PSYCH 101 for Writers and Their Characters Continued
\Q 3— How does ‘abnormal behavior’ enter into the realm of crime writing and fiction in general?
Answer: Have you read any one of my books? OK…risky word phrase this ‘abnormal behavior’ as you have to ask then what is ‘normal’ behavior in a species that ‘won’ out as the meat eater of all the great apes? Authors are forever dealing with perceptions of what is right and what is wrong, what is good, what is evil, and the common error of taking things at face value. Is writing and painting and creating ‘abnormal’ in itself since, like actors, all artists have to be driven and obsessed to become a player in this field? This question may be too complex to answer here, but let’s keep exploring.
Appearance is seldom what it seems in a novel, especially a mystery or suspense or thriller. Societal norms are taken to task. Since I write about murder and often times serial murder, murder is my stock and trade, my INC. This means ‘abnormal behavior’ is my bread and butter but once removed as I have killed no one except on a stage. My evil antagonists are always into aberrant and sickening words and actions; what he says, thinks, and does is who he or she is (see Final Edge for the worst female killer in all the history of books! Laurelie Blodgett). Such characters are motivated by sick fantasies, mania, fear, psychological disorders, obsessions, phobias, actual physical deformities, actual illnesses just as are Shakespeare’s worst villainous scum like Iago. They are motivated often by ‘abnormal’ beliefs, but often such ‘abnormal’ beliefs come out of popular cultural beliefs, legends, even religion as in anti-religious behavior on a grand scale. Some sick beliefs have a foothold in historical fact about mankind–as in cannibalistic behavior, perhaps even necrophilia–sex with the dead. Certainly there are enough scatologically disgusting elements about mankind and his history to provide fodder for many, many an aberrant behavior or belief system or ‘nutty’ fantasy, desire, want, goal.
I don’t have to mention Stephen King and Anne Rice made a killing on abnormal behavior, do I? Still there is a fine line at work here. Abnormal can slip over into caricature and unintended funnies in the blink of a Cyclop’s eye if one is not careful. How far from the ‘norm’ can our ‘abnormal’ Grandma Grimwood go before she becomes a twisted Dickensian comical granny?
In books about psychotics, sociopaths, organized and disorganized killers of every stripe there is great latitude in defining abnormal, but in all cases the sociopathic monster has to have its\his\her roots in humanity and where we’ve come from…from the primitive lizard brain to the present…roots are sunk deep. This is why the abnormal among us, in the end, are human after all. Humanity swings a wide arc across the rainbow from purity to the unspeakably vile and no author can turn away and not see this if the story demands it. Those who do turn a blind eye to the absolute end of the spectrum, the deepest rung in the pit miss an entire part of the human condition and it’s like being color blind, missing an entire spectrum of the rainbow itself.
OK…believe it or not.
Robert W. Walker
author Killer Instinct, Fatal Instinct and Dead On
Thanks so much and find me on facebook, twitter, myspace, and at www.acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com and do leave a message here.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Annoying Characters! by DL Larson
If I was to create an annoying character that included many of my pet peeves, she might turn out to be something like this:
She'd be in her early thirties, wearing dirty pajama pants and a ratty Tshirt with the saying, "51% Angel, 49% Bitch ... Don't Push Me." The temptation to do just that makes me shake with anticipation. Her fingernails are bright pink, freshly manicured and her two preschoolers have bedhead, and it's nearly noon.
Beneath the sign on the library wall "Please turn off your cell phones," she yaps loudly into her tiger-striped phone, laughs even louder and acts as if everyone in the room should hear her enticing conversation as she proclaims she can't do a thing with her boys. 'It's HOPELESS.' Of course the children are across the way pretending their ears don't work, but know she's just given them permission to misbehave. So, of course, as if prompted, they start acting out!
