An accurate and accessible survey of modern psychological theory and practice, this reference offers professional writers practical advice for incorporating psychological elements into their work. With easy-to-understand explanations and definitions, this book is an invaluable resource for any writer wishing to add realistic details to scenes that depict psychologists, mental illnesses and disorders, and psychotherapeutic treatments. Designed around the needs of professional fiction and nonfiction writers, this is an easy-to-use resource that includes historical and modern psychological treatments and terms and refutes popularly held misconceptions.
The Psychology Student Writer's Manual 3/E is a practical guide to research, reading, and writing in the discipline. Ideal as either a companion or stand-alone text for any psychology course that requires students to write papers. This clear and functional handbook shows how to research and write in psychology as well as improve one's overall writing ability. Covering every fundamental aspect of writing (from content to form, grammar, tracking sources of information, and citing sources), it assists students in preparing two specific types of papers: research reports and term papers. Comprehensive source—Contains all the information needed to write most types of papers typically assigned in the discipline of psychology. Provides students with a complete, one-stop, easy-to-follow reference source on how to research and write papers—including how to conduct research in psychology, how to find information on topics related to psychology, how to incorporate citations, and more. Thorough review of writing basics and formatting instructions—Addresses fundamental concerns of all writers, exploring the reasons why we write, describing the writing process itself, and examining those elements of grammar, style, and punctuation that cause the most confusion among writers in general. Shows students the key elements of good writing and effective communication, gives students a quick and handy grammar reference source, and provides them with a detailed, easy-to-follow guide to preparing papers according to accepted formats. Creative writing assignments—Offers practical writing exercises with step-by-step instructions. Heightens students' interest in the study of psychology, and frees professors from the duty of teaching students to write the papers most often assigned in psychology classes. APA standards—Complies with all APA style requirements, displays formats for text, title pages, reference pages, tables of contents in APA format, details the APA citation system, and discusses the crucial responsibility of every psychology writer to use source material ethically. General analysis of psychology -◦Helps students obtain a deeper understanding of what constitutes the discipline of psychology so that they will become better and more educated writers on the subject.
From Sex to Schizophrenia: Everything You Need to Develop Your Characters! What makes a person commit a white-collar crime? Who is a likely candidate to join a cult? Why do children have imaginary friends? How does birth order affect whether or not a person gets married? When does mind over matter become a crippling problem? Writer's Guide to Character Traits, 2nd edition answers all of these questions and many others. With more than 400 easy-to-reference lists of traits blended from a variety of behaviors and influences, you'll gain the knowledge you need to create distinctive characters whose personalities correspond to their thoughts and actions - no matter how normal or psychotic they might be. In this updated and expanded edition, you'll also find: • Comprehensive instruction on how to use this book • New statistical information to help you create true-to-life characters • Corresponding exercises that show you how to put the material to work in your stories • A quick-reference index to make cross-referencing a snap • Idea sparkers to get your thoughts out of your head and onto the page Plus, you'll learn about common - and not so common - psychological, physical, and relationship disorders; delve into the minds of criminals; find out what it takes to be a professional athlete, scientist, and truck driver; discover what life is like for a gang member, suicidal teen, and alcoholic; and more. In Writer's Guide to Character Traits, 2nd edition, note psychologist and author Dr. Linda Edelstein takes you beyond generic personality types and into the depths of the human psyche where you're sure to find the resources you need to make your characters stand out from the crowd.
Readers connect to characters with depth, ones who have experienced life’s ups and downs. To deliver key players that are both realistic and compelling, writers must know them intimately—not only who they are in the present story, but also what made them that way. Of all the formative experiences in a character’s past, none are more destructive than emotional wounds. The aftershocks of trauma can change who they are, alter what they believe, and sabotage their ability to achieve meaningful goals, all of which will affect the trajectory of your story. Identifying the backstory wound is crucial to understanding how it will shape your character’s behavior, and The Emotional Wound Thesaurus can help. Inside, you’ll find: * A database of traumatic situations common to the human experience * An in-depth study on a wound’s impact, including the fears, lies, personality shifts, and dysfunctional behaviors that can arise from different painful events * An extensive analysis of character arc and how the wound and any resulting unmet needs fit into it * Techniques on how to show the past experience to readers in a way that is both engaging and revelatory while avoiding the pitfalls of info dumps and telling * A showcase of popular characters and how their traumatic experiences reshaped them, leading to very specific story goals * A Backstory Wound Profile tool that will enable you to document your characters’ negative past experiences and the aftereffects Root your characters in reality by giving them an authentic wound that causes difficulties and prompts them to strive for inner growth to overcome it. With its easy-to-read format and over 100 entries packed with information, The Emotional Wound Thesaurus is a crash course in psychology for creating characters that feel incredibly real to readers.
