Archetype Writing Blog

Blog Chain: How I Research

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:33:16 PDT

For this blog chain, Kat chose the topic:

How do you do research for your settings, your story and your characters' quirks? What interesting tidbits about yourself and the world you live in have you learned along the way?

Before the Internet, I did research the old-fashioned way: I went to the library. Yep, there I was at 16 years old, checking out books on medieval weapons so I could learn what the parts of a broadsword were. (Did you know the groove down the middle, sometimes called "blood groove," is actually called the "fuller"? Or that it's not meant to carry blood at all, it makes the sword stronger?)

And gun enthusiast books -- I wanted to learn the differences among calibers and gun manufacturers, how they worked, all of it! Today I'd probably get flagged as a potential school shooter.

I've also collected books I use -- I have EMT books (okay, I covered up the nastiest pictures with Post-Its) so I can figure out just what happens when you shoot someone in the chest and collapse a lung. I have a couple of great books on poisons. I have a book on how lawyers, courts, and courtrooms work, and photocopies of what goes on a crash cart at the hospital.

These days I mostly start with Google. Just over the last two days I've learned what "candy-flipping" is (it's mixing ecstasy with LSD) and what "trail mix" is (it's mixing ecstasy with Viagra). I've been relying on the internet pretty heavily to help me understand what a candy-flipping trip feels like. Oh, and for the same scene I needed some dungeon furniture for an S&M club -- you know, ball cages, saltires/X-crosses, suspension bars. Wait, you didn't know that's what those things were called? Well, neither did I, but I found out! (Now I'm just glad nobody uses my laptop but me, because I have a verrrrry interesting browsing history!)

I also love to pick people's brains about their lives and their jobs. I ask everyone about their jobs, from the Red Cross worker who takes my blood to the bank teller who takes me back to my safe deposit box. And I pay attention to how things work and ask lots of questions along the way.

Thanks to the fact that I research all kinds of crazy things, I have a lot of interesting tidbits in my head about unrelated things. But that also helps me understand the world better, and I like that.

As for what I've learned about myself along the way -- well, that I'll ask about anything (and that most people will answer just about anything), and that being really open to really listening will take you a long way.

Be sure to check out Sandra's answer before me and Kate's after me!

And of course I want to know about you, dear Reader. How do you research? What have you learned?

Work in Progress Wednesday 6/18/09

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:13:20 PDT

I really should write these things on Tuesday night rather than Wednesday night. Then they might actually get published on Wednesday!

I have been working hard on the nonfiction book. I finished up a chapter on mood, anxiety, and psychotic disorders (including bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and schizophrenia) and have been working hard on a chapter about childhood disorders (like autism and ADHD), eating disorders, and dementia (like Alzheimer's disorder). I'm still going to try to at least get a good start on a third chapter before the beginning of July, so I've really got my nose to the proverbial grindstone!

Obviously if you have questions or thoughts related to those areas that you want me to be sure to include in the book, now's the time to tell me!

I've also discovered that while it's easy to find movies and books that make mistakes when talking about things like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, it's not so easy to find ones that even address things like ADHD and anorexia.

I've also been brushing up on the Sopranos so I can talk about the show in the book. I also got copies of In Treatment from my library, since I don't get the premium cable channels. Kinda looking forward to In Treatment. (I mean, let's face it, I could definitely do worse than having to look at Gabriel Byrne for an extended period of time.)

On the fiction front, I am nearly done with my NaNo novel -- or at least, done enough to have my readers take a look through it and start hacking it apart. Alas, it is shorter than I want it to be, but I'm vaguely aware of some parts that might be strengthened, and if my readers notice the same things (and hopefully have some suggestions to help me figure out how to make those things better), that might add a few words.

Once people are reading that, I'll have to get back to work on A Touch of Madness. I've decided to switch the whole damn thing into third person. If that doesn't work...well, let's just not even go there, shall we?

For more information on Work In Progress Wednesday, you can visit Kate's blog -- she's the one who started this madness. And definitely feel free to tell me all about how your WIPs are going in the comments below, or to leave a link to your own WIP post!

Psych/Writing Q&A: Therapy in the 1960s

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 06:00:02 PDT

Disclaimer: The information on this site is provided as general educational information to readers and should be not be understood as specific advice for any particular individual(s). People who are seeking help for "real-life" problems are advised to consult a local mental health professional.

My protagonist is in therapy with a psychiatrist in 1961. I'd like to know more about how therapy was performed in that time period. Perhaps you could give me some references for research.

Honestly, therapy was done similarly to how it is today. Thethree major "forces" of psychology, around which most other theories were developed, were in place by the 1950s. (The three major forces are psychoanalysis [which became the broader "psychodynamic therapy" in the 20s and beyond], behaviorism [which became cognitive-behaviorism in the 50s and 60s], and humanism).

Some of the best training videos for psychologists and psychiatrists come from decades past, and I looked on youtube and found some, so you can see for yourself how a therapist might have behaved. The one thing I will point out that everyone seemed to do in therapy until the late 70s is smoke! Today some therapists discourage even water bottles, because smoking, or something to drink, or whatever, can provide a way to stall and avoid answering or dealing with whatever is on the proverbial table.

Okay, onto the videos. I know these are going to seem excruciatingly old, but they really are the best videos of how to do these kinds of therapy. My all-time favorites are the ones of Gloria, who tries therapy with three different types of therapists

Carl Rogers (a humanist) -- is very non-directive and often answers a question with a question --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBkUqcqRChg&feature=related

Albert Ellis (a cognitive-behaviorist) -- is extremely directive, even bossy, and sort of talks over her head --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh-wTzoQZ_s&feature=related

Fritz Perls (Gestalt therapy, which is a form of therapy that emphasizes personal responsibility and staying in the "here and now" rather than thinking about the past) -- insists she say in the present and be aware of the messages she's sending -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHLXHQWJX4M

At the end, Gloria says she likes Perls' approach the best. However, Ellis's ideas work really well, especially with depression and anxiety, and Rogers' warmth became key to all approaches to therapy.

If I were you, I would pick whichever of these three approaches would fit your needs best and model the therapy after it.

Work In Progress Wednesday 6/3/09

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:27:32 PDT

Fiction:
I am still working steadily on my NaNo novel. I'm finding myself quite pleased with it. There's just one problem. It's not going to be long enough. (*gnashes teeth*)

Can I just tell you what a strange reversal this is for me? For years I have written ridiculously long novels. Epic sagas, even. Hundreds of thousands of words. I've got one I've been struggling with for quite some time now, trying to get it down to 100K. It's still at 130K, and I can't figure out where else to cut.

And then all of a sudden, two novels are too short? Whassupwiththat?

Annie finished her crit of my novel A Touch of Madness. She did a stream-of-consciousness type of crit, giving me all her reactions. It was so totally helpful, and kind of funny sometimes, too! But I've concluded something I already suspected after I finished.

There is a way to save ToM, a way to make it long enough. And that is to switch it from first person into third person.

