A few weeks back, a Twitter (or X) war broke out surrounding the comments of an author with an unpopular opinion. 

Shocker. Like we’ve never seen that before. 

Time and time again this happens. It is, after all, the nature of Twitter. But the harm of this conversation did not come from an argument; it came from a group of ‘concerned individuals’ who took screenshots of the argument and sought out the real-world connections of these authors. They sought to get them canceled by publishers and agents. 

And they succeeded. 

The original poster lost a beta reader client and I lost my publisher. 

So you may think the rest of this essay is an opportunity to lash out at the cancel culture of Twitter or the publisher in question, but that’s not the point of what I have to say. There is a far more important issue at hand, and it goes back to the original argument in question: 
Can slave owners, during the time when slavery was not illegal or perceived as ‘bad,’ be considered otherwise moral people? 
​
The Twitter argument coincided with the New York decision to remove statues of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, two founders of our nation who helped create the country many of us call home. Two American heroes with generations of admirers were brought into question. For a large swath of the population, the declaration of ‘immoral,’ especially to the point of tearing down statues is unfathomable and enraging. ​

Well, that ticked off everyone. How dare I say that a person should not have their life destroyed for having an unpopular opinion? For exploring the question of morality – something that authors MUST do in order to write compelling characters? For conducting a thought experiment that I myself did a few years back when I wrote my Historical Fiction novel (that exists, but is not yet available for purchase). 

I refuse to believe that this is a bad question. After all, Aristotle defended slavery – should we throw him out entirely? Robespierre abolished slavery but was behind the arbitrary beheading of thousands. What do we do with him? 

Is it really a good idea for society to determine a person to be the epitome of evil for one issue? For any issue? 

This is a terrible idea. Regardless of the level of villainy, if we start looking at people, especially groups, as evil rather than flawed humans, we’re in for a world of hurt. Time and time again we’ve seen what happens where such tribalism leads. 

If we view Thomas Jefferson as the epitome of evil, then what does that make anyone who liked him as a president? Or who liked him for his economic theory? It turns them into the epitome of evil themselves, to slavery apologists. And what do people do with evil? They attack it. 

That, however, is just one part of the problem. When your worldview labels people as scum of the earth, it causes a person to fail to recognize themselves. Nobody thinks of themselves as evil. If they were born in the 1700s, they would have known slavery was evil and would not have committed such atrocities. Of course, statistically, this is highly improbable, but when would that matter? 

Oprah Winfrey once traveled to Auschwitz with Elie Wiesel, a prominent author, educator, and Holocaust survivor. There she speculated that the people who committed such atrocities had to be a ‘different kind of human.’ Mr. Wiesel, however, was quick to correct her, telling her that the people who ran these camps were just – people. Flawed, blind people, full of their own motivations and deceitful, selfish hearts.  

When one believes that only morally abhorrent people are capable of evil, they fail to see their own potential for atrocities.

We are all of us a razor’s edge from darkness, and it is of God’s mercy that we are not all consumed. 

In fact, many people are currently engaging in evil acts that are approved by society without even realizing it. History will not be kind to a large swath of the population on a number of issues. Still, one cannot recognize that in themselves if they believe that only a ‘certain type of person’ is capable of atrocities. 

One can only pray that they are not guilty of such things themselves. After all, the scariest villain is the one we could become. 

Things started getting out of hand pretty quickly in ye old comment section, so I wrote a three-part tweet clarifying my opinion.

​

How do I know Cheryl King, author of SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD? Well, in a way, I feel as if we grew up together. But not in the way one would think. 

See, Cheryl and I did not share a childhood and have never actually met in person, but we both started our author careers with a small press called City Limits Publishing based in Nashville, TN. My first published novel, SURVIVING MIDAS, was to be published in August of that infamous year, and Cheryl's book came out a couple of months before mine. 



Right when the bottom fell out of the whole scheme. 

Right after the launch of SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD, CLP closed its doors. Suddenly, all of their authors (including Cheryl and I) were left in a state of limbo. We were in the middle of a promotional campaign, promising readers, family and friends alike, a book. But was there any book to be had? 

I have not been able to keep up with all of the CLP folks, but I did keep up with Cheryl on a casual basis. Cheryl, who is not only an excellent author but a lionhearted trooper, went on to self-publish her first novel and has the sequel coming out very soon! Very recently, I was privileged enough to read this first book. 

So, what is this book about anyway? 

Summary for SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD

June Baker was just a girl when the first bank run of the Great Depression happened, and, while she did not quite know what such a thing meant, she could tell from the adults in her life that it was not good. But no one could have prepared her for how bad it was going to be. 

First the banks dry up. Then the jobs. Then the money. Then the food. 

Too bad the bills, however, remain, and if June's parents don't do something fast, they're going to lose the farm. Even though she's but a mite, June rolls up her sleeves and dives right into helping her family. But no matter how hard they try to make ends meet, things just keep getting worse and worse. From sickness to injuries to bad crop years, it soon becomes clear that June's family will be forever changed by this Great Depression -- if they make it out of it that is. Only one hope remains for this family: work found out west that June's older brother Josey rides the rails to find. But riding the rails is dangerous business. Not everyone makes it back in one piece. 

SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD is a middle-grade historical fiction novel told in the voice of young June Baker. It follows the Baker family from the start of the Depression and into the depths of it. The characters are realistic and heart-warming -- which makes the pain all the more great to see what they are dealing with. I didn't quite cry in this one, but I certainly came close! 

Cheryl has definitely done her homework as it concerns the historical context of the tale. She brings you right into the story and you feel almost as if it's happening to you! I would definitely recommend this book to any reader -- especially those looking for Charlotte Mason style "living books." 

Go HERE to find Cheryl's Book SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD!

So, I contacted a friend who had been through a postpartum psychosis event and asked her who she went to see. And I made an appointment with a holistic therapist. Meanwhile, I also downloaded the Headspace app. ​

If you’ve been pursuing writing for any amount of time, you’ve probably come across those little charts that help you list every personality quirk known to man about your characters. What’s their favorite color? Their favorite food? When was their last BM and do they have problems with this? 

Oh wait, no, that’s a nursing questionnaire. Sometimes I get my careers mixed up. 

Point being, these little charts are ubiquitous to writing blogs and can be helpful when coming up with character basics. These tools, however, don’t help you introduce your characters to your readers. In fact, the majority of the things listed on the questionnaire are completely insignificant to the story that you are trying to tell. And yet time and time again, I’ve seen writers trying to dump this information into their stories, and all it does is muddy the water for your readers. ​

​I liken the experience to those word math problems back in school. In the older grades, the test creators would add superfluous information to the scenario to see if students could differentiate between relevant and irrelevant data. But you’re not trying to test the IQ of your readers. You’re supposed to be taking them on an entertaining journey through this world you’ve created. Differentiating relevant vs. irrelevant data is YOUR job. 