She returns her books to my desk, ignoring the puppet fight her boys have instigated. I immediately retrieve my cleaner because the books are so sticky I couldn't possibly put them away without wiping them first. The DVD is either broken, chewed, stepped on, or empty. She makes no excuse, simply shrugs her shoulders when I tell her of the problem. "Oh, one of the boys wanted to play with it. I told them not to. They never listen." Then she too as if in a play, turns to her boys, "Now Mrs. Deb is mad at us. We owe her lots of money. We can't go to McDonald's until we pay her." The boys in unison drop to the floor, wailing, nary a tear squeezed out from their performance, but mom is really getting into it now. "I told you not to break the DVD. I told you Mrs. Deb would be mad at you." I now have the over-powering urge to rip her stupid Tshirt off her chubby body and wear it myself! "And now, we can't take out any more books or DVDs because we owe her so much money." More flaying about from the boys, their wails crescendo and other mothers decide it's time to leave. I smile, wishing I could escape too.
I hand out suckers or treats to my little friends as quietly as I can, but no, I did not succeed and the two naughty boys want suckers tooooooooooo! I don't reward bad behavior and so ignore them. I know five minutes without mom these boys would act perfectly fine, but mom loves drama and so once again Mrs. Deb becomes the bad guy in her performance. "Mrs Deb is mad at you. She's not going to give you suckers."
If ever there was time for parental intervention this is it. I approach the boys, squatting down to their level, ignoring mom. "Timmy, Johnny, what do you like best about coming to the library?" We sit for awhile there on the floor as the boys talk over each other, but their faces are eager and animated. We talk about treating things gently, we talk about protecting books and DVDs so we can use them again and again. We talk about where broken books and DVDs go when they don't work anymore. Mom is back on the phone ignoring us and for that I am truly thankful. The boys and I make a pact to try harder to be careful with books and DVDs from the library. Their little faces look earnest and I smile, bribing them a bit. "If you put all the puppets and puzzles away like you found them, I bet I could find you each a sucker." They scramble to accomodate me.
Mom is laughing again, saying, "Mrs. Deb just got the boys to pick up their mess. I don't know how she does it. They won't do a thing I say." I grit my teeth and return to my desk, knowing my little talk won't last long because mom would rather live in chaos.
I don't know if I could stand to use this annoying character in a book, but I sure feel better getting her on paper and out in the open. Even perfect jobs like being a children's librarian has its icky or rather sticky situations.
Til next time ~
DL Larson
She'd be in her early thirties, wearing dirty pajama pants and a ratty Tshirt with the saying, "51% Angel, 49% Bitch ... Don't Push Me." The temptation to do just that makes me shake with anticipation. Her fingernails are bright pink, freshly manicured and her two preschoolers have bedhead, and it's nearly noon.
Beneath the sign on the library wall "Please turn off your cell phones," she yaps loudly into her tiger-striped phone, laughs even louder and acts as if everyone in the room should hear her enticing conversation as she proclaims she can't do a thing with her boys. 'It's HOPELESS.' Of course the children are across the way pretending their ears don't work, but know she's just given them permission to misbehave. So, of course, as if prompted, they start acting out!
She returns her books to my desk, ignoring the puppet fight her boys have instigated. I immediately retrieve my cleaner because the books are so sticky I couldn't possibly put them away without wiping them first. The DVD is either broken, chewed, stepped on, or empty. She makes no excuse, simply shrugs her shoulders when I tell her of the problem. "Oh, one of the boys wanted to play with it. I told them not to. They never listen." Then she too as if in a play, turns to her boys, "Now Mrs. Deb is mad at us. We owe her lots of money. We can't go to McDonald's until we pay her." The boys in unison drop to the floor, wailing, nary a tear squeezed out from their performance, but mom is really getting into it now. "I told you not to break the DVD. I told you Mrs. Deb would be mad at you." I now have the over-powering urge to rip her stupid Tshirt off her chubby body and wear it myself! "And now, we can't take out any more books or DVDs because we owe her so much money." More flaying about from the boys, their wails crescendo and other mothers decide it's time to leave. I smile, wishing I could escape too.
I hand out suckers or treats to my little friends as quietly as I can, but no, I did not succeed and the two naughty boys want suckers tooooooooooo! I don't reward bad behavior and so ignore them. I know five minutes without mom these boys would act perfectly fine, but mom loves drama and so once again Mrs. Deb becomes the bad guy in her performance. "Mrs Deb is mad at you. She's not going to give you suckers."