Ugh. I am so tired of this novel. I feel like I owe it to my wonderful crit-mates to do what needs to be done, though, and see about sending it out. They've helped me so much with this thing over the last year, I don't feel right about hurling the thing out the window the way I'd like to.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue to agonize about my NaNo novel being too short. I didn't worry a whole lot about it when I wrote it, because I thought it might just end up being a writing exercise, but I really, really like the story. So now I'm praying that after I make it as long as I can manage, my fantabulous crit-mates will be able to help me again.

What do other people do when their stories aren't long enough? How do you find more story without adding fluff, or essentially starting a whole second story? Or does this only happen to me?

Nonfiction:
My agent asked me to put together a schedule for finishing up the remaining chapters for my book. There are 12 chapters total. Five are complete, 2 are in progress, and 5 still need to be written. I have until October 1, 2009. That's when everything is due to the publisher.

So my goal is to finish 3 chapters by the beginning of next month, two chapters the following month, and two chapters the month after that. That leaves me some time at the end in case something happens to mess up the schedule, and lets me put together the table of contents, index, and so forth.

The chapters I have yet to do are a couple of chapters on psychological disorders, one on physical and biological interventions (stuff like medications, electroconvulsive therapy, vagus nerve stimulation, that kind of thing), and one on the psychology of villains.

It's going to be full speed ahead for the nonfiction, so I hope the words flow!

Writing Romantic Relationships

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:30:49 PDT

I'm up on the blog chain again (again! so soon! eek!). This time Sandra chose the topic, which is

Do you write romantic relationships in your books? If so, what do you do to show the attraction between your characters? What problems do your characters encounter? What qualities do you think make a romantic relationship work in fiction?

I do write romantic relationships in my books. Relationships in general fascinate me, but the romantic dynamics of a good couple are even better.

What do you do to show the attraction between your characters?

I try to show attraction the way real people show attraction. They look at each other more than at other people, they're comfortable in each other's space, they talk about the person often and with feeling.

What problems do your characters encounter?

In real life, finding and getting along with your “other half” is difficult. Have you ever read a story in which the characters constantly misunderstand, insult, and stonewall each other, yet by the last page you’re to believe that they will live happily ever after with none of the conflict that filled every page before the last? In real life, it doesn’t work that way, and it shouldn’t in fiction, either. Conflict is the engine that keeps every story going, and the love relationships between your characters are one of the most important parts of that engine.

A problem I see in some fiction is that there is no reason for the characters to fall for each other or be in love -- other than the fact that they're both excruciatingly hot, of course. As in real life, your characters should be attracted to the people they're attracted to for a reason. What attracted your character to the love interest in the first place? What needs does the love interest fulfill? Why is the love interest different from all the other men and women out there?

In real life people choose the partners they do for all kinds of reasons, some of them noble and romantic, some of them less so. For example, maybe they had great "chemistry" with the person. Maybe they had a lot in common. Maybe they need to feel needed. Maybe they wanted to get out of their parents' house. Maybe they were ready to settle down. Maybe they needed someone to help them parent a child. Regardless, there is definitely a reason other than that someone needed them together to make a particular storyline work.

And once people are together, why do they stay together? Doing couples therapy was always a fascinating endeavor, because couples with enormous problems would come in and complain about each other and the relationship -- but still want to make it work. They still loved each other. And they could usually tell you why.

In my stories, relationships are usually messy. People say the wrong things,. have affairs, and hurt each other -- sometimes accidentally and sometimes on purpose. Ex-partners create havoc, hidden histories drive wedges, but in the end love always prevails for me. I like to pretend to be pragmatic and sensible, but the truth is that I'm a hopeless romantic, and in my stories, love really is the greatest power of all.

What qualities do you think make a romantic relationship work in fiction?

I'm most drawn to fictional relationships where there is a strong, identifiable reason for an attraction at the same time there are problems (internal or external to the relationship) that are trying to tear the couple apart. Right now I'm writing about a couple with tons of chemistry and lots in common -- the only problem is their respective peoples hate each other. In other stories, I've let misunderstandings or mistakes be what kept the characters apart. For me, the attraction to each other has to be stronger than the problems, but not by much. The characters have to keep coming together the way a pair of magnets will. They might push against each other, but inevitably, they snap together and hold on.

What do you think, dear readers? How would you answer Sandra's questions? I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts! Also be sure to check out Kate's answer -- she's next in the blog chain!

Psych/Writing Q & A: Meet the Parents

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Tue, 26 May 2009 10:02:22 PDT

Want to use psychology to give your story authenticity? I'm going to start answering reader psychology/writing questions on the blog. If you have a question, feel free to send it to me using the Q&A form on archetypewriting.com.

Disclaimer: The information on this site is provided as general educational information to readers and should be not be understood as specific advice for any particular individual(s). People who are seeking help for "real-life" problems are advised to consult a local mental health professional.

Q:

How might my character react to the idea of meeting his partner's parents for the first time and how might his therapist and partner help him become more comfortable?

My character's mom died when he was young and his father was an alcoholic. Stress at work, stress with dealing with a new living situation, and poor communication skills have led to depression. He is now on anti-depressants and meeting with a counselor. He, his partner, and his counselor are working on improving his trust and communication in their relationship. He is going to meet his partner’s parents (who accept that he is gay and are looking forward to meeting my character) for the first time, and he’s worried about the impression he will make! He doesn't know how to act around a "normal" family.

-Bonnie

A:

My first thought is -- how is he around people in general? If he's generally pretty good with people, the goal is going to be to improve his confidence and feelings of self-efficacy (ability to handle the challenge) rather than to teach him how to communicate. But you mentioned poor communication skills, so the therapist might talk explicitly about things like eye contact, taking turns talking, that kind of thing. (If the communication skills issues aren't that extreme, then they might just talk about what your character is worried about and how someone might "normally" deal with those situations.)

One way to help someone improve their communication skills, and/or to deal with new situations where you're not sure what to do is to role-play in therapy. So the therapist and the client "try out" different responses to the situation. What to do if x happens, and so forth. It's a way to practice.

It might also be helpful to have the partner sit in on a session so the two of them can figure out (with the help of the therapist) ways to handle awkward moments, ways in which the partner might best support your character. For example, if the character were to get overwhelmed, maybe he and his partner can have a plan to go grab lunch or walk around the mall, just the two of them, to get a little break. The character, his partner, and the therapist can also talk about practical things that can be nerve wracking—for example, what should your character should call his partner's parents (Mom and Dad? John and Jane? Mr. and Mrs.?)

If your character were my client, I would also tell him that it's perfectly normal to be nervous about meeting your partner's parents for the first time. (That might seem obvious, but sometimes just being told that a reaction is normal can make a huge difference to someone.) I would also tell him that it's okay for him to say something like "I'm a little nervous about meeting you because I want to make a good impression." Rather than making you look foolish, that kind of thing just makes you more human, and the parents will probably be feeling some of the same feelings.