But I worked so hard on this questionnaire! Now, I love my characters and want my readers to love them just as I do. Won’t they care about their favorite type of ice cream? 

No. They won’t.

If it has NOTHING to do with the plot, I assure you of this, they will not care. 

People can only take in a certain amount of data before their eyes roll back into their heads, exposing the words ‘Memory Full’ written in the whites. And the perfect way to create this scenario is to bore them with facts. While knowing superfluous information about your characters can be helpful for the author, it should not be neglected for the core things. 

Who is your main character seems like a basic question, but when you have a cast of twenty people, it can be hard to say. Sometimes X is running the show and at other times Y takes the lead. But who, at the core of your story, is the main person? Who owns the story arc? Who’s making that hero’s journey as it were? If you don’t know, then how will your readers know? 

Start there, then build your characters around that pillar. If it helps, remove the character’s names. Reduce these people down to their titles: main character (MC), MC’s best friend, MC’s rival, MC’s brother. Then use those anchoring features to introduce them to your readers from the perspective of the MC. 

It’s okay to tell your readers who these folks are too. In fact, I urge you, especially as a beginner, to do so. This is not always one of those ‘showing is better than telling’ sort of things. Sure, do that later when you try to describe the quality of the relationship, but when you’re grounding your reader into your story, just throwing out a fact is completely fine. The reader is already going to be lining up the cast in relation to the MC anyway, all you’ve done is assisted them in doing so. Now, each time X shows up, the reader will be going ‘oh right, the best friend.’ Labeling helps people categorize and keep track, which is essential at the beginning of a relationship. 

Another benefit to this statement of facts is the shorthand that comes with it. A best friend is trusted, loved, a confidant, etc. A rival is none of those things and often despised. With that position alone you have helped the reader know what to expect from your characters without listing out every detail of his life. 

You can continue with locations as well. When you introduce a new setting, make it personal to your MC. MC’s hometown/planet, MC’s bedroom, MC’s college dorm room, MC’s spaceship. Again, you are signaling with shorthand something to your reader, a feeling perhaps. Nostalgia? Familiarity? Remorse? This feeling, of course, will vary according to your character and their backstory. 

Instead of starting from scratch with your descriptions, you can use these preconceptions as a foundation from which to build. Then, after you have these basics established, start to add the little details – not in excess, but slowly, as the story progresses. If ice cream comes up naturally in the flow of the story, then here’s your chance to put that bit of information out there! But don’t just fill your pages with trivia. It will do nothing but distract from what your readers MUST know. Reading is supposed to be fun. Don’t make your audience work for it. ​

The sequel to Surviving Midas, Escaping Midas has lived for about six months less than its predecessor. In that time of existence, there has always been this scene that has bugged me. I knew it was a bit too similar to another scene and a bit cliche on top of that. Beta readers mentioned it too, but all my efforts to change it just did not make the problem go away! It was still too alike! 

Recently, however, I became friends with an author and manga artist. We both have the same publisher, and while I’ve promised to look over her work (if you’re reading this, I swear, I’m still going to do it!), she has already read two of my books! While she was reading through book two, however, the mention of ye ole scene surfaced once more . . .

And what was worse, she described it as causing weariness. 

Weariness! Now that just can’t be. That’s the OPPOSITE a writer wants to hear, but still, what to do, what to do? 

Well, she made a suggestion. 

Immediately, I shot down the suggestion. That wouldn’t work because of X, or, if I had to change X, I’d have to change Y. Unless . . .

Whenever you hear yourself saying unless, it’s time to sit up and listen. That’s the creative juices starting to flow. Your writer’s wings are just starting to stretch. Dust will soon be flying off your pinions as you take flight with this idea. 

Unless . . . 

I wish I could describe the scene. I wish I could say exactly what she said, but doing so would give away some AWESOME spoilers. All I can say is that in this one little suggestion, she has injected more heart, more emotion, and more stakes into this novel (and the one that follows!) than I could after staring at it for literal years. The old frightful scene works and it sets up everything else that follows. 

And THAT is why writing friends are a MUST.

​

There’s a woman on Twitter that I like to watch. She’s funny, smart, sarcastic, all the things that make you want to grab your popcorn, sit back, and observe. The other day, she made an off hand remark about selling 1000 copies this year. 

My stomach turned sour. 1000 copies? How in the . . . 

This was this woman’s first book! Up until now, she had not had any of her original work published! But, because I had spoken to this woman not long back, I knew that her story was not that simple.  

Yes, this is this lady’s first published book, but she has been writing and publishing for the past twenty years. Her work was just all on Wattpad. It was here that she built her audience and found her dedicated readers. Her Wattpad Readers LOVE her stories, and some of her fans have even translated her works into multiple languages. She may have just started publishing, but this is not the first year of her starting her ‘fan base.’ That has been in the works for years. ​

So, what do you do if nobody knows who you are? Do you give up and say there’s no point? Or do you keep putting yourself out there and hoping people will notice you? 

I can’t promise success will come in my life or yours, dear reader. Even the Big 5 publishing houses can’t guarantee that for their authors. I can guarantee this, however, if you or I give up, we will fail. So let’s all look at the mountain before us, acknowledge its existence, and keep trudging upwards. It may be bigger than it looks at the base or it might be smaller, but we’ll never know if we stop and turn back. ​

I originally wrote this blog post the day my novel Surviving Midas launched, but I did not want the sentiment to shadow over a very happy day. But, I still think this perspective is important. 

Sometimes our happiest days are coated with a level of melancholy. We fear we will lose that happiness we find so rare in our lives. Then, before we know it, our fears have taken over our joy. So how can I ever be truly happy? 

It's an age-old question that has broken friendships, torn apart families, and destroyed societies!

Okay, so that might be a bit hyperbolic, but still, if you want to start an argument, tell a Harry Potter books purist how much better the movies were to the books! Just be ready for a wand duel if you do! 

But who is right? Is anyone right? Or are both sides of the argument wrong? 

To determine which is better, one needs to understand the history of books and movies. 

Back in the day, and I mean WAY back in the day before people created the alphabet or any other form of writing, oral tradition was the only tradition. Stories and histories were memorized and recited to younger generations. This method was a surprisingly accurate and efficient way to recall history, and oral traditions survived over hundreds and even thousands of years. All that changed, however, when people started writing their stories down. Now the original storyteller could have their words preserved and spoken to later generations, and no one had to wonder if they were telling the story wrong. 

The next great change came from the Gutenberg Press. This combined the written word with mass production. Now, not only the elite of society, who could pay for the transcription of older texts, would receive the written histories, but the common folk could get their hands on these writings as well. 

But nothing prepared man for the invention of video. 

Now, instead of just reading words and imagining speakers, people can watch events occur on a visual plane. Of course, this all exploded when social media came on the scene. Instantaneous recording and distribution of events has changed the world forever. If a picture is worth a thousand words than a video is worth a million. 

But I write fiction, so what does that have to do with the books I write? Don't people like the book versions of classic stories better than the movie adaptations? 

