The manuscript that I’m currently working on has a character with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. This character is the father of my protagonist, and seeing
Author: Tamar Sloan
Author of heart-hugging, smile tugging young adult romance and the PsychWriter blog - where psychology meets writing.
Emotions in the Body: The Science of your Character
We all know that ‘show, don’t tell’ is best practice as a general rule (just like any writing ‘rule’, there are always exceptions), but it’s
Book Review: Story Genius by Lisa Cron
I’m currently writing my first book for PsychWriter, Grit for Writers. It focuses on the on the passion and perseverance we need to succeed in
Addiction Recovery: The Stages Your Character Will Experience
With relapse rates of around 40 to 60 percent, recovery from addition is tough. And yes, by addiction we usually refer to drugs or alcohol.
When Your Character Loses a Loved One to Suicide
It was R U OK? Day here is Australia this week, an annual day in September dedicated to reminding people to ask family, friends and
How to Write When You Least Feel Like It
Writing is tough. Sure, there’s the days when we hit our ‘flow’ state; words pour from our minds faster than we can type, plot twists
Psychology for Writers: ADHD
I read a book recently, a contemporary romance, where the male protagonist had a diagnosis of ADHD. It was a well written, beautiful love story
The Psychology of the Character Wound: Understanding the Negative Core Belief
Character wounds are the foundation of a strong, memorable character. Why? Because they make characters complex, authentic (I challenge you to find me a person
The Psychology of the Group: Us versus Them Thinking
So, I’m about to launch into the final book of my trilogy. Being a paranormal story, there’s three different beings (that I know of) that
Overcoming Negative Feedback
I had a fellow writer email me not that long ago. She’d just found out that she didn’t finalise in a competition and was feeling
Psychology for Writers: Narcissism
The term ‘narcissism’ comes from Greek mythology, where beautiful, proud Narcissus fell in love with his own image in a pool of water. It’s not
Is your character pretending to be something they’re not?
We all spend some time pretending to be something we’re not. We pretend we’re feeling happy when we’re not, we maintain a façade of polite
Childhood Trauma and its Impact on Your Character
The word ‘trauma’ is derived from the Greek term for ‘wound’. Very frightening or distressing events may result in a psychological wound or injury –
Learning to Live with Your Inner Editor
As we discussed last week, our Inner Editor is a direct descendant of the Inner Critic. The Origins of the Inner Editor showed us that
Therapy for Writers: The Origin of Your Inner Editor
I have an inner editor. She keeps up an inner monologue in my head when I’m writing – usually the whole time. When I’m thinking
Psychology For Writers: Alcohol Addiction
Alcohol has played a central role in almost all human cultures since the Stone Age. Interestingly, there’s evidence that the development of agriculture – a
