psychotherapy – Jennifer Lane Books

Happy November, writers! Kvetch with us at Alex Cavanaugh’s blog.

Thank you to the wonderful co-hosts for the November 4 posting of the IWSG: Jemi Fraser, Kim Lajevardi, L.G Keltner, Tyrean Martinson, and Rachna Chhabria!

November 4 question – Albert Camus once said, “The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” Flannery O’Conner said, “I write to discover what I know.” Authors across time and distance have had many reasons to write. Why do you write what you write?

Fantastic question! I never expected to become a writer. What I didn’t realize, however, was that I lived the writer experience long before publishing novels. As a psychologist, I write a case note after every psychotherapy session. These are narratives about the past, present, and future; narratives about tragedies and triumphs. I’ve also written a few scientific journal articles and book chapters.

So, maybe it wasn’t so far-fetched that I started writing novels, since they share a common motivation with my case notes: trying to make sense of why we do what we do.

Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay — Image by Foundry Co. from Pixabay

Over time, I’ve developed other reasons for writing:

Demystifying psychotherapy
Sharing the healing power of love
Exploring how functional and dysfunctional families work
Creating happy endings when I can’t find them in real life, and…
CONNECTING with the reader. I think we’re all seeking connection.

What about you? What motivates you to write or read?

Whoops I hope I’m not too late (only one day?) to post for the Insecure Writers Support Group, July version. Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for starting the group–join us here!

I’m in Hilton Head with my seven-month old niece, whose cuteness supersedes any blog schedule in my mind.

Hop on over to this month’s awesome co-hosts!

Co-Hosts
Nicki Elson

Juneta Key

Tamara Narayan

Patricia Lynne

Now onto this month’s question:

What are your ultimate writing goals, and how have they changed over time?

Writing started as a need to express myself, and I got lost in the characters and stories I created. Over time, more goals emerged, including the desire to inspire hope for healing and demystifying psychotherapy as one path for that healing. Another big goal has been connecting with authors and readers.

As a psychologist, I often encourage clients to focus on the process instead of the outcome. But since I’m a competitive person, I get drawn into outcome goals: sales and reviews. I wish I didn’t care as much about those, because outcome goals sometimes interfere with my enjoyment of the process. (Though a great review can sure inspire the process!)

I’m still on a writing hiatus so for now my goal is to enjoy friends and family on the weekends.

What are your #goals?