Most people probably do like the book versions better, but let's explore why that might be. Books take a long time to read. Sometimes, getting through a book can take weeks and maybe even months. While in the pages you are walking hand-in-hand with your favorite characters, seeing what they see, hearing what they hear, getting a glimpse at what they think. In other words, you are bonding with these characters. 

Then a movie rolls on by showing actors that are different than your imaginative avatars. The storyline, which was so careful crafted by the author, seems to have been chucked out the window by the screenwriters. Why would they do this? Didn't they have excellent source material at their fingertips? 

But this reaction fails to recognize the limitations of movies, namely as it relates to time. The screenwriter has to squeeze ten hours worth of time into two. They just cannot recreate the quantity of time a reader spends with their favorite characters in a story meant for the silver screen. 

So, which is better? 

When accuracy is required--like in the documentation of real and historical events--video is absolutely preferrable. 

If, however, you want to bond with characters and really get to know them on a personal level, books may be the better alternative. 

But if you're just looking to unwind, to stroll with these characters rather than hike, then watching a movie might be your best solution. There is nothing wrong with either option. 

​

Content, content content! the marketing gurus cry! But what do you do if you don't want to develop an audience and market? After all, we as writers do our best work in the quiet hours, alone and undisturbed. Most of us don't like to meet new people or to explore the world outside our little caves. But in this industry, it's not the best writers that thrive, but the ones who know how to market.

So we find ourselves forced out of our shells, beyond the walls of our comfortable little dwellings only to run into yet another problem: Time. 

Most authors starting out don't get that fabled million dollar deal. If they get a publishing deal at all, it's usually without any advance whatsoever. Then there are the self-published folks who shell out their own cash (a brave move) just so their books will see the light of day. This means having a primary job or other source of income is a must. And as for marketing? If you're expecting your publishing company to fill in that gap, think again. It's rough out there and authors are expected to do as much if not more marketing than their publishers. 

I don't know what to tell the authors who are unwilling to branch out and socialize at all. Unfortunately, we need readers to rationalize our existence. But to those lacking time, I do sympathize. 

I am more than just a writer. I'm an employee, a teacher, a nurse, a soap-maker, a volunteer, a homesteader, but most importantly, I'm a wife and a mother. My family comes first. 

I'm blessed to have a husband that works full-time so that I can spend most of my days with our kiddo. While I do work two days a week, it's nothing like the schedule full-time moms have to deal with. I know that I am blessed in this regard, and I love the adventures that this life opens me up to. I had a balance: I would write in the evening and spend the rest of my time with the people closest to me. But now marketing has taken a bite out of my time and I find it leaking into my day, taking me away from my son. 

So, that's going to require some changes. 

Sacrifices are an inevitable part of life whether they are consciously made or not. Either time with my son will be sacrificed, or time with my book will be. Now, this is not to say that I'm letting this writing dream go. My book, SURVIVING MIDAS is coming out December 1st, and I want it to succeed, but not at the expense of my family. So I'm going to get up early, write my blog, and then move forward with my day without a look back. 

I'm not going to shoot for the recommended ten posts per day. I'm not going to obsessively hit refresh on Twitter. I'm going to wall off my marketing time and pursue my other dreams as well. The chips will fall where they may, but if at the end I look up to see a well-adjusted, strong, kindhearted man, I will have succeeded in life.

I will have mothered a good man. 

And that will be my success. 

Prologue
    He ran. Only one thought filled his mind. “Escape.” A dog howled in the distance. They had found his trail. Another howl, closer this time. How were they gaining ground so fast? 
 He stole a glance over his shoulder and tripped over a root. His hands floundered against the slick leaves as he tumbled toward the cliff.  He started rolling uncontrollably down the slippery slope. The wet leaves gave him no traction and he fell hopelessly toward the ravine. His hands reached out to grab something-- anything. He found a root and held it with all of his might, but as he began to pull himself up, it snapped. He plummeted toward the river, too terrified to scream. 
    A dog sniffed the place where he had fallen. Its master pulled an arrow out of his quiver and notched it, aiming at whatever might surface. He waited silently until he was satisfied that the boy would not come up, then turned and walked away. The dog followed without hesitation. 

Okay, now let’s break this down a bit with some good old fashion critique tips. 


    He ran. 

Sentence One is very vague. There’s not much of a picture shown here.. Running where? Track? Through the mall? The forest? Also, weak point of view (POV)–camera angle?     You have very little time to hook your reader into your story. I’d recommend something more original and intriguing than two words that could be found in Dick and Jane. 

Don’t be afraid to add descriptive language. Keep in mind what reading is: hallucinating vividly. Give your audience something to hallucinate! 

A better POV would be to show his heart pounding (cliche) or his side aching. Tears? Sweat? Branches tearing at his pants? Is he wearing pants? 

Only one thought filled his mind. “Escape.” 

Cliche

 A dog howled in the distance. They had found his trail. Another howl, closer this time. How were they gaining ground so fast?

IMO – Not bad POV. Some people don’t like questions being asked. Personally, I think they’re fine. 

 He stole a glance over his shoulder and tripped over a root. His hands floundered against the slick leaves as he tumbled toward the cliff. He started rolling uncontrollably down the slippery slope. The wet leaves gave him no traction and he fell hopelessly toward the ravine. His hands reached out to grab something-- anything. He found a root and held it with all of his might, but as he began to pull himself up, it snapped. He plummeted toward the river, too terrified to scream. 

He stole, he started rolling, The wet leaves, His hands reached, He found, He plummeted. These are all similar sentence structures. In certain situations, this can be fine, but after a while, the feel of the piece becomes redundant. One plus–great active verbs. 
I underlined “started” here–try to avoid started unless you have to. Which sounds stronger? He started rolling uncontrollably down the slippery slop or He rolled uncontrollably…    Nothing interrupted the ‘start’--he full on tumbled, so write it like that. 

    A dog sniffed the place where he had fallen. Its master pulled an arrow out of his quiver and notched it, aiming at whatever might surface. He waited silently until he was satisfied that the boy would not come up, then turned and walked away. The dog followed without hesitation. 

One good thing here–the use of shorter sentences within an action scene. The pacing never slows down. That being said, very cliche opening–someone running through the woods being chased by an unknown being. Very ominous, very overused. 

So, how can this be improved? 

I have not changed the beginning. If I were looking to re-market this book, I would have to do something less cliche than a chase scene, but I have re-written it using some of the concepts mentioned above. 

As a note– some reason, I thought it would be clever to leave the character unnamed in this scene for mystery, but in the very next chapter, it’s pretty clear who it was tumbling. And it’s not much of a pay off. By not mentioning his name, however, I feel that it makes it harder for the reader to connect with the character, to see him as a real person. So, I’ve added his name and a bit more context. 