If ever there was time for parental intervention this is it. I approach the boys, squatting down to their level, ignoring mom. "Timmy, Johnny, what do you like best about coming to the library?" We sit for awhile there on the floor as the boys talk over each other, but their faces are eager and animated. We talk about treating things gently, we talk about protecting books and DVDs so we can use them again and again. We talk about where broken books and DVDs go when they don't work anymore. Mom is back on the phone ignoring us and for that I am truly thankful. The boys and I make a pact to try harder to be careful with books and DVDs from the library. Their little faces look earnest and I smile, bribing them a bit. "If you put all the puppets and puzzles away like you found them, I bet I could find you each a sucker." They scramble to accomodate me.
Mom is laughing again, saying, "Mrs. Deb just got the boys to pick up their mess. I don't know how she does it. They won't do a thing I say." I grit my teeth and return to my desk, knowing my little talk won't last long because mom would rather live in chaos.
I don't know if I could stand to use this annoying character in a book, but I sure feel better getting her on paper and out in the open. Even perfect jobs like being a children's librarian has its icky or rather sticky situations.
Til next time ~
DL Larson
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
I'll Tell You What Annoys Me - By Morgan Mandel
I thought I'd do a fun exercise today. I'll mention a few habits people have that annoy me. You do the same in the comment section. Then anyone who wants to can combine some here and make either a villain or quirky character. Of course, real villains have some redeeming qualities, as do quirky characters, but for our purposes, the more annoying the better.
That's an Istock photo on the right by the way, not me. (g)
Okay, I'll Tell You What Annoys Me -
People who spit on the sidewalk. That is so gross.
People who hunt in their purses or pockets for change instead of just giving the cashier a bill or credit card. They think they're doing a good deed, but are actually holding up the line.
Your turn - What annoys you?
For More Fun, visit my personal blog at http://morganmandel.blogspot.com/
or join me on Facebook at http://facebook.com/morgan.mandel
Thanks - Morgan Mandel
Monday, April 26, 2010
Spring Fling 2010
Spring Fling 2010 turned out to be an extremely wonderful conference! We had a great time and already look forward to the next one. Since we were so busy this weekend and I have no energy to blog here is a little view into the conference:
Margot & DL
Debra and Morgan
Julia Quinn & Cherry Adair
Debra, Kat (our editor) and me!
DL & Margot at the booksigning
Debra St. John at the booksigning
Spring Fling chairperson Pamala Knight, Cherry Adair and Me!! (Notice the shirt? It's one that my personal shopper Miss Casey picked out for me. You can't see the giant medallion that is covered by my name tag, but trust me it's there and I almost knocked myself out putting on the shirt!!)
Thanks for letting me share a wonderful conference with you.
Best,
June
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Pavlov's Dog is Wagging its Tail for Writers
Robert W. Walker’s Psych 101 Questions -- Over time, I have considered these 10 questions that delve into the relationship between psychology and writing the novel, and being a novelist. In other words, what has psychology got to do with imagination and creating whole worlds populated with people out of ink marks on a page? The following questions and answers delve into the psychology of the author himself, and eventually will also ask about the psychology of characters an author creates: This is Psych 101 for Authors and readers interested in the craft and creative impulse.
Q#2 -- How does 'abnormal behavior' enter into the realm of creative writing and fiction?
Answer: Have you read any one of my books? OK...risky word phrase this 'abnormal behavior' as you have to ask then what is 'normal' behavior in a species that 'won' out as the meat eater of all the great apes? Authors are forever dealing with perceptions of what is right and what is wrong, what is good, what is evil, and the common error of taking things at face value. Is writing and painting and creating 'abnormal' in itself since, like actors, all artists have to be driven and obsessed to become a player in this field? This question may be too complex to answer here, but let's keep exploring.
Appearance is seldom what it seems in a novel, especially a mystery or suspense or thriller. Societal norms are taken to task. Since I write about murder and often times serial murder, murder is my stock and trade, my INC. This means 'abnormal behavior' is my bread and butter but once removed as I have killed no one except on a stage. My evil antagonists are always into aberrant and sickening words and actions; what he says, thinks, and does is who he or she is (see Final Edge for the worst female killer in all the history of books! Laurelie Blodgett). Such characters are motivated by sick fantasies, mania, fear, psychological disorders, obsessions, phobias, actual physical deformities, actual illnesses just as are Shakespeare's worst villainous scum like Iago. They are motivated often by 'abnormal' beliefs, but often such 'abnormal' beliefs come out of popular cultural beliefs, legends, even religion as in anti-religious behavior on a grand scale. Some sick beliefs have a foothold in historical fact about mankind--as in cannibalistic behavior, perhaps even necrophilia--sex with the dead. Certainly there are enough scatologically disgusting elements about mankind and his history to provide fodder for many, many an aberrant behavior or belief system or 'nutty' fantasy, desire, want, goal.