Likeable vs Intriguing Characters

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:42:58 PDT

On the blog chain this round, Michelle chose the topic, and Kate will follow me. Michelle asked

In your reading and writing, which do you prefer – a main character that is intriguing, or one that is likeable? Who are the characters that you love the most? And who are the ones that you love to hate?

This is easy. Give me intriguing.

As a general rule, I adore villains, and I adore antiheroes. The very same characters many people find unlikeable.

Unless they're one-dimensional and cliched, of course. And one-dimensional and cliched are far too common. You know these villains--they're brilliant but twisted and completely unsympathetic. And each one could stand in for the next. Dean Koontz kicks these guys out at an impressive rate; so do most other thriller writers. (Dan Brown's albino monk, anyone?) Don't get me wrong, they can carry the story forward, but they're just filler. They're not intriguing.

No, I like multidimensional villains--the kind that make you squirm because you can totally see why they're doing what they're doing. Berg Katse, the villain in an old anime called Gatchaman, is one of my all-time favorite villains. Sometimes he's smooth, sometimes he's savage, and sometimes he's played for laughs, but he's always interesting. And he just gets more interesting as you learn more about him, until the quest to understand him is actually pulling the entire show along.

I also like heroes who have a dark side. Who make awful mistakes, have ugly urges, and who might, under the right circumstances, be the villains themselves.

I'm in love with Supernatural, which definitely fits that bill. The show is about a pair of brothers who hunt supernatural monsters. They kill off ghouls, save people from vampires, lay uneasy spirits to rest, and all around kick ass. Both of the brothers are heroic, but they also have dark sides. Serious dark sides. From time to time one or the other comes dangerously close to being as wicked as the monsters they hunt. That always leaves the brother still on the straight and narrow with an awful predicament. What do you do when the person you love most is also your worst enemy? (If it's Supernatural, you try to save him, even if that means killing him. At least he'll die human... I find that kind of dilemma fascinating.)

In an ideal story, for me, both the villains and the heroes are charismatic, intriguing, and compelling. They're like real people, with good and bad sides. You don't have to love my characters, but if they keep you reading, I've done a good job. Me...I usually love them all -- even the ones my readers love to hate!

So dear readers...how would you answer the question?

Telling Fresh Stories: Lots of Advice!

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Sat, 16 May 2009 13:21:58 PDT

Two weeks ago I threw myself on the mercy of both my readers and my blog chain buddies to tell how they keep from telling the same story over and over. I asked them what their tips and tricks were for finding fresh ideas and adding new twists to your work.

And here is a summary of what they told me! (And by all means, if YOU have more advice for me, please use the comments to share them with me!)

Eric suggested freewriting.

Windsong lets the characters write the story.

Scott suggested trying different perspectives. After all, Gregory Maguire completely retold classics like The Wizard of Oz and Cinderella just by choosing an uncommon point of view.

Kate reminded me that we have to stay openminded, and included this great quote by CS Lewis: "Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it."

Mary relies on life experiences and personal questions to guide her, and she isn't afraid to put old ideas together in new ways.

Kat likes to create unique characters with lots of quirks. Their perspectives give the story a fresh feel.

Michelle agreed, arguing that different character reactions can make a big difference in where the story goes. (Michelle also likes to write in different time periods -- zeitgeist can make all the difference!)

Christine emphasized the importance of character voice -- noting that characters should sound different from the author if they are to be authentic. Like Windsong, she believes the characters will write the story if they're just given the chance. Like Michelangelo, who believed the sculpture already lie within the stone, Christine argues that we must just let the story happen.

Elana listens to her characters, switches up her writing style, and writes with the intent to delete. The latter lets her try new things out without fear of a bad experiment ruining the story -- she can always delete it!

Annie shared this quote from Melanie Bishop: "Only you have access to the specific details of your life and memory, and the specifics about what you observe about others on any given day." In other words, Annie says, it's all about how your perspective influences your story and makes it fresh. She also reminded me that we need to practice fresh approaches, just like we practice with anything else!

Like Michelle, Sandra uses different settings -- after all, Victorian England is very different from an alternate universe! She also repeated the advice that seems to be the common thread throughout the chain -- look through the character's eyes and use their unique voices and perspectives!

Check Out This Month's The Writer Magazine!

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:40:56 PDT

In the mail today I got two copies of The Writer magazine -- because I wrote one of the articles in it! The article is called Get Your Psych Right - A psychologist describes the six most common ways writers get it wrong about her field.

The article is organized into 6 myths, and under each one is the origin of the myth, ways that myth appears in fiction, and tips to help you get it right in your stories!

You can find The Writer in any bookstore; the article is in the June 2009 issue.

Work In Progress Wednesday 5/6/09: I need more words!

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:27:42 PDT

Nonfiction:

I've written about half the book's chapters, and it's time for me to start editing them, since I have a number of Quality Assurance (QA) readers they need to go through (*wink*) after I think I have them polished. Said QA readers will insure not only that what I've written is interesting, but that it makes sense, even if you don't have a degree in psychology!

The chapter I'm editing right now talks about the different approaches to doing therapy. Therapists actually ask lots of different questions besides "And how do you feel about that?" Which questions, exactly, depend on which approach the therapist is using. Also, certain types of therapy are useful for certain types of problems. So the chapter explains what your fictional therapist should do if you need the therapy session to do this vs. that for your story. For example, if you need your character to make a connection between something that happened in his childhood and something that's going on now, you need a different kind of therapy than if your character needs to come to terms with his terminal illness. And don't worry, the chapter explains which therapy for which situation, and why. And it doesn't stop with telling you what kind of therapy -- it explains what that therapy really looks like and, of course, provides you with the types of questions the therapist would ask so you can make that therapy look authentic.

Fiction:

ToM has gone back to my faithful friends, who are even now wondering how in hell I could possibly add 5000 - 10000 words to the manuscript to make it long enough. If only the techniques that worked during NaNoWriMo worked for almost-complete manuscripts!

I know how to make it long enough. Rewrite the whole damn thing in third person, rather than first. See, when I rewrote it in first, I removed two characters' viewpoints.

Wait, you think. If there were three viewpoints, how was it not third person before?

Um...have you ever read Faulker's As I Lay Dying? It's this book, see, and each chapter is from a different person's viewpoint. If I remember right, each chapter is in first person. The problem when I did it, of course, is that I'm not Faulkner.

And it would be really, really a lot of work to switch it over to third person. First, there's been so much editing since it switched over into first, I'd be semi-starting over if I switched into third person. Because all of these polished and critted scenes that are in Audrey's POV (Character 1) would need to be handed back to Christian (Character 2) and Jamie (Character 3). And I'm going to be frank with you. I'm tired of rewriting this thing from scratch. I might retire it before I could put myself (and my faithful readers) through another enormous overhaul.

So everybody...think good thoughts in Elana's direction. She's trying real hard to come up with those extra words for me for the first-person POV version.