​

To understand the connection between mental health and creativity, one must first know what creativity is. It’s not just the ability to come up with ideas, but the ideas must be simultaneously unique and functional. A good way to determine creativity would be to present an item to a group and have them propose various ways to use the item. You would then compare the group’s answers and tally them up by number of idea and uniqueness.
For example, you gave a brick to twenty people. All twenty of those people proposed using the brick as a doorstop. Useful? Yes. Unique? No.
One person proposes the brick be used as a shoe. Useful? Not really. Unique? Yes.
Then the star of the group suggests the brick be pulverized, dissolved into a liquid solution, and used as an additive to color paint. Useful? Yes. Unique? Yes.
There’s your creative person.
Scientists have broken down human personality into five major groups: Extraversion, Openness, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness. Each is then broken down into sub-categories. The sub-categories for openness are intelligence and creativity.
Of course, at first glance, everyone would want to be high in this category of openness. But if you’ve been reading my blog for long, you will know that being super high in any of these categories comes with its own set of problems.
A person high in openness generally enjoys exploring new ideas, loves variety, and frequently gets lost musing about fantasies or what-if scenarios. They value beauty and aesthetics in daily life. Their limitless creativity also sees the merits in having flexible social constructs and laws.
A person low in openness, however, prefers a more practical approach to the world. They are not given to flights of fantasy, but prefer concrete tangible ideas. They are not easily moved by music or art, nor do they require thrill to keep working. They are more likely to stick to principles they’ve learned from childhood rather than to be easily swayed by a new idea.
Keep in mind that trait openness is not trait conscientiousness, although there is some overlap. A conscientious person is high in orderliness and industriousness, so some things that are interpreted as rigid and lacking in flexibility are manifestations of the ‘black-and-white’ phenomenon where the person believes things should fit into orderly boxes.
So, what is it in a creative person that leads to struggles of mental health?
There’s a lot of speculation on this, but my personal theory is the rapid speed at which the mind of an open person flows. With so many thoughts running through the mind at a given time, is it any wonder they may feel anxious? Or as they find themselves moved by the arts and stories around them, is it a wonder their mood changes so easily?
Not to mention that a person with bipolar in a manic state show extreme levels of creativity. It’s like something in the brain switches over allowing them to pour forth all sorts of ideas and new creations.
But what happens when the body is exhausted from this continued ‘pouring forth?’ What goes up must come down, and heightened levels of anxiety often lead to depression. In fact, some speculate that it is rare to see anxiety without depression.
So should the artist turn in their paintbrush, the writer turn in their pen, and strive to close off their minds? I know if I did, I’d be miserable.
But it is good to be aware of our tendencies and the things that make us tick. If as a creative you need help, get it. But keep in mind that thing that causes you to stumble might also propel you to greatness. 

Puder, David. “Episode 098: The Big Five: Openness.” Psychiatry & Psychotherapy Podcast, Psychiatry & Psychotherapy Podcast, 17 Oct. 2020, www.psychiatrypodcast.com/psychiatry-psychotherapy-podcast/ne883a0toywa842v8ibc6htc7qw9ay.
 

*Trigger warning* Details regarding the execution of Jews during the Nazi regime.
One of the biggest shames in writing history is the mischaracterization of the mentally ill. I could go into a long rant about this point alone citing all the scenarios and atrocities. I believe there is a central misunderstanding within the population or writers that leads to these mischaracterizations—the myth that one must be mentally ill in order to be evil. Why would someone murder a child? Because they were a sociopath. Why would someone cut up their parents into tiny pieces? Because the voice in their head told them to. This waving of the hand over atrocities and claiming they had to be insane is appalling. Of course, the more uncomfortable fact is most people who commit evil are sane, rational people.
This fact should chill us to the bone. Because that means that ‘normal’ people are capable of horrible atrocities. We are capable of incomprehensible evil.
I’ve heard it said that one should read history from the eyes of the perpetrator, not the victim to prevent themselves from going down the same road. This is good advice.
One of the books that inspired my story Surviving Midas was Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution by Christopher Browning. It’s a harrowing read and one I had to take breaks from in order to finish. There is very little in terms of records regarding the mental state of the Nazis who executed the Jewish people during the holocaust. During the investigations that followed the war, very few former Nazis would admit to having taken part in any executions. For whatever reason, the men of the Reserve Police Battalion did share their stories.
So what sort of men was it that executed millions of Jewish people?
For the most part, ordinary men as the title of the book implies. These were farmers, craftsmen, factory workers, with families and children of their own. The Reserve Battalion 101 was given orders to arrive in a town called Jozefow at the break of dawn, haul the Jewish people from their homes, load the men up into trucks for a workcamp, and shoot the women and children. According to certain accounts, these men were shocked and horrified by the orders they were given. Even their commander spent most of the day wringing his hands and muttering about what terrible business they had been wrapped up in.
Group after group after group of women and children were taken out to the woods, forced to lay down on their stomachs, and shot in the back of the neck. Many of the officers did not make it through the first couple of executions before asking to be removed from the task. Their requests were granted.
They could have gotten out of it from the start, and some of them did. Upon arrival to the Jozefow, their commander informed them any could step out of line and go back to the barracks. Only a couple took him up on that offer. Others would later say they were too stunned in the moment to react with a clear mind, but that wasn’t the only opportunity to bow out. One officer states he stayed up by the trucks for the rest of the day loading the men and being sure to look busy anytime a new group of executioners was being rounded up.
So, why did they do it?
Per their statements, they feared being considered ‘too weak’ or ‘cowardly.’ They did not want to ‘lose face’ before the other policemen. As one officer stated: “I must answer that no one wants to be thought a coward.” It was one thing to refuse at the beginning, he added, and quite another to try to shoot but not be able to continue. Another stated his reason to not refuse was simply because, “I was a coward.”
One policemen, who killed as many as twenty before quitting stated: “I thought that I could master the situation, that without me the Jews were not going to escape anyway . . . Truthfully I must say that at the time we didn’t reflect about it at all. Only years later did any of us become truly conscious of what had happened then . . . Only later did it first occur to me that (it) had not been right.”
Others rationalized their actions by believing they were not going to alter the fate of the Jews by saying no anyways. In one bizarre statement, an officer stated he killed only children while his neighbor shot the mothers. His belief was by shooting the mother, the children were dead anyways.
I write about this from perspective of an author because I think it’s important for us to be aware of this. Part of the job of an author is to show the truth through lies, and it’s not the truth that most heinous crimes are committed by the insane. It’s misguided, rational people who do the most damage. People who are afraid—in fear for their life, in fear of their livelihood, or just in fear for their reputation—are the most dangerous of us all. Let us strive to know truth and goodness and not be afraid.
And let’s tell the truth with our lies (stories) so that others can see it too. 

Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland, by Christopher R. Browning, Harper Perennial, 2017.

The Dangers of Indie Publishing . . . 

I didn't get my regularly scheduled blog out last week for a couple of reasons. First being that it was the Fourth of July weekend. And second being the bombshell that came the following morning. My publisher announced it was officially closing its doors. 