I don't have to mention Stephen King and Anne Rice made a killing on abnormal behavior, do I? Still there is a fine line at work here. Abnormal can slip over into caricature and unintended funnies in the blink of a Cyclop's eye if one is not careful. How far from the 'norm' can our 'abnormal' Grandma Grimwood go before she becomes a twisted Dickensian comical granny?
In books about psychotics, sociopaths, organized and disorganized killers of every stripe there is great latitude in defining abnormal, but in all cases the sociopathic monster has to have its\his\her roots in humanity and where we've come from...from the primitive lizard brain to the present...roots are sunk deep. This is why the abnormal among us, in the end, are human after all. Humanity swings a wide arc across the rainbow from purity to the unspeakably vile and no author can turn away and not see this if the story demands it. Those who do turn a blind eye to the absolute end of the spectrum, the deepest rung in the pit miss an entire part of the human condition and it's like being color blind, missing an entire spectrum of the rainbow itself.
OK...believe it or not. Am sorry as I had promised Abnormal Behavior. Will have to hold on that...Pavlov chewed my notes. Will get to it. Meanwhile, next Friday right here I will take up Question #3 which is: How does 'health and stress' play a role in fiction writing?
Catch my new ebook on Kindle - Killer Instinct, a Dr. Jessica Coran novel...in fact her first introduction, and by the way, do DO do leave a comment!
Rob Walker
http://www.robertwalkerbooks.com/
http://www.makeminemystery.com/
Q#2 -- How does 'abnormal behavior' enter into the realm of creative writing and fiction?
Answer: Have you read any one of my books? OK...risky word phrase this 'abnormal behavior' as you have to ask then what is 'normal' behavior in a species that 'won' out as the meat eater of all the great apes? Authors are forever dealing with perceptions of what is right and what is wrong, what is good, what is evil, and the common error of taking things at face value. Is writing and painting and creating 'abnormal' in itself since, like actors, all artists have to be driven and obsessed to become a player in this field? This question may be too complex to answer here, but let's keep exploring.
Appearance is seldom what it seems in a novel, especially a mystery or suspense or thriller. Societal norms are taken to task. Since I write about murder and often times serial murder, murder is my stock and trade, my INC. This means 'abnormal behavior' is my bread and butter but once removed as I have killed no one except on a stage. My evil antagonists are always into aberrant and sickening words and actions; what he says, thinks, and does is who he or she is (see Final Edge for the worst female killer in all the history of books! Laurelie Blodgett). Such characters are motivated by sick fantasies, mania, fear, psychological disorders, obsessions, phobias, actual physical deformities, actual illnesses just as are Shakespeare's worst villainous scum like Iago. They are motivated often by 'abnormal' beliefs, but often such 'abnormal' beliefs come out of popular cultural beliefs, legends, even religion as in anti-religious behavior on a grand scale. Some sick beliefs have a foothold in historical fact about mankind--as in cannibalistic behavior, perhaps even necrophilia--sex with the dead. Certainly there are enough scatologically disgusting elements about mankind and his history to provide fodder for many, many an aberrant behavior or belief system or 'nutty' fantasy, desire, want, goal.
I don't have to mention Stephen King and Anne Rice made a killing on abnormal behavior, do I? Still there is a fine line at work here. Abnormal can slip over into caricature and unintended funnies in the blink of a Cyclop's eye if one is not careful. How far from the 'norm' can our 'abnormal' Grandma Grimwood go before she becomes a twisted Dickensian comical granny?