Since Shadowwalker is similarly impaired in its early stages, I'm working back over it and fleshing it out. If the writing gods are good to me, this will require plenty of good words.

Want more information on Work In Progress Wednesdays? Kate will tell you all about it.

Avoiding Ad Nauseum: Telling Fresh Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Fri, 01 May 2009 09:00:00 PDT

This time I am choosing the topic for the blog chain. Be sure to check out Kate's answer after mine!

My question is:

How do you keep from telling the same story over and over? What are your tips and tricks for finding fresh ideas and adding new twists to your work?

I'm looking forward to the answers to this question, because I struggle a lot with not repeating myself. And I do see themes that I repeat over and over, in spite of myself. I'm fascinated by writers like Dean Koontz, who's written dozens of books and still (usually) manages to keep from rehashing the same old stuff.

At this point, if I catch myself doing something I did before, I erase, back up, and try to think of something entirely different. That works best when I remind myself what makes the characters involved unique, and then try to find a reaction that is unique to those characters. So maybe two characters face a similar conflict -- if they're truly unique characters, they're going to have different reactions, right?

I do have trouble not repeating larger themes and plot points. For some bizarre reason, I really like apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic stuff, so The World As We Know It is always ending in my stories. I also like magic tossed in on top of The World As We Know It. Problem is, I get kind of attached to my vision of societal breakdown, or my rules about how magic works, and it can be hard to come up with new ideas about how to recreate those things in different stories.

Honestly, though, the thing I do most often to keep from rewriting the same story over and over is think "I already did that" and censor myself, which keeps me from writing new material. And that is why I need some tips and tricks from the rest of the blog chain!

Work In Progress Wednesday 4/29/09

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:40:53 PDT

Nonfiction:

I'm back to working steadily on my Writer's Guide to Psychology manuscript. Four chapters are going to be devoted to disorders, and I've started work on the first one. Rather than rehashing the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), I'm focusing on what it's really like to have the disorder, facts most people are missing, and on myth-busting for each one. For example, many people think that Indiana Jones has a phobia of snakes when in fact he's not nearly terrified enough to qualify for a phobia diagnosis.

This first of the disorders chapters addresses mood disorders (depression and bipolar disorder/manic-depression), anxiety disorders like OCD and phobias, and psychotic disorders like schizophrenia.

I'm almost done with it; next I think I'm actually going to work on a chapter about medications and biological treatments. A psychiatrist I know has graciously agreed to be interviewed, and it's easy for me to see the holes in my knowledge when I work on the chapter in question. So I'll write a rough draft and list my questions, then go back and fill in the blanks with what she shares with me.

I'm really enjoying the interviewing. It's nice to have another expert helping me make sure the information in the book is up-to-date and accurate. Plus, psychological professionals just have interesting jobs!

Fiction:

I finished the edits Mary gave me on ToM. I'm really pleased with them; alas, the manuscript is still too short. I sent my revisions back to my fantastic writing buddies Mary and Elana and asked them to look them over. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll see some places to add, like, 5000 words. Ha ha.

In the meantime, I'm working on my NaNo novel again. I'm liking it more and more. I'm still on the fence about what genre ToM falls into, but I think the NaNo novel is an urban fantasy -- with lots of sexual tension. My hero and heroine are natual enemies, but that doesn't stop them from being outrageously attracted to each other!

Want to Do Your Own WIP Wednesdays?

I'm going to snitch from Kate for a little more info on WIP Wednesdays:

"And if you want to participate in WIP Wednesday, simply post your own WIP Wednesday entry on your blog and leave a link to it in the comments below.

Or if you don't have a blog, feel free to report your progress directly into the comments box. For more detailed information concerning what all this nonsense is about please consult the original Work in Progress Wednesday posting.

Feel free to also make use of the lovely little WIP Wednesday logo as well!

Best Books for Writers

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:20:25 PDT

This round of the blog chain, Kate chose the topic.

This time...I'd like to focus on the flip side of the writing coin - reading. Specifically, what books have influenced you? This can be books that influenced you as a writer, or simply books that touched you as a human being. If you want to talk about one book, a top three, ten, or even twenty go right ahead.

Now, you all are fortunate that I only have a set amount of time to finish this post, otherwise we'd all be in trouble, because I love books!

I'm going to focus first on my favorite books for writers, because I think that's what will most interest the reader. Then I'll talk a bit about some favorite psychology books.

First come the books that help keep me going when things look bleak. You've heard me rave about these books before: The Forest for the Trees: An Editor's Advice to Writers by Betsey Lerner, The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear by Ralph Keyes, and The Writer's Book of Hope: Getting from Frustration to Publication, also by Ralph Keyes. These books emphasize attitude and persistence to reach success, two things you can control. I've blogged about confidence and determination in the past, and these three books were key in helping me form the beliefs I shared with you. I believe every writer should not just read them but keep them handy for the days the doubt, frustration, and rejection is getting to you.

Then there are the books that taught me to edit. I've told you before that I do some pretty serious editing on both my own work and others, and I like to think I'm pretty good at it. (Others seem to agree, so either I really am or those monthly bribery checks are working! *wink*) In any case, here are two books that really helped me: Make Your Words Work: Proven Techniques for Effective Writing-For Fiction and Nonfiction by Gary Provost and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne.

When it comes to ideas, I find The Writer's Partner: 1001 Breakthrough Ideas to Stimulate Your Imagination by Martin Roth particularly useful (I probably pull this book off my shelf more than any other).

On the nonfiction side, I could never have written an effective proposal to sell my book without the following resources. I like to work from examples, so I found Write the Perfect Book Proposal: 10 That Sold and Why by Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman invaluable. I also used How to Write a Book Proposal by Michael Larsen and Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody can Write by Elizabeth Lyon.

While I was writing my book proposal, I had to include a Marketing and Promotion section, and for that I needed some ideas. I relied heavily on Guerrilla Marketing for Writers : 100 Weapons to Help You Sell Your Work by Jay Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman, and Michael Larsen. I honestly can't believe the book has gone out of print -- it's so valuable! I also recently read and liked Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors by Steve Weber. It's got a strong Amazon bias (ie it talks a lot about marketing on Amazon), but it's definitely worth a read.

On to psychology. What psychologist could live without her Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR Fourth Edition (Text Revision)? (If you want a sneak peek at how we diagnose but you don't want to spend $75, browse through Behavenet Capsules.) To get a sense of how clinicians conduct interviews and establish rapport, try The Clinical Interview Using DSM-IV-TR, Vol. 1: Fundamentals. I also have a fantastic book I think writers who are writing about therapy and therapists would enjoy called Clinician's Thesaurus, 6th Edition: The Guide to Conducting Interviews and Writing Psychological Reports. It's a big fat cheat sheet on lingo, how evaluations are written, what kinds of things clinicians look for during an interview, and questions to ask if you suspect (or see) certain disorders.