Because my book had not yet been published, my contract termination and the reversion of my rights came with the announcement. Although I am starting at square one, I am free to query other agents and publishing houses. Others were not so lucky. A friend of mine launched her book with our publisher only three weeks ago. There is a giant question mark hanging above the promised pre-ordered copies (Not the ones from Barnes and Noble or Amazon. Those are still good to go.) and author royalty payments. Other authors state they have not received their royalty payments in months. Will these fund be wiped away after the company declares bankruptcy? Who knows? 

Then there comes the question of author rights. According to the contract, if the company goes bankrupt, rights revert to the author. If, however, the dispute ends up in bankruptcy court, such things can be tossed out the window. Book rights can be considered assets to the company and the courts may order them to be retained by the publisher so the publisher can pay back their debts. Obviously, many of the burned authors are seeking legal counsel immediately. 

So what shall we then do as authors? How do we protect ourselves from these problems? 

Well, that's a Catch-22. Because if you don't trust anyone with your manuscript, you will never be traditionally published. If the only ones offering to publish your book are untried, tiny houses, what is an author to do? 

If you look back at my previous blogs, you will see an article written about my decision to go with City Limits Publishing and my hesitancy regarding the company. It was a small company with limited social media presence and had only been open for a little over a year. At the time, the number of authors was few, but their covers were beautiful. Oh my gosh they are still beautiful. I'm hoping to get permission from the artists to show my proposed cover on here some day it's so pretty.

After speaking to a couple of their authors, all who were enthusiastic about the company at the time, I signed  a contract with them. And a couple of months later, tunes started changing as things slid downhill. 

Do I regret my decision to sign that contract? 

Honestly, not really. Because I wasn't relying on this publisher to make my career: I was relying on me. Any extra boost my publisher would give me was great! But ultimately, I was the one I trusted to sell my book, not them. While I waited on the book to launch, I redoubled my efforts at building author connections and relationships, building my social media platform, and continued writing more books. 

Publishing is an extremely competitive business and getting a publishing deal, any publishing deal, is a huge accomplishment. Even if the publishing agency is small and untried, your number of sales might be enough to intrigue another publisher or literary agent in the future. I knew they were small. I knew they could go under--small businesses often do. So, taking the information that I had, I signed a publishing deal. 

Am I thrilled about re-entering the query trenches? Hell no. And I can't say I'm not immensely disappointed that this venture did not work out. But if I hadn't tried I would never have had a chance at success. So I'm picking myself up and getting back out there. I'm querying the hell out of my book, because I still think it's worth it. And I'm going forward with eyes wide open and chin held high. Because, in the end, that's all we can really do. 

​There is no cure for schizophrenia. But there is treatment. These treatments save lives, but the side effects can be hell. Last week we talked about what schizophrenia looks like when all of the symptoms are present. This week I’m going to talk about what a person with schizophrenia’s life looks like during the day-to-day.
For a person with schizophrenia, taking medications every day is of utmost importance. The delusions from schizophrenia can be traced back to an over-release of the chemical dopamine in the brain. Anti-psychotics merely plug the leaky dopamine pipe. Once the leaking pipe is stopped, however, the person starts feeling much better and may decide they do not need their medications after all. Bad idea. The hallucinations and delusions come back with a vengeance (Lewis).
But there’s another problem with the dopamine suppressing drugs: they don’t target just the areas where the delusions originate, but also the rest of the brain. And what’s another disease associated with low dopamine? Parkinson’s Disease.
A person taking these anti-psychotic medications can not develop actual Parkinson’s Disease from the drugs, but may have pseudoparkinsonism with similar symptoms such as a hand tremor, issues with balance, and difficulty walking. They develop a shuffling gait, mask-like face (a decrease in ability to show expressions on their face due to paralyzed facial muscles), muscle stiffness, drooling, slowness in starting movement.
The person taking the medications may experience dystonic reactions where spasms occur in discrete muscle groups such as the eyes and neck (the patient will have chronically raised shoulders like a tortoise shell). They might have a protruding tongue, difficulty swallowing, and spasms around their throat which, if bad enough, might lead to a compromised airway. This is obviously terrifying.
Most of these side effects develop shortly after starting or increasing the dose of medications. A more long-term side effect, however, is tardive dyskinesia. It’s characterized by “abnormal, involuntary movements such as lip smacking, tongue protusion, chewing, blinking, grimacing, and strange movements of the limbs and feet” (Videbeck).  Keep in mind the person is fully aware of the strange movements and are probably embarrassed. This bizarre, uncontrollable behavior may lead to further social isolation. Is it really a wonder they want to come off their meds?

When Hunter gets home, he locks the door and goes to kitchen. He grabs a meat hammer and sits by the window where he’s sure he hears the man outside, talking about him. The man says he’s going to get Hunter. He’s going to burn the apartment complex down and kill him and his parents. Hunter runs out of the apartment, not wanting to be trapped inside a burning building.
Later, his mom stops by and can’t find Hunter although his coat and wallet are inside. She searches the apartment complex and finally finds Hunter barefooted and hiding behind a dumpster. By now the voices have grown too loud. Hunter doesn’t recognize his mother and charges her with the meat hammer. A neighbor stops Hunter and restrains him until the ambulance can arrive, but Hunter is institutionalized until they can get his delusions under control. Unfortunately, this is the third hospitalization this year, and Hunter loses his job at the deli. Without the extra income, he has to move back into his parent’s apartment and start over.  
All because the maintenance guy stopped by.
People with schizophrenia are just that: people. I hope this information has helped you gain a better understanding of the condition so that we can portray those effected by mental illness accurately. 

Sources: Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, by Sheila L. Videbeck, fifth ed., Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2011. 
Lewis, J. (2011, March 6). The Future of Schizophrenia. Dr. Jack Lewis. http://www.drjack.co.uk/the-future-of-schizophrenia-by-dr-jack-lewis

Last week I covered what schizophrenia looks using real-world experiences. This week, I’m going to dive into the disease on a more technical level. As per usual, none of this information is to be used to diagnose or treat anyone, but as a tool for writers to create characters who are close to life as possible and not mere caricatures of mental illness.
Life with schizophrenia is hard for the person experiencing the symptoms as well as the family providing care. But consider this, there was only one treatment plan for schizophrenia 100 years ago: institutionalization. Although institutionalization is still part of treatment, it is often not the only part. Thanks to new treatments and medications, many people with schizophrenia live at home or in group homes in the community. Some even have jobs. I’ll be the first to say that mental health has a LONG way to go, but I believe it is important to keep in mind where we came from.

​

A person with schizophrenia may manifest the following (Videbeck p. 252): 

• Ambivalence: Holding seemingly contradictory beliefs or feelings about the same person, event, or situation.

• Associative Looseness: Fragmented or poorly related thoughts and ideas. Thoughts are tangential—not flowing from point to point but all of the place. For example, one sentence might be about baseball and the next about frogs in a pond without a coherent link.