In books about psychotics, sociopaths, organized and disorganized killers of every stripe there is great latitude in defining abnormal, but in all cases the sociopathic monster has to have its\his\her roots in humanity and where we've come from...from the primitive lizard brain to the present...roots are sunk deep. This is why the abnormal among us, in the end, are human after all. Humanity swings a wide arc across the rainbow from purity to the unspeakably vile and no author can turn away and not see this if the story demands it. Those who do turn a blind eye to the absolute end of the spectrum, the deepest rung in the pit miss an entire part of the human condition and it's like being color blind, missing an entire spectrum of the rainbow itself.
OK...believe it or not. Am sorry as I had promised Abnormal Behavior. Will have to hold on that...Pavlov chewed my notes. Will get to it. Meanwhile, next Friday right here I will take up Question #3 which is: How does 'health and stress' play a role in fiction writing?
Catch my new ebook on Kindle - Killer Instinct, a Dr. Jessica Coran novel...in fact her first introduction, and by the way, do DO do leave a comment!
Rob Walker
http://www.robertwalkerbooks.com/
http://www.makeminemystery.com/
A Reporter's View! by DL Larson
If a news reporter stopped by the Chicago North's Spring Fling this weekend, this might be what they could report ...
'Today we are at a writer's conference, in the northern suburbs of the Windy City, Chicago Illinois. We're standing in the hallways of the Hyatt Conference Center as attendees mingle about. Most are women, dressed in casual yet professional attire and all seem to know one another. At least they are smiling and chatting with one another. All looks well. Coffee and fruit is in abundance as well as donuts! Interesting choice, something for everybody.
'The crowd is dispursing, the conference is about to begin. Most have entered a large room where the speaker is a New York Times Best Selling Author, Cherry Adair. Excitement fills the room. Introductions are being made, this woman must be a hundred years old to have accomplished so much in a lifetime. But no, she's before the platform, not looking old, but stylish and friendly. She has everyone's attention with her easy manner. Attendees are laughing and taking notes, enjoying the talk. This is not your typical boring conference. Something is happening here.
'Oh, wait, someone is leaving! How could they leave now when things are going so well? Let's follow her.
'She's just emerged from the ladies room. Perhaps we've misjudged her need to escape. Her breathing seems irratic. Now she's digging through her bag. She extracts a mint. Perhaps that will calm her. She's walking now, slower, as if she's contemplating something. She has a small card in her hand and nodding as she reads it, still walking. Where's she going? The ballroom is the other direction. She can't leave now. She'll miss out on this wonderful experience.
'She's stopped at a table where another woman is waiting for her. They exchange pleasantries. We'll have to move closer to hear the actual conversation. But we'll move cautiously so as not to scare her more. She's pacing now, something is obviously bothering her. Time seems to hang in suspension.
'The door behind the table opens. Another young woman slips out, smiling, beaming actually. She smiles at the nervous woman. "Don't worry, she's really nice and easy to talk to. She asked for the first ten pages of my manuscript."
'The two women hug. One leaves, the other waits to be chauffeured inside. Who's in there? What is so exciting about ten pages of a manuscript? Let's see, if we peek at the sign on the door, we might determine what's going on. Oh, it's for everyone to see, no need for espionage. The sign reads: Pitch Sessions with Diana Fox, of Fox Literary Agency.
The moderator motions to the nervous woman, but wait, she's not nearly as nervous as she was a moment ago. What happened? The moderator smiles and the not nervous woman steps across the threshhold and into the room. A voice calls, "hello, come on in. Nice to meet you." The door closes.
We don't know how long this woman will be behind that door, but approaching us is another woman who appears to have swallowed a jumping bean. She sits at a nearby chair, tapping her heels againt the carpeted floor. The door opens again.
Everyone turns. The woman is smiling, shyly, and winks at the woman waiting.
"She's great. You'll like her. She gave me the best ideas." The woman walks away, back toward the ballroom. A nervous giggle escapes from the one still sitting. Her legs are crossed now and a twinkle has settled in her eyes. She's going to be okay, the jumping bean has dissolved. The moderator is motioning to her and with a deep breath and an excited smile the woman joins her at the door.
'Whatever is happening here is contagious. It's like a wildfire, jumping from person to person to person. We'll keep you posted on further developments, but for now, we're heading back to the ballroom and Cherry Adair.'
