motivation. “They are an abomination and must be eliminated.” But what underlies that might be a need for safety and thus striving to eliminate the threat he/she feels the prostitutes pose. While your character might not understand his or her motivations, you, the writer, should keep needs and motives in mind. Your characters will benefit by becoming that much more realistic.

 

ASSIGNMENTS:

  1. Go through the needs listed in the Wikipedia article and come up with characters that are motivated by the different needs. You might not like all the ideas you come up with, but you might just create an interesting situation and decide to pursue it.
  2. Pick a book and list out the needs motivating the major characters. You can also do this with a movie.
Apr 6 2016

What do you want to see? Again.

I’m going to post this again. I’d like you all to let me know what you’d like to see here. Do you have a Work-In-Progress (WIP) with a character who’s depressed and you’d like more information about what that’s like for the character? Do you have a character taking medications and wonder about the side-effects? (Remember, I’m not a psychiatrist.) Is your villain psychotic, psychopathic or borderline but you don’t know what those are? Do you want to see more of my own writing (Gasp!)?

 

Feb 18 2016

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder

monk

 

Most of you have probably seen a character on tv who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Baby boomers can refer to The Odd Couple and the character of Felix Unger. You younger folks have probably seen Monk and its iconic character Adrian Monk. Just how well these shows depicted this disorder is complicated. First off, we need to distinguish between Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD).

N.B.: I just realized that a new The Odd Couple has been shown on CBS. I didn’t see it, so I can’t make any comment.

felixunger

 

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, OCD is a chronic and long-lasting disorder that involves uncontrollable recurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions). The sufferer feels compelled to repeat these thoughts and behaviors again and again, even though he/she realizes they are absurd. Typical obsessions include:

  • Fear of germs
  • Having things in symmetrical or perfect order
  • Fear of dirt
  • Superstitious ideas about lucky or unlucky numbers

You can find more here.

Compulsions are repetitive behaviors the person with OCD does in response to the obsessive thoughts. So the above obsessions could lead to:

  • Excessive hand washing
  • Ordering or arranging things in a specific, precise way
  • Excessive cleaning
  • Compulsive counting

Part of the definition for OCD is that the behaviors and/or thoughts take up at least an hour out of the day and that they cause significant problems in daily life. The person with OCD can’t control these thoughts and behaviors despite awareness that they are excessive. It’s also important to remember that the person with OCD doesn’t get pleasure out of these thoughts and behaviors, although they might feel some relief from anxiety when they have performed the compulsive behavior.

The onset of OCD  is often in childhood or early adulthood, usually before the age of 25. Symptoms typically wax and wane.

Treatments include both medications and therapy. Medications often used include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft. Sometimes atypical antipsychotics like Risperdal or Abilify are used. Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT) is often used in the treatment of OCD. The prognosis is good, particularly for children and adolescents.


Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)

While Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) shares some features with OCD, it is different. The person with OCD finds their thoughts and behaviors unwanted, while the person with OCPD believes their thoughts and behaviors are correct. These individuals are preoccupied with

  • Rules
  • Orderliness
  • Control

It typically begins in the teen years or early 20s, somewhat later than seen with OCD.

People with OCPD can become quite upset when others try to interfere with their rigid routines. Often anger is not expressed directly and may instead express anxiety or frustrations, feelings that they believe are more appropriate.

The key is a need to be perfect, but it is this perfectionism that often leads the person to fail to complete tasks. Emotional closeness is difficult, since the person with OCPD often feels a lack of control in intimate relationships. Flexibility is not to be found in this individual. According to MedLine Plus, other signs of OCPD include:

  • Over-devotion to work
  • Not being able to throw things away, even when the objects have no value
  • Lack of flexibility
  • Lack of generosity
  • Not wanting to allow other people to do things
  • Not willing to show affection
  • Preoccupation with details, rules, and lists

Treatment often involves either psychotherapy or medications or both. The prognosis is fair.