Finally, my favorite book on the psychology of writing is Alice Flaherty's The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer's Block, and the Creative Brain. The other book that might interest you on the topic is Kay Redfield Jamison's Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament.

What are your favorite books, writing, psychology, or otherwise? Post in the comments below!

And don't forget to check out Michelle's answer before me and Sandra's after me.

Contests and Drawings

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 13:00:50 PDT

I know a number of my subscribers have found their way here from the QueryTracker Blog, but I want to make sure everybody knows about some upcoming contests and drawings

Joanna Stampfel-Volpe of Nancy Coffey Literary will be judging one-line hooks on the QueryTracker.net Blog on Monday, April 13th at 9am through Tuesday, April 14th at 9am. You can get more information to help you get ready here.

The Knight Agency is doing something similar with their Book in a Nutshell contest. You describe your completed novel in 150 words or less (about 3 sentences) and you could get your work requested by one of the agents. Hurry -- the deadline is April 20th!

Miss Snark's First Victim will also be running a Secret Agent contest on Monday, April 13th. Check MSFV for rules and how to enter!

Finally (for now!): On April 23rd, I'm going to be interviewing Steve Weber, author of Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors over at the QueryTracker.net Blog. I'll also be holding a drawing over there for a chance to win copies of his book -- more details when I figure them out! ;-) I recently finished reading the book and liked it a lot, so I sought him out for the interview. He's been great to work with, and I'm looking forward to getting some copies to my readers!

WIP Wednesday 4/8/09: "You Diagnose Your Characters?"

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:16:51 PDT

As always, getting my WIP Wednesday in during the waning minutes of Wednesday!

Today in one of my classes, we started talking about how I ended up in psychology, and I confessed that part of me simply wanted to better understand my characters. And someone said, "You mean you diagnose your characters?" And I said, "Why, yes. Yes, I do."

My students thought that was funny. And fortunately, I really enjoy making them laugh.

Want to diagnose your characters? There are some tips on how to ask your characters good questions, read their body language, and give them psychological tests in the Resources >> Using Real Psychology section of the Archetype site.

You can also check out the articles on disorders or fill out the Q&A form to ask the shrink questions about your characters' problems!

Now on to the WIP Wednesday report itself:

Nonfiction: I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't done much with the book for a couple of weeks. I keep sitting down to work on it and then having other things come up. By next week I plan to be writing along again, especially since I meet with the clinical/forensics specialist tomorrow. I hope to have more interesting information about what hospitalization in a state facility is like afterwards!

Fiction: I've done a good job on the fiction front. I'm still working my way through Mary's edits for ToM, and making good progress. I'm about halfway through the novel now, and I've done some total scene rewrites. The word count is still a really big problem -- I'm at 67,098. Oh, if only I wrote YA! (Nope, this isn't and wouldn't work as a YA.)

And I have in fact diagnosed my hero in ToM. (Just in case anybody needed proof.) He has a Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) with suicidal ideation. (In layman's terms, that means he feels really, really bad and is thinking about killing himself.) You can read more about MDD for your fiction here and get information about how psychological professionals deal with suicidal clients here.

Elana's Throwdown Challenge

For those who are interested in a kick in the backside to help with their writing, Elana Johnson is organizing a Writing Throwdown Challenge. She's going to create a RallyStorm forum for people to support each other. I might join in and try to outdo everybody as I work on that nonfiction I promised you I was going to get back to writing!

Want to Do Your Own WIP Wednesdays?

I'm going to snitch from Kate for a little more info on WIP Wednesdays:

"And if you want to participate in WIP Wednesday, simply post your own WIP Wednesday entry on your blog and leave a link to it in the comments below.

Or if you don't have a blog, feel free to report your progress directly into the comments box. For more detailed information concerning what all this nonsense is about please consult the original Work in Progress Wednesday posting.

Feel free to also make use of the lovely little WIP Wednesday logo as well!

Critique Groups

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:17:47 PDT

This round, Mary Lindsey chose the blog chain topic. Here are her questions.

Are you in a critique group? If so, at what point do you send chapters to the members of your group? How detailed are the critiques you receive and give? Do all members in you group write the same genre?

I'm going to take the questions one at a time, but be sure to check out Michelle McLean's post and then follow the blog chain on through as each of the other members posts!

Are you in a critique group?

I am in a group that critiques my work.

If so, at what point do you send chapters to the members of your group?

I send chapters when I've got things as polished as I can possibly get them. When I think I'm ready to start sending it out to agents. I've always thought it unfair to give critiquers unpolished works, because if you haven't edited it, what kind of feedback are they going to be able to give you? Aren't they going to see problems you could have seen if you'd just spent the time to edit?

That's how I used to think, and part of me still does. I developed the attitude when I was critting over at Critters. It drove me crazy to critique some stranger's work and then have them write back and say "Oh, I know I need to fix those things. What about ___?" And I'd think "How the heck could I even pay attention to ____ when your grasp of the English language is so atrocious it was all I could do to keep reading?" I've also heard people say that they use critiquers to edit for them. (I need somebody scrape me off the floor every time I hear it.) I think that's just rude. If you're too lazy to do a proofread, then you don't care enough about your own project to waste my time.

Since I've started working with a small group of critiquers that

I know well
I trust to give me both useful and brutally honest feedback
Write novel-length mss, like me

I now see the benefits of sharing rough-cut material with trusted crit buddies.

So for me, within the context of a good critique group (or when working with someone who meets the above bulleted criteria), I see no problem with sharing earlier versions of work. In those situations the person may say, "Don't worry about line edits, I know I need to work on those. Do you like my characters/how the plot is shaping up?" "Am I building tension effectively?" "Am I giving too much away?" Or whatever. I like that. I'm getting to help shape what might be a bestseller someday!

How detailed are the critiques you receive and give?

I get pretty detailed critiques, which I really appreciate more than I can express. I recently got a very detailed critique, and it's one of the best I've ever gotten. It helps when you know that the person's nitpicks are really with your best interests in mind and at heart.

I give pretty detailed critiques, too, though once in a while I have trouble finding anything wrong with a manuscript! I actually had one crit buddy call me the Editor o' Doom because I just shred things. But if I care enough to do that level of work, it's because I think the work has a lot to offer and I care about the person whose work I'm critiquing.

Do all members in your group write the same genre?

No. We all write different genres. Within one group we have adult, YA, MG, and children's fiction. Well, and I write nonfiction, too, and my group has kindly offered to read over that as well. We also have a range of genres from sf/f to romance and women's fiction. I can see benefits to both homogenous and heterogeneous groups; I definitely think it's good to have at least one person who overlaps with you genre-wise.

So dear reader, are you in a critique group? What have your experiences been?

Work In Progress Wednesday 4/1/09

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:53:54 PDT

Nonfiction:

Well...I didn't do much with my nonfiction this week except tell stories about how great my tour of the psych ward was last week. (How funny does that sound?) But...I know I mentioned last week that I need to do another interview with someone who has experience working in inpatient facilities. This time I need someone who works in a state institution, because state-run facilities are different from private facilities.