Til next time ~
DL Larson
'Today we are at a writer's conference, in the northern suburbs of the Windy City, Chicago Illinois. We're standing in the hallways of the Hyatt Conference Center as attendees mingle about. Most are women, dressed in casual yet professional attire and all seem to know one another. At least they are smiling and chatting with one another. All looks well. Coffee and fruit is in abundance as well as donuts! Interesting choice, something for everybody.
'The crowd is dispursing, the conference is about to begin. Most have entered a large room where the speaker is a New York Times Best Selling Author, Cherry Adair. Excitement fills the room. Introductions are being made, this woman must be a hundred years old to have accomplished so much in a lifetime. But no, she's before the platform, not looking old, but stylish and friendly. She has everyone's attention with her easy manner. Attendees are laughing and taking notes, enjoying the talk. This is not your typical boring conference. Something is happening here.
'Oh, wait, someone is leaving! How could they leave now when things are going so well? Let's follow her.
'She's just emerged from the ladies room. Perhaps we've misjudged her need to escape. Her breathing seems irratic. Now she's digging through her bag. She extracts a mint. Perhaps that will calm her. She's walking now, slower, as if she's contemplating something. She has a small card in her hand and nodding as she reads it, still walking. Where's she going? The ballroom is the other direction. She can't leave now. She'll miss out on this wonderful experience.
'She's stopped at a table where another woman is waiting for her. They exchange pleasantries. We'll have to move closer to hear the actual conversation. But we'll move cautiously so as not to scare her more. She's pacing now, something is obviously bothering her. Time seems to hang in suspension.
'The door behind the table opens. Another young woman slips out, smiling, beaming actually. She smiles at the nervous woman. "Don't worry, she's really nice and easy to talk to. She asked for the first ten pages of my manuscript."
'The two women hug. One leaves, the other waits to be chauffeured inside. Who's in there? What is so exciting about ten pages of a manuscript? Let's see, if we peek at the sign on the door, we might determine what's going on. Oh, it's for everyone to see, no need for espionage. The sign reads: Pitch Sessions with Diana Fox, of Fox Literary Agency.
The moderator motions to the nervous woman, but wait, she's not nearly as nervous as she was a moment ago. What happened? The moderator smiles and the not nervous woman steps across the threshhold and into the room. A voice calls, "hello, come on in. Nice to meet you." The door closes.
We don't know how long this woman will be behind that door, but approaching us is another woman who appears to have swallowed a jumping bean. She sits at a nearby chair, tapping her heels againt the carpeted floor. The door opens again.
Everyone turns. The woman is smiling, shyly, and winks at the woman waiting.
"She's great. You'll like her. She gave me the best ideas." The woman walks away, back toward the ballroom. A nervous giggle escapes from the one still sitting. Her legs are crossed now and a twinkle has settled in her eyes. She's going to be okay, the jumping bean has dissolved. The moderator is motioning to her and with a deep breath and an excited smile the woman joins her at the door.
'Whatever is happening here is contagious. It's like a wildfire, jumping from person to person to person. We'll keep you posted on further developments, but for now, we're heading back to the ballroom and Cherry Adair.'
Til next time ~
DL Larson
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Can Cover to Cover Recover? by Morgan Mandel
Tuesday morning I was shocked to hear from Mark Everett on streaming audio from WJJQ 92.5 FM in Tomahawk, Wisconsin that 
Cover to Cover Books and Gifts had caught fire on Monday and suffered extensive damage. Whether or not it will reopen is unclear. Last May, I held a book signing at Cover to Cover, where it's owner, Dawn, graciously hosted me. Along with books, the store carried all sorts of other fun items, such as deep fried peanuts in the shell. For seven years, Dawn and her husband, Vic, worked hard to make their store a success.
It's sad to see their efforts go up in smoke. I hope somehow they can recoup their loss and go on again at the current location.
I was scheduled to sign books on Saturday, May 8, at Cover to Cover, but fate has a way of stepping in when you least expect it. Maybe someday I'll be able to visit Cover to Cover again, but time will tell.
For now, I'll share some pictures of the store with you. The first is with me and Dawn at the counter, then there are outside views, plus a fun one by their bench taken last October.
Here's a link I found about the fire from an email I received Tuesday from Publisher's Lunch:
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/article/20100420/WDH0101/4200598/1981
Morgan Mandel
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