I’ve said it before, but I’m going to say it again – connecting with fellow lovers of the written word is the best part of
Tag: psychology
How to Show and not Tell Intelligence
Although the concept of intelligence and what exactly it means for a person to be intelligent are the subject of considerable controversy and debate, it’s
Paranoid Personality Disorder: Psychological Disorders for Writers
Personality disorders are fascinating. They have their very own section in the Diagnostic Services Manual, Fifth Edition (the psychologist’s and psychiatrist’s bible when it comes
Narcissistic Abuse and Codependence for Writers
I firmly believe we’re all psychologists at heart, because psychology is founded on the desire to know ourselves (yes, that is a little narcissistic…), but
7 Key Ways to Reveal Your Character’s Wound
This week’s blog post was prompted by a discussion with a fellow writer. This writer reflected that they’d gained useful information in relation their character
Eating Disorders: Bulimia Nervosa for Writers
For our second week of eating disorders (prompted by my current short-story) I’m tackling bulimia nervosa. Of the two eating disorders we’re discussing, bulimia is
Adding Complexity to your Scenes
Humans like complexity; puzzles, questions, layers. They all fascinate us. My guess it’s because there are so many complex systems in nature that our brain
The Best of 2017
Well…2017 is drawing to a close…this time of the year always seems to prompt reflection and spark celebration. It’s certainly been an eventful year for
Jumping to Conclusions: Great Character Driven Conflict
The brain loves short-cuts. I don’t blame it, so do I. If I’ve got a whole heap of research to do, I’ll skim the document
The Psychology of High Concept
The term high-concept got on my radar at this year’s Romance Writers of Australia conference. I listened to a couple of panels where a mix
Growth Mindset for Writers
It’s not always the people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest. – Alfred Binet, inventor of the IQ test As I’m
Histrionic Personality Disorder for Writers
Dramatic characters capture our attention just by merit of their personality. The opposite of introverts, they feed off the attention of others and are willing
The Power of the Character Wound
We’ve talked about the character wound on PsychWriter before when I explored the negative core belief. We know it’s a painful past event that changes
Unhelpful thinking styles: which one does your character use?
We’ve talked about character wounds, those painful past events that change who your character is, and how central they are to a character arc. Essentially,
Yielding to the Majority: Will Your Character Conform?
Humans are social creatures, and you don’t need to be a psychologist to know that. Whenever something excitingly wonderful or life-changingly awful happens we want
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