I posted on a social networking site to see if any of my friends, acquaintances, or colleagues had a connection to Twin Valley, our local state facility. And you know what? One of my friends was supervised by a guy who did his postdoctoral work at Twin Valley. So she put us in contact with each other. (Katie, you're the best!) He and I have emailed back and forth a few times, and we're going to meet next Thursday to talk.

I'm pretty excited because he's a forensics specialist. He does things like evaluate whether someone is competent to stand trial, and whether they were "sane" or "insane" at the time of an offense. He's been very enthusiastic about helping me out, and I know I'm going to come out of that interview loaded with lots of great information. (I'm actually wishing I'd set aside a whole chapter just for hospitalization information at this point. I didn't because it was the one area I was weak on.)

So by now you probably know the drill...if you have questions about anything that has to do with forensic psychology, especially as it pertains to hospitalization, ask in the comments and I'll see what I can do about getting answers.

Let's see, what else can I tell you about my visit last week. Well, I know I told you how they'd suicide proofed everything. One thing they had done was use piano hinges on the doors instead of regular hinges. Regular hinges -- especially on big, heavy institutional doors -- stick out (see top picture at right), and someone could loop a sheet or something over it and hang themselves. (Hanging seemed to be the big concern.) There's no way to loop something over a piano hinge (see bottom picture at right), and the hinges go from floor to ceiling, so there's no gap between the door and the jamb, either.

Fiction:

I'm working as steadily as I'm able on the edits my friend Mary gave me on ToM. They're really good -- I keep thinking they're like what an editor would give you. I do have a problem, though. As I cut out scenes that aren't adding anything to the story, and trimming other things, the story is getting shorter...and shorter... Normally I write things that are too long, but this novel has always been short (relatively speaking, of course), and I'm well into the red zone in terms of length. Like, I'm at 66,000 words. That's just not enough for an adult contemporary fantasy. Eighty thousand would be good, but there's no way on this earth that I can figure out how to add that many words.

Occasionally I feel like giving up on it completely. Not on writing, just on this particular novel. But I keep telling myself that I know there's at least one place I need to add a scene, and I'm hoping it will get longer. (Like one scene is going to fix my length problem? Ack. You can see why I'm having thoughts of digging a hole and burying the damn thing.)

Join the Fun!

Want to post your own WIP Wednesday? Please do! Kate explains how it all works here, and you're welcome to snag the logo she and Lady Glamis put together (at the top of this post). So...how are your WIPs going? Post a link to your own WIP Wednesday in the comments section, or just tell me how it's going there!

Work In Progress Wednesday 3/25/09

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:25:57 PDT

Nonfiction:
The official contract is all signed, so now I can tell you more about the deal. *Big grin*

The book, currently titled NERVOUS BREAKDOWNS AND PSYCHOTIC KILLERS: A Writer's Guide to Psychology, will be published by Quill Driver Books. I don't have a publication date yet, but I hope to have one not too long after I complete the manuscript. My due date is October.

As I mentioned last week, I'm currently working on a chapter about psychiatric emergencies like suicidality and homicidality, and what happens when people are hospitalized. As part of my research, I went and visited a local private hospital's psychiatric unit. Since I had only ever toured a state institution before, I was impressed by just how nice the ward was. It was like -- surprise! -- a hospital.

Everything had been suicide-proofed, so nobody could cut themselves or hang themselves from anything...including the pipes inside the toilet tank. (How, you might wonder, would someone hang themselves from the pipes inside a toilet tank? Well, they tie something to the pipes, wrap the something around their neck, and lean forward until they pass out. Obviously once they pass out they just become dead weight against whatever's around their neck. But as I said, nobody could do that on the unit. The tanks were sealed and locked down.)

Now I'm working on connecting with someone who has spent time working in a state institution, because there's a difference between private hospitals and state-funded institutions. Because you know how much money goes toward mental health care in our communities? Not much.

Here's a picture of the old insane asylum that used to stand in Columbus, Ohio. I believe the date on the picture is 11-7-1909. According to some accounts, this was the largest asylum in the world at one point, with 1,300 beds. It seems to me that Bedlam must have been bigger, but it's still an interesting bit of trivia.

I've also been working on a chapter about mood disorders (depression and manic depression), anxiety disorders (OCD, PTSD, phobias, etc.), and psychotic disorders (like schizophrenia). If you have questions or things you want me to be sure to include about any of those disorders, let me know!

Fiction
My friend Mary brutalized my ToM manuscript, and I can't believe I couldn't see some of the problems until she pointed them out. Can I just tell you how valuable honest, trustworthy crits are? I always feel a little (and sometimes a lot) embarrassed by my manuscript's shortcomings, but I am SO thankful when someone I trust cares enough to really be honest and give it to me straight. I've been doing major rewrites.

My other projects -- SW and my NaNo novel -- are taking a breather while I work on this.

Want more info on this whole WIP Weds thing? Here's Kate's original post.

How are your projects coming?

Work In Progress Wednesday 3/18/09

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:31:43 PDT

Nonfiction Project

The Project: I am writing a book based on the same idea as the Archetype site: a guide to help writers get the psychology right in their fiction! The book will have far greater breadth than the site, and go into much more depth to help you get the details right in your stories.

The Update: I am currently working on a chapter about psychological emergencies like suicidality (being a danger to yourself) and homicidality (being a danger to others). The chapter includes information on what it's like to be hospitalized. Since I'm not currently working inpatient, I'm meeting with the director of a psych unit on Monday to make sure all my facts are up to date. That means now is the time to let me know if you have questions (or just want me to be sure to cover something particular) about suicidality, homicidality, or hospitals!

Fiction

ToM: My friend Mary spent the last few days reading the the manuscript and tells me she was liberal with the red pen, so I'm awaiting her first round of edits. (*Gnaws fingernails*) This is the one I'm going to send back to the agent who suggested I do some rewrites and then get back to her. I'm having some trouble nailing down the genre with this one. I think it's contemporary fantasy. It has magicians and swords and a heroine who's afraid all this fantasy in her reality means she's crazy.

I was thinking it was paranormal romance, but there isn't a lot of detailed sex, so maybe not so much. And it's not urban fantasy (my heroine doesn't throw kick ass, throw knives, or wear leather pants, and there's nary a vampire or werewolf in sight). And it's not dark enough to be dark fantasy. So...contemporary fantasy. But not Charles deLint contemporary fantasy -- more Kay Hooper's Wizard of Seattle. (Which is a paranormal romance. Le sigh. Can anybody think of novels that sound like what I'm describing?)

SW: I also pulled out another novel that needs work. Going to buckle down with it as soon as I'm finished with the one above and see if I can whip it into agent-ready shape. I think this one is science fantasy -- does anybody say "science fantasy" anymore? It could also be called future fiction, which is something set in the not-so-distant future, but you rarely hear that as a genre designation. Hey, are you getting the feeling genre is really an issue for me? 'Cos it is!