• Delusions: Fixed false beliefs that have no basis in reality
• Echopraxia: Imitation of the movements and gestures of another person whom the client is observing.
• Flight of ideas: Continuous flow of verbalizations in which the person jumps rapidly from one topic to another
• False sensory perceptions or perceptual experiences that do not exist in reality. These can be auditory (voices), visual, smells, and tactile (feelings, like skitters across the arms).
• Ideas of reference: False impressions that external events have special meaning for that person. (The person on the TV is talking to them specifically.)
• Perseverations: Persistent adherence to a single idea or topic; verbal repetition of a sentence, word, or phrase; resisting attempts to change the topic.

The above list are considered “Positive Symptoms” as in they are added to the person. Most positive symptoms are treatable, but there are “Negative Symptoms” or symptoms that seem to be lacking in a person that generally linger after the positive symptoms abate. These are them:  

• Alogia: tendency to speak very little or to convey little substance of meaning
• Anhedonia: Feeling no joy or pleasure from life or any activities or relationships (characteristic of depression, but is it any wonder with everything else possibly going on? Geez.)
• Apathy: Feeling of indifference toward people, activities and events.
• Blunted Affect: Restricted range of emotional feeling, tone, or mood
• Catatonia: Psychologically induced immobility occasionally marked by periods of agitation or excitement; the client seems motionless, as if in a trance
• Flat affect: Absence of any facial expressions that would indicate emotions or mood.
• Lack of volition: absence of will, ambition, or drive to take action or accomplish tasks. 

​The half-moon serrated teeth of the knife gleamed in the overhead light. One quick jab and—
“Get out! Get out!” Michael pounded his fists against his head, and Randy, his son, jumped in his seat at the kitchen table. A pencil fell from Randy’s hand clattering onto the half-filled math sheets.
The numbers, if only he could decipher the numbers. The boy is hiding them from you. 
Michael’s fingers brushed across the cool metal. At the sight of the blade, in his hand Michael retreated, chest heaving.
It won’t even hurt. You’ll make it quick. But it must done or—
Michael ripped the blade from the counter and rushed for the front door. Barefooted, he stepped into his lawn, barely noticing cold snow.
“Hey Michael!” Louis next door waved at him, a paper sack of groceries in hand.
Michael fell to his knees, studying the blade bouncing light from the setting sun. The voice continued to call to him, telling him what to do. Michael pressed the blade against his arm and pulled. His teeth clenched as the skin tore.
“Oh my god! Michael!” Louis dropped his groceries to the porch. “Michael, what are you doing?!”
“I will not hurt my son!” Michael snarled as blood dripped into the snow. 

Even while she was being institutionalized, her sister was stealing her social security check and paying the people inside to watch her. And the people here—oh she’d tell you about them. ​
Everything you ate or drank was laced in parasites that would eat you from the inside out. The pills were laced too, which was why she was refusing to take hers.
Of course, very little of this (if any) was true. But Mary believed it was. Because everyone was out to get her, she had no hope of securing a good job, good employment, or establishing any lasting relationships in her life. 

Hospitals are not designed for long-term care of anyone, especially psych patients. Johnnie would walk down the hall outside his room and bang his head against the walls. Because of this, he was forced to stay in his room the whole time. Johnnie would scream and wail so loud you could hear him throughout the whole floor. Patients would complain, but what could we do? He would try to hit nurses and fight. He jammed his hand into his mouth and bit until it drew blood. We tried to place him in an institution somewhere—anywhere, but no one would take him. I don’t know how many combinations of medications we tried, but we couldn’t find the right balance to keep him calm. So what was the solution?
Johnnie was tied to his bed. Still screaming, still fighting. His wrists became sores from pulling against the restraints. He stayed in the hospital like that for a month.
Johnnie was pretty much non-communicative, but we can imagine his thoughts knowing how Mary thought. He thought we were trying to kill him, so we tied him to a bed. That helped.
Johnnie was just a little older than Todd. Similar dreams, similar hopes—like all of us, but this was his life. Terrified, trapped, and being harmed by the people who should be helping him.
Our system is broken.
And so is our view of mental illness. Yes, schizophrenics commit violent crimes more often than the general population, but they are victims of crimes more often too. What if someone raped Mary? She could report it, but would anyone believe her? What if someone beat up Todd? He could report it, but would someone think it was self-inflicted?
I don’t know what to do about our broken system. But I do know, as writers, we have a responsibility to portray characters accurately. So, think on this before you write a schizophrenic character. Are they flat and cartoon-like? Or do they have hopes, loves, and broken dreams as well?

*names changed

     After 13 years working with mostly struggling readers in some capacity, I have learned and used a plethora of before-, during-, and after-reading strategies, activities, and lessons. And I’m absolutely certain that at least some of them have made an impact on my students.
            At this very moment, there must be a group of former students sitting around a reading circle and saying, “Hey, remember when Mrs. King taught us ‘Say Something’?” (Hat tip Kylene Beers, whose literacy expertise has kept my toolbox filled to the brim with fantastic resources.) Or there’s a young lady in a college writing course thinking, “Mrs. King was so right when she told us to read like a writer and write like a reader.” (I honestly can’t remember where I first learned this, but it has spread like wildfire in the world of literacy education.) And most definitely, somewhere there are young men who years ago claimed to be nonreaders and are now saying, “Man, I’m so glad Mrs. King had us do the ‘Tea Party’ before-reading strategy and then taught us Notice & Note.” (Again, hat tip Kylene Beers, and add in Bob Probst.)
            No doubt these strategies, plus dozens more, are important when teaching struggling readers, but it’s unlikely any of those fantasy conversations are actually taking place. However, there is something else that may truly make a difference in young readers’ (and nonreaders’) lives. One of the common threads I’ve found as a literacy educator working in public schools is that around sixth grade, many students stop reading for pleasure. Even my eldest son, who grew up with his nose in a book and has never struggled with reading, dropped off of the Reading Is Fun bandwagon between sixth and seventh grade. When pressed for reasons, he always answered that school took the fun out of reading. With standardized reading passages and forced analyzing a story to death, it’s no wonder. But if that’s happening to strong readers, imagine the plummeting interest in pleasure reading of not-so-strong readers.
            With this knowledge, one of my topmost goals each year in the classroom was to help bring back the love of reading for middle-school-aged kids. I studied and listened to and read such greats as Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher, I researched and learned and tried so many methods to achieving this goal, and I’d like to share three ideas:

There are myriad other ways to get kids excited about reading, but these have been the biggest hits for me. Now maybe my former students will pick up my debut novel, Sitting on Top of the World, read it, enjoy it, and say, “Hey, remember when Mrs. King taught us that cool annotation strategy?”

Sitting on Top of the World releases June 15 and is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble .
 
