Tag: growth

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#IWSG First to Last Piece of #Writing

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Welcome to the Insecure Writers Support Group, August edition. Alex Cavanaugh leads the band of fledgling, fun writers. Join us HERE.


And now for the two-part IWSG question of the month!
What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer?

I never anticipated becoming a writer. But when my psychologist career took a downturn in 2007, I got hooked on the TV show Prison Break. The dark themes and conspiracy theories of the show echoed my own gloom at the time, I guess. I stumbled across a section on the Fox discussion board: Fan Fiction. “What’s this?” I thought. I read some stories and shook my head. “What LOSERS are writing stories about TV characters?”

Fast forward a couple of months and I started writing my own fan fiction! The first piece was laughable in its inept writing. I was lucky for kind TV fans who encouraged me. I decided to write a Prison Break story about what I knew: swimming. My writing style was bloated, but some readers gave me positive feedback about the plot and characterization.

Years later, I reworked the story with my publisher. We cut over 70,000 words and published the story as my third novel: Streamline. It’s a military murder mystery centering around my favorite sport of swimming.


(I can’t BELIEVE my beloved TV show returns in 2017, yaaayyyyy!)
 
I just finished writing my seventh novel, SPIKED (Blocked #3). I believe my writing has become tighter, and I can’t wait for Spiked to launch on 10-1-16. Once again this story features swimming, so I’ve come full circle. We shared the cover reveal two days ago.

Happy writing to all!

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Five Tips for #Writing #Therapy Scenes #IWSG

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Time for August’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Writers, learn more HERE and join us.


Hey, everyone. I’m Jennifer Lane, psychologist/author (psycho author). I do therapy on the weekdays and write on the weekends, and I can’t decide which is more fun.

Character growth is essential in any story, and I often help my characters develop through psychotherapy. Finding the balance between authentic therapy and engaging storytelling can be tricky. Here are some tips:

1) Empathy. Otherwise known as validation or good listening, empathy is reflecting the speaker’s emotion. It’s a key therapy skill, regardless of the therapist’s theoretical orientation. Here are some examples of empathy:

Client: “What’s the point?”
Therapist: “You’re feeling hopeless.”

Client: “He’s such an ass!”
Therapist: “You’re really angry at him.”

Sounds simple, right? It’s not. A lot of times we want to give advice or solve problems, when all people need is validation. Empathic listening is quite therapeutic.

2) Boundaries. Therapists’ ethical codes discourage multiple relationships with clients. If I’m your therapist, I can’t be your friend, lover, business partner, babysitter, etc. Hollywood often shows therapists shagging their clients with no negative consequences. Not realistic.

3) Diagnosis. Though some therapists don’t put much stock into psychiatric diagnosis, it’s helpful to have a somewhat accurate diagnosis for the character. I giggled when I read Christian Grey’s initial diagnoses as haphephobia (fear of being touched) and parasomnia (sleep disorders). Fortunately Ms. James did her research for a later book, diagnosing him with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Here’s a good website summarizing mental health disorders.  I also like the Writers Helping Writers Emotional Wound series. 

4) Progress. Is it common for a huge therapeutic breakthrough to occur? An insight that changes everything for a character? Not really. While I adore this scene in Good Will Hunting, it’s not characteristic of therapy.


Change tends to be difficult and gradual, and clients are unique in their responses to therapy. Some clients feel better merely by naming or reframing the problem. Others just benefit from a private, nonjudgmental space to talk.

5) Character Development. Therapy is a wonderful vehicle to develop your characters. Is your hero funny? Write dialogue for him that makes the therapist crack up. Does your heroine try to mother everyone? Perhaps she brings tea for the therapist, or knits the therapist a hat in the winter. Character interpersonal dynamics will unfold in the therapy relationship just like any other relationship, inserting some fun into the drama.

Have you ever tried to write a therapy scene? Hopefully these tips will help.

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Learning Cool Stuff Through Writing #IWSG

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Woo hoo, I love summer. Time for June’s Insecure Writers Support Group, hosted by Alex Cavanaugh. 

Alex’s awesome co-hosts for the June 3 posting of the IWSG are M. Pax, Tracy Jo,Patricia Lynne, Rachna Chhabria, Feather Stone, and Randi Lee!

Writers, join us HERE. 


There are so many cool aspects about writing, but one of my favorites is learning something new.

I just wrote a chapter in my work-in-progress Aced where the hero attends confession with a priest. I like to write moments when my characters grow and challenge dysfunctional behaviors. Typically this involves throwing my characters into therapy. But Aced’s hero Alejandro is a Catholic Latino good boy, and I wanted to try a new space for healing and development outside the therapy office.

Although I attended Notre Dame for grad school, I’m not Catholic, and I’ve never experienced confession myself. Luckily, my critique partner is Catholic, and she provided a helpful link explaining the process. I also found this list of sins that blew me away. Jeez… I sin all the time!

Did you know that pirating ebooks is a sin? 😮

Both confession and therapy involve reflection and sharing secrets. But one unique part of confession is FORGIVENESS. I love the idea of seeking God’s mercy in an effort to forgive ourselves.

What cool stuff have you learned through writing?