S: Which means that I put my NaNo novel on the back burner for right now. I have the feeling the story may become longer than it is right now, and maybe if I spend some stewage time I'll figure out why I feel that way. At least, that is what I'm hoping will happen! (PS - This one is either a paranormal romance or an urban fantasy.)

So, dear reader -- where are you with your WIPs?

This cosmetic ad is a FAIL

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:50:28 PDT

I am still gaping at this ad. It would be one thing if the woman were the one talking in the picture, but the man is. Can you imagine being with a partner who snapped up a product right in front of you because he (or she) was so desperate to not look at your supposed flaws anymore? Talk about killing your self-esteem!

I also find it interesting that the picture is clearly a throwback to the 50s -- because can you imagine both of them dressed in business attire? I should hope that a modern woman would look at a man who behaved this way and say "I beg your pardon!?" (Just as I would hope a man would do the same thing to his partner if that partner did something similar in front of him.)

If someone could please explain to me how benefit thinks this ad is appealing, I'd appreciate it, because I'm stumped.

Archetype Writing: The Book & Work In Progress Weds

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:17:13 PDT

Nonfiction:

I can't stand it anymore, I have to tell you what I'm working on. I am writing a book based on the same idea as the Archetype site: a guide to help writers get the psychology right in their fiction! The book will have far greater breadth than the site, and go into much more depth to help you get the details right in your stories. I don't have a publication date for you yet, but I do have a due date from the publisher, so I'm working hard to get it ready!

Right now I am working on a chapter that includes details on therapist training and ethics. Might not sound crucial at first glance, but a lot of writers get tripped up by these areas -- especially ethics. I recently read The Reach by horror author Nate Kenyon, and he does a really good job writing about one main character's diagnosis and institutionalization; unfortunately, he doesn't do such a good job writing about his therapist-in-training. Students progress through school and therapy training in steps that are pretty consistent from school to school, but nobody in the book pays any heed to those steps. Worse, nobody in the book seems disturbed by some pretty flagrant violations of the normal training process and ethical code. The problem, of course, is that the author didn't understand the steps most therapists follow as they're trained, or (in many cases) when he was portraying ethical violations.

If you have any thoughts or questions about training or ethics, now would be great time to ask -- your questions will help me make sure I cover the information you need for your story. (Feel free to ask questions or make comments on other areas you'd like to see covered as well.)

Some people have asked me about the process for selling nonfiction, so I'm going to tell you just a little bit about it.

Selling Nonfiction

In most cases, when you want to sell a nonfiction book, you write a proposal rather than completing the full manuscript, the way you do for fiction. A proposal introduces the agent or editor to the book idea, compares it to books currently on the market, and sells the reader on the idea that this new book is needed. Because author involvement is crucial in today's book market, the proposal includes a marketing section explaining what the author plans to do to build publicity. Finally, the bulk of the proposal is made up of a chapter-by-chapter outline.

I have several books on proposal writing, but the ones I found most helpful were How to Write a Book Proposal and Write the Perfect Book Proposal: 10 That Sold and Why. (Other people swear by Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody can Write and The Fast Track Course on How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal.)

Fiction:

I'm pretty discouraged with my NaNo project. If I were going for a paranormal romance, heavy on the romance, I might be okay, but I want there to be more to it than that. I'm kind of bored with it at that level. It's slowly becoming clearer to me that I need more tension, higher stakes, and probably more angst. So I think I need to develop some darker backstories for my characters.

It's so frustrating. I've never had a novel come in such fits and starts and give me such fits in the process. Anybody had any experience having to go back in and build dark backstories? I'm sure some advice would help me!

Showing vs. Telling (cross-post)

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:28:21 PDT

“Show, don’t tell” is one of the most oft-repeated pieces of advice writers receive. But what exactly does that mean? And when is it better to tell than show?

This article went over really well over at the QT Blog, and I wanted to share it with those of you who haven't seen it (cos I worked really hard on it). Last week during the QT Blog's Open Mic Monday, Lady Glamis asked, Can you think of instances where it is appropriate to "tell" instead of "show"? Yes, we can, and I'll share some of them toward the end of this post, but since a lot of writers struggle with showing vs. telling, first I want to tackle how to show rather than tell.

When you give someone the Rorschach inkblot test, you go through 12 cards with ambiguous inkblots — twice. The first time, you ask the person to tell you what she sees. The second time, you ask her to show you how she sees it, so you can see it just the way she does. Was it the texture of the inkblot that made her see what she did? The shading? The color? The shape?

When you show your readers what’s happening, you’re doing the same thing — helping them see your story just the way you do. And your goal is not to show them a grainy youtube clip that gives them vague impressions — you want to show them your story in big-screen high-def, complete with a killer 7.1 speaker sound system, tastes, and smells. You want them to be there.

Tip 1: Be a connoisseur.

For me, showing is a sensual experience. I close my eyes and imagine what I would smell, hear, taste, see, and feel in my characters’ situation. Then I do my best to capture the most important of those impressions as vividly — and uniquely — as possible. I want the scene to have immediacy for my reader. When writers tell, they are usually looking at the scene but not listening or touching or smelling or tasting. They’re not slowing down long enough to capture the most outstanding details or pick the most exciting verb.

Here’s a lifeless telling sentence: The bad guys suddenly shot out the tires on the good guys’ SUV.

Time to stop and ask questions about all five senses, using the most descriptive verbs you can find.

* What do your characters see? Does the SUV spin out of control, making the scenery whirl by as if the good guys were on a carousel? If your character is a racecar driver who’s lost control of a speeding car on multiple occasions, his impressions are going to be different from those of someone who just learned to drive.

* What do your characters feel? Does the SUV jolt to a halt? Does the SUV drop closer to the ground? Does the SUV slam into a curb? Do the airbags marshmallow out of the dash, crushing your characters into their seats?

* What do your characters smell and taste? Can they smell rubber burning as it’s dragged across the asphalt? Can they taste their own fear? What does that taste like?

* What do your characters hear? Having blown a tire, I can tell you that the explosion of one bursting is as loud and startling as gunfire. But what else do your characters hear? Other cars screeching to a halt around them?

If this all seems like a lot of work for one sentence, it is, but as you get used to asking questions like this, you’ll start to do it automatically, and the showing will come quicker and easier.

Here is how I rewrote the line for my story. Note two things. First, that there are almost no adjectives — both sentences are carried by strong verbs. Second, I didn’t go on and on about all the different details. This is happening fast, so I have to emphasize only the sensory information that is most important.

More gunfire, and both of the front tires burst, dropping the SUV onto its axle. Metal screamed against asphalt, and a shower of sparks hissed past my open door.

Tip 2: Use active verbs, not adjectives and adverbs.

Adjectives and adverbs tell; verbs show. Strong verbs make your writing vivid and real.

