Getting Your Characters Help! The Character Therapist

This is one of the most original writer’s resource blogs I have discovered, and it’s a goldmine of information on many topics including:

romantic scenes, break ups and all the soppy stuff
amnesia
mental illnesses of all kinds, including some you’ve never heard of
attachment
character archetypes
body image
backstory
character flaws and criminology
comic relief
conflict, defence mechanisms etc
social issues such as domestic violence, cults,
physical illnesses including autism, Down’s Syndrome and many things
dialogue and character inconsistency
emotional revolution
marital issues

… and if those haven’t piqued your interest, go look up Fascination by Mystique, countertransference, the Cotard Delusion, Nazism and Paris Syndrome. Plus, it is Christian friendly.

Link: http://charactertherapist.blogspot.com.au

The blog and accompanying services are run by Jeannie Campbell, who is a licensed and highly experienced marriage and family therapist. She has turned her skills into a helpful resource where she “diagnoses make-believe people” to assist novelists. Jeannie also has a newsletter you can sign up for.

Need more help?

“Creating and Resolving Conflict in Fiction,” dissects conflict into its component parts; looks at how it works and helps you generate conflict plot-lines and themes which will add richness and realism to your work. The principles apply to any kind of fiction, regardless of the length, characters or genre.

This book is not a “how to write” text. It is a user-friendly, introductory reference on the topics covered, which will enable you to write about them effectively. You don’t have to read it from cover to cover, it can be used as needed.

Some of the topics covered include:

How to Fuel Conflicts and Misunderstandings
What Character Traits Go With What Type of Person?
Human Behaviour Is All About Patterns
Using Power Dynamics
Making or Breaking Character Relationships

Available in Kindle and pdf formats from this site: http://virtual-desk.com.au/conflict_in_fiction.html

This article / blog post is Copyright Cate Russell-Cole 2014. All rights are reserved Internationally. You may not reproduce it in any form, in part of whole, without Cate’s prior written permission. That includes usage in forms such as print, audio and digital imaging including pdf, jpg, png etc. A fee may be requested for re-using her work if it is for a commercial venture. 

Link sharing and Pinterest pins are most welcome as long as Cate is the attributed Author.

 

Filed under: Gold Class Writing Sites, Writing Resources Tagged: author, books, characterisation, Christian friendly, conflict, fiction, growth, Indie publishing, inspiration, learning, novel, plot, problem solving, resource, success, The Character Therapist, writer, writing