Check out her author website, Cheryl King Writes Things and her 
TeachersPayTeachers! ​

If you have been following me long, you will know I wrote my novel, SURVIVING MIDAS, with intentions of getting it published. I went through the process of querying agents, taking part in #PitMad, and checking out countless manuscript wish lists. I am proud to say that my new novel will be release on August 24th, 2021. This is my story.
When I first wrote SURVIVING MIDAS, I thought ‘this is the greatest novel ever! People are going to love it!’ Actually, no. I didn’t think that. I thought it was crap, but it was the best crap I could produce. I had been down this publishing route before, spent more money than I’d like admit, and for nothing. My biggest fear is that it would happen again. So I did what I did not do last time: RESEARCH!
It’s amazing how many things you can learn if you just do a little research. I’m going to take you a bit on the journey that took me several years. If you are an experienced author, this probably won’t be new to you.
First off, I found out the press I went with last time was called a ‘vanity press’—a press that will print just about anything one sends them, but makes it sound like your novel was stupendous! Even if it’s littered with errors, plot holes and inconsistencies! I wrote another blog post on this if you are interested in this (not technically) scam. (click here for previous post). They prey on inexperience writers, getting them to pay for something they should be paid for. It’s a well-known racket too, but I was not plugged into a community of writers, so I had never heard of it. So the very next thing I did was get into a critique group.
I found my home on critiquecircle.com and have made several friends through that website. The site works on a point system where you receive points for critiquing someone else’s work so that you can post your own work. I put my first chapter up for review and immediately found out that it sucked. Like REALLY sucked. It was tough facing up to it, but I learned so much so quick! Then, as you critique other’s works, you begin to recognize mistakes and inconsistencies in your own work as well making you an excellent self-editor.
After getting my work critiqued (and swallowing my pride so I could make changes), I started the tedious and soul-crushing work of querying literary agents. I queried over 150 agents and I still do not have an agent. Here’s the deal: the barrier to entry is super high for writers. There are thousands of debut authors out there trying to gain the attention of a single literary agent. Publishing houses are looking for certain things, usually trending things. If your story is not on trend or so unique that a bookseller will have trouble setting it on the bookshelf, you will not get an agent.
My story is an older young adult novel dealing with drugs, trauma, abuse, and underworld crime bosses. It has a little romance, a few elements of literary fiction, and drama. It’s a lot. It doesn’t fit neatly into a box (and is far more unique than most things on the shelf today IMO). I’m marketing it as an older YA contemporary suspense. But you see my point: there’s not much on the market like it today.
So how did I get a publisher?
I participated in #PitMad on Twitter last November. You create a small blurb the length of a tweet and promote it all day in order to snag the attention of literary agents. Within fifteen minutes, City Limits Publishing liked my tweet, which is a request for querying. I did not receive another like from an agent the rest of the day.
I looked up City Limits Publishing. It is a small agency that opened in 2020. They publish a wide variety of books ranging from children’s to romance to mystery. I did not recognize any authors, and the literary agents I spoke too had not known of them. Keep in mind I have been scammed before, so my suspicions were on high alert. But they did not charge for publication and the royalties were higher than the general market.
I deliberated on this group for a long time. And finally, I gave them a chance.
And now my novel is coming out on August 24th!
So, what is the biggest fear I’m facing now with my publisher? Of course, the size of the press is concerning for the following reason: most of the marketing is going to fall on the author because of the small size of the platform; they might not be able to afford top of the line editors; the cover designs might be cheap. But go to City Limits Publishing and tell me what you think about their book covers. I think they’re gorgeous!
So what about marketing and editing?
City Limits is still a small press, so I’m going to have to do most of my marketing. Thankfully, the group has sent me a guide on developing social media presence, targeting audiences, designing websites, etc. and I’m actively doing all that. As it relates to editing, I don’t really know the quality of their editors because my piece did not require much editing! I mentioned my critique partners before. Thanks to their input, I had no plot holes and my scenes were written clearly. The story structure was intact, and received quite a bit of praise from the editing department about that!
Would I recommend all authors going indie? I honestly don’t know. It depends on what you want/can do. I could not afford to self-publish, so having someone pay for the creation of my book was important. I am doing most of the marketing, but in this day and age, who’s not? My book is not being put out by one of the Big 5 presses, but my percentage of royalties earned is much higher. My book will not be on the bookshelf in most of the big box stores, but will be available online for purchase at those outlets.
There are pros and cons to every method of publishing. This is still a risk, but so is all of life. But we make the most of it no matter what! 

​An Overview of Major Depressive Disorder for Writers
Society as a whole is getting better at understanding mental disorders and sympathizing with those who experience them. I believe that much of this advancement is due to the arts and the fictional portrayal of characters who live these experiences. Fiction is a mirror on society. As we tell our stories, our readers see themselves and those around them reflected back. Which is why I believe having our information about mental illnesses correct when trying to create characters is so important. That is why I have focused so heavily on what mental illnesses really look like in my blog. Today, I’m going to share you a gross overview of clinical depression and what it looks like in a person.
Feeling depressed is something everyone experiences on occasion whether that be through prolonged stress or just having a bad day. It’s not unusual to have a day when you simply don’t want to get out of bed. Generally, pressures of society keep us going and we force ourselves forward to meet our obligations. Often, those around us know we’re having a bad day because we are irritable and just generally unpleasant to be around. This, however, is not clinical depression. Clinical depression is characterized by at least 2 weeks of continuous depressed mood or loss of pleasure in nearly all activities as well as four of the following symptoms: “changes in appetite or weight, sleep; decreased energy; feelings of worthlessness or guilt; difficulty thinking, concentrating, or making decision; or recurrent thoughts of death or suicidal ideation, plans, or attempts” (Videbeck p. 281). These symptoms also impact social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
This last part is key, because it separates being sad and having a mental disorder. We all have periods of sadness whether it be from the loss of a loved one, a loss of a job, or broken heart, but depression impacts day-to-day living with a significant impact on the person’s life.
There are many causes of depression: chemical, hormonal, genetic, or depression can come from an extended period of grief. Short term depression if left untreated can lead to chronic depression.
Depression can occur in tandem with anxiety which I’ve written about extensively. Basically, the body has used up all its reserves for the anxiety, so it crashes. It is rare to see chronic anxiety without some form of depression.
Depression does not always look like one would think. It’s not just someone who sits around crying all the time feeling bad for themselves. I’ll paint a quick picture for you:
Anna lays facing the wall, staring at nothing as she has done for the past twelve hours. Outside her door, she hears her youngest squeal with laughter and the thud of footsteps chasing after her. Anna cringes as she draws the covers in closer. Why doesn’t the sound of my own child’s laugh make my smile? I’m a horrible person.
“Mama, would you like some dinner?”?” Joel, her oldest cracks open the bedroom door, but Anna continues to lie on her side in the dark away from the door. She shakes her head, and the door closes back.
Joel shouldn’t have to make his own dinner. I should have made it for him. I just—I feel so tired. Why do I feel so tired? And why can’t I sleep? I’m a worthless burden on my family. I should just end it all so they don’t have to put up with me.
And that is often the case with depression. It’s a lack of motivation, a lack of energy, of joy. It’s not that the person experiencing it is particularly lazy. They literally do not have any energy. This inability to function takes a toll on the person’s self-esteem and the depression feeds into itself making it worse and worse.
There are some treatment options for depression. Unfortunately, these do require some energy expenditure, and there is no guaranteed cure, just management. Sunlight, healthy foods, and better sleep patterns are some of the treatments, but consider a person like Anna who doesn’t want to eat. She lies in bed most of the day, but has trouble sleeping. In order to get sunlight, she has to have the energy to get out of bed. As you can see, the spiral of depression can swallow a person whole.
This does not mean a person should stay in the spiral. Yes, it’s hard living day to day without a functioning incentive-reward center in the brain, but if you don’t get out of the spiral, it will consume you. It will take a bit of faith to get up day after day, sometimes for a very long time without results. But those suffering from depression are not alone. Others have gone before them and succeeded.
Exercising, removing junk food from your life, treating the underlining conditions such as anxiety, and receiving therapeutic help are key to getting out of depression. But you are worth it. Your life is worth it. Get help. Surround yourself with people who will hold you accountable—not by belittling you or abusing you, but by supporting you and your efforts to get better.
I write this last bit to the writer themselves because I have seen many writers speak about their depression and their battles with mental health. Writing is not just for the entertainment of the masses. It can also be a pathway to healing for the writer themselves. As you create these characters living their struggles, reflect on your own life as well. How will Anna get out of the depression cycle? How will you?  
Disclaimer: This is a writing blog and not intended to be used as a tool for diagnosing or treating anyone with mental illness.
Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, by Sheila L. Videbeck, fifth ed., Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2011. 