Adjectives and adverbs don’t move the action forward. Nothing is happening with an adjective or adverb; it just sits there on the page and tries to look pretty. For example, if I tell you about an escalator that is tall and silver but standing still, there is absolutely no movement in the sentence. If, on the other hand, I tell you the escalator looms over my character, mocking her with its steely teeth, you have a whole different feel for the escalator. It’s doing things. Scary things.

It’s not very interesting if I tell you that Raven was a clutz. You have to make up the details for yourself. That’s not the case if I add a more information so you can see the scene for yourself: The bell rang, startling Raven, and she bumped her textbook and sent a sheaf of papers tumbling to the floor. She had to wait until her classmates had clambered over her to clean up the mess. Her face hot, she stuffed the pages into her bag, jammed her pen into her purse, and stood so fast she nearly knocked over the man who stood there.

Tip 3: Pick something unique to emphasize about your main characters.

This is going to sound harsh, but nobody cares if your main character has dark hair and hazel eyes. So do millions of other people. You need to pick one or two extraordinary characteristics and emphasize them well enough that your readers could pick your character out of a lineup.

Over time, personality becomes etched into the lines of the face and body, so try to emphasize a physical characteristic that reveals character. Maybe your heroine hunches her shoulders as if she’s fighting a strong wind; maybe her black hair is braided so tight it looks like a licorice stick. I find that when I exaggerate a characteristic, that can help. So rather than just saying your character has flowing black hair, you say her black hair gushes over her shoulders and eddies into the small of her back.

Example: The angular planes of his face turned the soft light into a study in contrasts, and in that context, what might have been a sensual mouth merely looked hard. His cheekbones were high, angry slashes, a sentiment echoed by the frown between his brows.

And rather than telling you that my hero is insouciant but intense and that my heroine finds him attractive, I can show you:

He sprawled against the far wall, the exposed flesh of his chest bronzed and glistening in the heat. A gold piece lay at the end of the chain around his neck.

Had she been forced to describe him without using licentious language, she would have said that the lines of his face were aristocratic. In the uneven light, his eyes appeared black, but their intensity, not their color, was what fascinated her.

Telling vs. Showing

In spite of the magic of showing, sometimes it’s better to tell. Here are a few of those times.

* During transitions. When you just need to get from one day to the next, don’t worry about the evening sunset, the darkness of night, and the morning mist. Just say something like “The next day…”

* When you’re summarizing something that happened during a transition. Let’s say your character had a fight with her boyfriend before she left for work in the morning, and you want to convey that she has an okay rest of the day. You can write something like, “She made it through class and the rest of the afternoon without incident” and let it go at that.

* When you’re talking about a minor character who isn’t important to the story.

Your Job

Go through every sentence of your manuscript and make sure three things are true:

1. Every single sentence and word furthers the story. It moves us forward. It shows us something crucial. This is why it’s important to just choose a few details, not overload the reader with every. single. one.

2. You have used vivid verbs, not just-sitting-there adjectives, to show your readers what is happening.

3. You have closed your eyes and thought about the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches in each scene. You have shown your reader enough of that sensory information that they are experiencing the scene the same way you are.

Please feel free to comment!

Marketing Your Novel

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:00:01 PST

For this round of the chain gang, Heather asked,

What plans do YOU have to market your novel? How will you make sure the public finds your work?

Now, I’m an oddball when it comes to this marketing stuff. I think it’s fun. I’m looking forward to it. And I see my willingness and ability to market my work as the number-one thing that can make or break book sales, so I take it very seriously.

Astonishingly, the best book out there on marketing for writers has gone out of print. You can still get it through Amazon.com, though: Guerrilla Marketing for Writers : 100 Weapons to Help You Sell Your Work. I don't often say you must buy a book, but if you're serious about marketing yourself well, you should run, not walk, to get this book.

The other book I've found helpful is Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors, Book Publicity through Social Networking.

So what are my strategies for marketing my novel? Here are just a few:

Creating an author website -- I really believe websites are crucial these days. Right now I am using archetypewriting.com and archetypewriting.blogspot.com, but I do intend to create a site that's a presskit for me as a writer when I get a little closer to having a book out there on the shelves. (If you're wanting a website for yourself and can't code, consider Purple Squirrel Web Design, a company that QueryTracker and RallyStorm programmer Pat McDonald and I recently created. We offer affordable custom designs as well as hosting packages, and soon we'll have up some ultra-affordable U-Design templates that let you pick a site design and customize it to meet your needs.)
Putting information about my book in my email and message board signatures.
Letting everyone in my social networks know all about the book
Letting visitors to the websites I currently run know about my book
Including links on each of those sites to major online retailers who carry the book, such as Amazon.com, bn.com, etc.
Use AmazonConnect to personalize the book listing and connect with readers who view it on Amazon.com
Providing opportunities for readers to purchase personalized, autographed copies directly from me.
Create a discussion group on rallystorm.com for readers to discuss the book

Your turn, dear Reader -- how will you market your book? What are your ideas, plans, and hopes?

Work In Progress Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:07:34 PST

Nonfiction project
I now have the first drafts of three chapters almost written. And coming soon -- exciting information about my nonfiction project -- plus, ways you can help me with it! (I know, that would be more exciting if you knew what it was. Don't worry, more info soon. Stay tuned!)

Contemporary fantasy/paranormal romance
I'm starting to get antsy about not having sent my manuscript back to the agent who requested the rewrites. The agent requested rewrites back in January; I wrote frantically in January and February, and then started finding readers to help me out. Elana's edits helped me a great deal, and now I am anxiously awaiting two other readers' thoughts to see if I got the characterization and so forth working again.

Do you think I should be getting antsy, or am I just being paranoid that too much time is passing?

NaNo novel
I've been slowly editing my NaNo novel, and I have the feeling I know what part of my problem is. My characters are fairly healthy, angst-free people. They have problems, sure, but their problems are external. These are not characters tormented by things they are or have done.

What do you think I should do? Start creating tortured backstories? The characters do get...well, mistreated as the story goes on, so I think it's going to gain momentum for me. Maybe I should wait and see if that happens before I get out the thumbscrews. Try something new and all that...

So dear Reader, what are you working on? Are you using psychology in your project? I'd love to hear about it, either way!

Archetype Site Poll & Recent Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn Kaufman) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:56:20 PST

I'm really curious about what people are looking for when they visit the Archetype site, so I thought I'd ask. If you often come looking for more than one thing, either pick the thing that is most important to you or write about the other things in the Comments section for this blog entry. Please also leave feedback in the Comments section about whether you find what you need, what you'd like to see, etc.

greencard lottery 99polls

A couple of people have asked me recently about the now-defunct newsletter. I decided some time ago that a monthly newsletter served little purpose when I could post updates and news as often as I like on the blog. Therefore, I gave up the newsletter in favor of the blog.

I felt the site itself was getting a little unwieldy, so I recently reorganized parts of it, including the Real Psychology and Resources areas. I also sorted through and pruned some areas that weren't being used very often. If you find that something you think was really important is now gone, just let me know.

Thanks!