 

TV Portrayals

So, what have the writers of Monk and The Odd Couple gotten right and what have they gotten wrong? Let’s look first at Adrian Monk. (Please note that I’m getting a lot of my information about the show from Wikipedia.) First off, many of the funny behaviors Monk displays are the result not of OCD or OCPD, but of his multiple phobias. It is true, however, that some of the phobias may actually be more like obsessions. The backstory here is that Monk developed his psychological problems after his wife was killed. Thus, the age of onset is somewhat out of limits for either OCD or OCPD. The dramatic precipitant is also quite unusual for these disorders. The episode in which Monk takes a “new” medication and is instantly “cured” in more than a little problematic. As noted on Health24.com, Monk’s multitude of symptoms are not typical and smack of excessiveness. OCD is hard enough to live with. The authors, however, do point out that the show raised awareness and treated Monk sympathetically, so there are some redeeming factors here.

Turning now to The Odd Couple’s Felix Unger, we see a man obsessed with neatness and order, who is also a hypochondriac. He doesn’t seem to enjoy much in life and his marriage is in shambles due to his behavior. The preoccupation with cleanliness and order sounds a lot like OCPD. The strained interpersonal relationships is quite consistent with this disorder. This portrayal is much more understated than Monk and comes across as more realistic. The movie came out in 1968, long before the current definition of either OCD or OCPD.

 

The OCD/OCPD Character

If you chose to include a character with OCD/OCPD in your story, go for it. These disorders can provide a lot of conflict and difficulties for your story. You don’t need to restrict these disorders to secondary characters either. They could provide excellent “flaws” for your protagonist. In the tv show Monk, the titular character’s OCD/OCPD is supposed to help him see details that others miss. At the same time, it complicates his solving the crimes due to the impact of his illnesses on daily functioning. We can also look to Felix Unger to see how OCD/OCPD can impact interpersonal relationships.

What about giving your antagonist OCD/OCPD? Handled well, this could provide some sympathy for the antagonist. If the antagonist has OCD, he/she is aware his/her behavior is excessive but can’t seem to stop. If the antagonist has OCPD, he/she would believe that his/her behavior is appropriate and right. Either way, these disorders can give quite a bit of dimension to your character.

My advice is to avoid the excessiveness seen in Adrian Monk. OCD and OCPD are fertile grounds for character features and don’t need to be overdone.

 

 

 

References:

Everyday Health: http://www.everydayhealth.com/anxiety-disorders/experts-common- obessions-and-compulsions.aspx

MedLine Plus: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000942.htm

National Institute of Mental Health: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive- compulsive-disorder-ocd/index.shtml

Ilse Pauw (Clinical psychologist) and Olivia Rose-Innes, Health24, November 2005,             http://www.health24.com/Mental-Health/Disorders/Monks-OCD-Fact-or-fiction- 20120721

Stanford University: http://ocd.stanford.edu/about/

Wikipedia: Monk (TV Series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monk_%28TV_series%29

 

 

 

 

 

Feb 11 2016

I’m Back: Psychotic vs Psychopathic

I’m back. I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything, but often life intervenes in ways we don’t always anticipate.

I’d like to talk today about the difference between “psychotic” and “psychopathic.” Trust me, there’s a vast difference. In the media, however, the two are often used interchangeably. They’re not. Let’s take a look at the differences.

 

Psychotic

 

This is a term used that refers to someone who is suffering from a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia or other such disorders. It implies that the sufferer has lost touch with reality and is experiencing delusions and/or hallucinations. According to MedLine Plus: (https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/psychoticdisorders.html)

            Psychotic disorders are severe mental disorders that cause abnormal thinking and  perceptions. People with psychoses lose touch with reality. Two of the main symptoms are delusions and hallucinations. Delusions are false beliefs, such as thinking that someone is plotting against you or that the TV is sending you secret messages.  Hallucinations are false perceptions, such as hearing, seeing, or feeling something that is not there.