​My last few blog posts were discussing what anxiety is from a clinical standpoint. Today, we’re going to bring all the pieces together and discuss how you can use this to form a character/story arc.

I discuss some of this information during my personality series specifically on trait neuroticism, so if this is information that interests you, be sure to check out THIS ARTICLE to read more about this topic. As always, this information is not to be used for diagnosis or treatment in any capacity, but is only a guide for creative writing and character development.


If you have been exposed to any writing theory at all, then you are probably at least a little familiar with standard story structures. This is the form in which most stories go: First there’s an introduction followed by an inciting incident, then there’s the middle stuff as the character tries to manage the change in their world that was caused by the inciting incident. Everything comes to a head in the climax followed by the resolution. Now I’m going to describe this using what we’ve previously discussed in anxiety terms.  

Probably the best, well-known story to use as an example in bringing all this together is Batman. Bruce Wayne is afraid of bats. They cause an anxiety related response, so he exposes himself to these bats until he is braver. Then he channels the bat in order to defeat the underworld.

Of course, this is just a superficial representation of what is taking place in the broader story as a whole. Bruce Wayne experienced a trauma when his parents were murdered by members of the criminal underworld. For years, he struggled with the grief and fear of this event. Then he channeled his fears, became a criminal vigilante, and confronted them and defeated the criminal underworld.
​
It’s a simple formula, really, but it is scientifically and psychologically based and serves as a good formula to create story arcs and character arcs. If you can think of other stories that follow this similar pattern, please name them in the comments below. ​

Previously, we talked about what anxiety is, the different types of disorders, and now we’re going to talk about how each of them is treated. Keep in mind that none of these posts are to be used as a way to diagnose or treat people in real-life scenarios. It is merely a broad-overview of mental health disorders intended to help writers create as real-to-life characters as possible.
In a following post, I’m going to be bringing all of this information together to show how you can use the mental health diagnosis of anxiety together to create a plot and character arc. I try to post weekly on Mondays, so if consider following my page if you haven’t already.
In modern medicine, clinicians generally use a combination of medications as well as cognitive behavioral therapy. I am not going to focus on this medication aspect because it is not relevant to the point I’m trying to make.
Often, the first part of treating anxiety is to realize it is taking place. Sometimes it can be hard to admit that anxiety is causing that racing heart sensation, the nausea, and the heart palpitations. Often a person will show up at the ER thinking they are having a heart attack before showing up at their therapist’s office. Or a person with chronic anxiety might turn to less healthy alternatives of stress management such as binge eating or drinking. In cases like OCD, they may participate in ritualistic compulsion practices. In cases like agoraphobia, they may refuse to leave the house.
In this day and age, we are getting better as a society that does not demean people with mental health related illnesses, but we have a long way to go. If a person who previously perceived others with mental health illnesses as weak or crazy, when they develop symptoms themselves, they can be very hard to accept. A major hit to their self-esteem or self-perception can occur. Acceptance may not occur, so the person keeps presenting to the hospital with the same symptoms, but refuses to see a therapist. All this needs to be taken into consideration as it relates to treatments for anxiety. It’s also little details you can add into your character’s profiles to make them more real.
In a controlled environment such as a therapist’s office, the therapist will probably teach their client relaxation techniques to manage their anxiety symptoms when they arise. They will probably discuss different triggers that cause the anxiety to flare up. These triggers might phobias such as claustrophobia or the thought of eating in an anorexic patient. Together, the therapist and client will formulate a plan on how to face these triggers without having an anxiety related response.
For an example, we’ll us a woman with claustrophobia, specifically a fear of elevators. They are probably also afraid of closets, cars, and other tight quarters, but there’s an elevator down the hall so it’s the most convenient problem to deal with at the moment. The therapist may try ‘systematic desensitization’ where the therapist exposes the client to the threatening object in gradually increasing intensities (Videbeck p. 241). For example, they may spend a session looking at pictures of elevators on the computer. Next session, they may stand ten feet from the elevator and watch as it opens and closes while people get in and out. Then they take a peek inside the elevator. Basically, these steps are performed until the client is bored of them—which is the mind’s way of saying something is thoroughly processed. Finally, the client is able to step inside the elevator, not without fear, but without having a full-blown panic attack. They survive their small trip unscathed. This does not mean that elevator rides will be easy from now on. In fact, the client will still probably be scared of elevators, but they, themselves, will be braver. The key to this, however, is that the person must face the fear willingly. If the therapist drags them down the hall and shoves them into an elevator, the effects will be disastrous.
Often, this bravery translates into other parts of their life as well. They’re still scared to go to the grocery store, but they survived the elevator and are willing to give the shopping trip a try. They’re still afraid of their overbearing husband, but are willing to stand up to him for once. In the end (theoretically) the client become a braver person overall.
Thing is though, the overbearing husband might not like this change in their wife. They may have preferred being the strong, controlling man with the mouse-like wife. (Think Carol in the Walking Dead). Maybe she will have the courage to leave him. Or, perhaps the husband will have the courage to go to therapy themself to find out why they are the way they are. Who knows? It’s your story.
Next post I’m going to bring together all the elements of my previous posts on anxiety and show how you can use them to create a story/character arc.

Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, by Sheila L. Videbeck, fifth ed., Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2011.