Writers know that their characters and stories should be multi-layered and believable. Now here's a simple workbook that uses the same knowledge that gives therapists insight into human behaviour to create fiction that hits the mark. Each chapter outlines an aspect of psychological theory as it can be used for writing and provides two worksheets to translate it into action - one to develop characters, one to develop the story. Darian Smith is a prize winning fiction writer with a degree in psychology, a Diploma of Counselling, and is a member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors. He combines these two sides of his background to provide simple, easy to follow tools that make use of established psychological theory to help writers develop fully rounded, interesting, realistic characters and inject conflict into their stories. Give your writing the benefit of over a decade of training and experience and discover how to have readers wanting more.
The Science of Writing Characters is a comprehensive handbook to help writers create compelling and psychologically-credible characters that come to life on the page. Drawing on the latest psychological theory and research, ranging from personality theory to evolutionary science, the book equips screenwriters and novelists with all the techniques they need to build complex, dimensional characters from the bottom up. Writers learn how to create rounded characters using the 'Big Five' dimensions of personality and then are shown how these personality traits shape action, relationships and dialogue. Throughout The Science of Writing Characters, psychological theories and research are translated into handy practical tips, which are illustrated through examples of characters in action in well-known films, television series and novels, ranging from Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri and Game of Thrones to The Bonfire of the Vanities and The Goldfinch. This very practical approach makes the book an engaging and accessible companion guide for all writers who want to better understand how they can make memorable characters with the potential for global appeal.
The second edition of Effective Writing in Psychology helps users produce crisp scientific communication, form concise unambiguous arguments, and render technical information clear and comprehensible. The new edition incorporates the latest guidelines contained within the 6th edition of the APA Publication Manual. Clear guidelines on effective writing illustrate how to generate strong and compelling prose, even when the writing is not aimed at a research audience Incorporates changes to the guidelines contained in the 6th edition of the APA publication manual Includes material on how to adapt APA style for poster presentations using PowerPoint, and for oral presentations Contains a new section on using the Internet to present research papers and a new chapter on conducting a literature search, to guide students through databases, keywords, sources, and connections between articles Highlights methods for selecting a research topic and organizing papers Features a sample manuscript showing common deviations from correct APA style and a version demonstrating appropriate use of APA style
The bestselling Emotion Thesaurus, often hailed as “the gold standard for writers” and credited with transforming how writers craft emotion, has now been expanded to include 56 new entries! One of the biggest struggles for writers is how to convey emotion to readers in a unique and compelling way. When showing our characters’ feelings, we often use the first idea that comes to mind, and they end up smiling, nodding, and frowning too much. If you need inspiration for creating characters’ emotional responses that are personalized and evocative, this ultimate show-don’t-tell guide for emotion can help. It includes: • Body language cues, thoughts, and visceral responses for over 130 emotions that cover a range of intensity from mild to severe, providing innumerable options for individualizing a character’s reactions • A breakdown of the biggest emotion-related writing problems and how to overcome them • Advice on what should be done before drafting to make sure your characters’ emotions will be realistic and consistent • Instruction for how to show hidden feelings and emotional subtext through dialogue and nonverbal cues • And much more! The Emotion Thesaurus, in its easy-to-navigate list format, will inspire you to create stronger, fresher character expressions and engage readers from your first page to your last.
Develop compelling character arcs using the power of myth! In the best novels, characters undergo dramatic changes that keep readers turning pages. A Writer's Guide to Characterization shows you how to develop such meaningful character arcs in your own work--stories of transformation that will resonate with readers long after the story ends. In this comprehensive guide, author Victoria Lynn Schmidt examines cross-cultural archetypes to illustrate how they can make your work more powerful and compelling. Plus, you'll learn how to draw from Jungian psychology to add complexity and believability to your characters. Schmidt also provides: • 40 lessons on character development (with examples from well-known films and novels) that you can apply to your own work • Questionnaires and exercises to help you select male and female archetypes and adapt them to your story • 15 classic animal archetypes (including the coyote, snake, tiger, and butterfly) you can use to build convincing character profiles With A Writer's Guide to Characterization, you'll have the information you need to infuse the development of your characters with drama and authenticity.
The Psychologist's Companion is intended for students as well as young professionals and writers at all stages of their careers seeking inspiration and guidelines for better scientific writing. This book is also a resource for researchers in related fields. It has been comprehensively updated, revised, and extended for its fifth edition and includes the latest style guidelines of the American Psychological Association's Publication Manual (sixth edition, 2009) as well as chapters encompassing the entire research process from doing literature research and planning an experiment to writing the paper. It features new chapters on literature research; ethics; and generating, evaluating, and selling ideas. The Psychologist's Companion also provides information on writing book proposals, grant proposals, and lectures.