 

Psychopathic

 

This term refers to someone who has a serious personality disorder often referred to as Antisocial Personality Disorder. According to Psychology Today (https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/psychopathy) , psychopaths often appear almost normal.

            Psychopathy is among the most difficult disorders to spot. The psychopath can appear normal, even charming. Underneath, they lack conscience and empathy, making them   manipulative, volatile and often (but by no means always) criminal. They are an object of  popular fascination and clinical anguish: adult psychopathy is largely impervious to treatment, though programs are in place to treat callous, unemotional youth in hopes of preventing them from maturing into psychopaths.

 

Psychotic vs Psychopathic

 

As you can see, they really are different. It is true that the psychopath will often display some disordered thinking, usually narcissistic. We can also see disordered thinking in the fantasies held by psychopathic serial killers. Most professionals would agree that these fantasies don’t quite reach the criteria to be called delusions. (I know, that sounds like hair splitting and it may just be so.)

One important distinction for you crime writers out there: psychotic killers are usually “disorganized” while the psychopathic is more often “organized.” Psychotic killers are going to have a much more difficult time planning out “the perfect crime.” Not to say they can’t do some pretty extensive planning. They can. The mass murder at the Aurora, CO, movie theater involved multiple weapons, tear gas, and tactical clothing, to say nothing of the explosives rigged in the shooter’s home. That all sounds pretty organized, doesn’t it? Still, Holmes was caught in the parking lot, waiting around and watching the chaos. That doesn’t sound very logical or organized.

 

On the other hand, let’s look at the Ted Bundy, the quintessential psychopathic serial killer. He operated during the 1970s and is often described as charming and manipulative. He cared nothing for his victims and totally lacked empathy or remorse. Towards the end, he did become less organized which led to his capture and trial. At no time, however, did Bundy evidence anything like delusions or hallucinations. From what I’ve read, he maintained his manipulative behavior right up to the end.

 

Takeaway

 

What’s the bottom line here?

*   A Psychotic and a Psychopath are NOT the same.

Yes, you can have a character making the error, but I ask you, please have another character correct the error. I don’t think any one of us wants to perpetuate false information. You can use the distinction to further your story’s search for a killer (assuming you’re writing a mystery or thriller).

 

Suggested Assignments

 

  1. Develop a dialog in which one character corrects another for believing psychotic and psychopathic are the same.

 

  1. Develop a character who is either psychotic or psychopathic. Show the character in a brief vignette.

 

Feel free to ask any questions you might have. I’d be happy to help.

Aug 19 2015

On passing and grief

My mother passed away the end of last month. For the prior 16 months she had lived with me and I’d been her caretaker. Mother was 87 and suffered from COPD, among other problems. She died in her sleep and did not appear distressed. I called the Hospice people and they came out and took over. They also helped me contact the funeral home. The support and caring I received was wonderful. One of the magics of the day was that all of us here were women, even those who came from the funeral home. It seemed fitting. Women have traditionally been the ones to handle death and dying and this was no different.

Since then I’ve been feeling quite empty. Yes, some of that has to do with the ongoing depression I’ve been suffering for the past couple years, but it was more than that. I hadn’t realized just how much Mother had taken over my life during those 16 months. Although I often struggled against it, the truth is that she had been the focus of my life. And now she was gone. She is gone. I did some crying that day, but since then, I haven’t. I can’t really say that I’m grieving. My relationship with my mother had never been close. Maybe that’s why I don’t feel much pain with her passing. Just emptiness.

I don’t think I have anything profound to say in this posting. Just my experience. Is there anything a writer can take away from my experience? I don’t know. It does bother me when I’m watching crime shows on tv and the detective makes comments about people’s reactions to the death of the victim. My mother died of natural causes and maybe that’s partly why I haven’t reacted very strongly. Still, I don’t think it should be assumed that if a person doesn’t display strong emotion, then they become a strong suspect. Different people react to death in different ways.

