Time for another monthly meeting across the blogoverse for all writers who second-guess themselves. *raises hand*
Thank you so much to this month’s co-hosts: Liza at Middle Passages, Shannon Lawrence, Melissa Maygrove, and Olga Godim!
I’m excited that I finally have some momentum on my new novel, Low Water. I’ve written about 10,000 words (out of a probable 80-90K), and I’m hoping that the upcoming therapy scenes in my story will flow more easily since my day job immerses me in psychotherapy.
After falling in love with a trauma treatment I learned called cognitive processing therapy for PTSD, I wanted to write a story about a swim coach not only healing from a horrific event in his life, but also experiencing post-traumatic growth. It’s not a psychological thriller, though. More like a mental health drama, but that’s not really a thing. Have you ever written a story that doesn’t fit easily into existing genres?
Balance is on my mind while writing this story. Cognitive processing therapy utilizes cognitive-behavioral therapy, an approach that helps you balance your thinking so that you feel better. Trauma survivors sometimes get stuck in the past when their thoughts are full of self-blame, self-doubt, and/or self-directed anger.
Speaking of writing therapy scenes, I want to balance the five elements of writing (mentioned in this insightful Writers Helping Writers post) and avoid too much dialogue. I hope to portray evenly the elements of setting, action, reaction, and inner thoughts/feelings along with the dialogue. How well do you achieve a balance in your writing?
(Have you ever tried to paddle board? That’s one area where my balance is HORRIBLE! I spend way more time in the water than on the board, but it does elicit plenty of laughs.)
Jennifer Lane Books 