Reactions to events depend on a variety of factors. What is the event? A death? How did the death occur? What, if anything, did the person see? I saw my mother laying in been, her mouth slightly open, looking much like she did the night before. I knew she was sick and dying, though I hadn’t expected her death so soon. So, if you have a character who had been expecting the victim’s death, perhaps he/she wouldn’t react as strongly. Also, if there are no signs of trauma, seeing the body may not be as distressing.

Perhaps the most salient factor in a person’s reaction to death is the character of the character. If you have a character who always tries to be in control and present as calm, intelligent, professional, then this character might not show much reaction. When I went to the funeral home a couple days later, I was calm, in control, etc. Just as I always try to present myself. There was a moment, however, when I became aware of this presentation and it cracked. Just for a moment. And then I was back to being in control.

Of course, the nature of the relationship is also important when contemplating how a character would react to the death of the victim. When my father died, I reacted much more strongly. I hadn’t expected it, wasn’t there. And my relationship with my father was emotionally much closer, even if troubled.

Bottom line? Beware of stereotypes of grief and the assumptions we often make. Let the reaction of your character flow from who he or she is.

Jul 20 2015

Narcissism

I thought this topic might be apropos given all the attention Donald Trump has been getting lately. I don’t know if he really fits the definition of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, but he still seems to have a large dose of this personality trait.

So, what does a narcissist look like? DSM-5 lists the following (see Wikipedia):  Impairment is self-functioning and impairment in interpersonal functioning). This definition is for the personality disorder. Narcissists are very taken up with how great they are and seek out confirmation of this opinion in the views of others. In my experience, narcissists very often have what’s been called “I love me” walls: Prominent displays of anything that might show the world how wonderful the person is. Included would be degrees, photos with prominent people, news clipping that mention the individual. They show little empathy for others and rarely, if ever, apologize for errors (’cause of course there’s no way I could make a mistake). Relationships are superficial and often status-based. The narcissist is often grandiose and self-important. Towards others, he or she is likely to be condescending. Narcissists are often attention-seeking and love to be in the limelight.

Does kinda sound like Mr Trump, doesn’t it? He might be a good image to hold in mind as you develop your own narcissistic character. Of course, a female character could also be a narcissist. Off-hand, I’m having trouble thinking of a good example, so feel free to leave a comment and note female narcissists. I’d love to hear your ideas.

Narcissism isn’t always a disorder. Sometimes it appears as part of other disorders, particularly anti-social personality disorder and/or psychopaths. It is also part of a healthy personality! Yes, you heard me right…a healthy person needs to have a dose of narcissism in terms of a sense of worth. Just be careful it doesn’t go too far!

Let’s talk about narcissism. I’d love to get your impressions and thoughts. These sorts of characters can be fun to develop and can make great antagonists. They can also be used in other ways in stories. What about a friend of the protagonist? or a love interest of the protagonist? Oooh, the complications!  Or…what about an alien species that is generally narcissistic? What sort of society might they develop? I’ll guarantee that it won’t look like ours!

330px-Narcissus-Caravaggio_(1594-96)_edited

Jul 17 2015

Impinging becomes onslaught

I know I haven’t been here very much, but things have been very difficult for me. My mother has COPD and various other ailments. After her last hospitalization a couple months ago, it was recommended that she be hooked up with hospice services. I did that and they’ve been really wonderful. The trouble is, Mother is really declining and I’m upset enough that I can’t think straight. And with all these feelings going on, writing about mental illness, particularly the article on depression that I’ve been working on…well, it’s just a bit too much for me. I know that things will chance with time and that someday I’ll be able to write about depression and various other issues for you guys. Maybe, in the interim, I’ll work on something not quite so close. We’ll see how that goes.

A character dealing with a dying parent would surely evoke strong sympathy in readers. Be sure you give such a character a strong support system or have her break down and become barely functional. There is the emotional toll that care taking a dying parent takes, and there’s also the physical demands.

More at a later time