Monday, April 13, 2009

Help Me Out!


Thanks to all the well-wishes I got from my announcement about being asked to blog over on Seekerville! I'm hoping to get some help from my fellow writer friends (since you are the population I'm hoping to help with my character therapy) about some questions you might like to see answered about what it is I do. I'm going to explain what a character therapist can do, of course, but surely there must be some other particulars you might want to know? Something that has prevented you from maybe emailing in a question? These are the type of things I want to address in my Seekerville post.

So please help me out and post some questions in the comment section! It would be greatly appreciated!

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13 comments:

Eileen Astels Watson said...

Okay, I've got one. You know how readers love the unexpected. And in real life we do do the unexpected, respond or act in a way that seems totally out of character. At least we seem to think it's out of character for us or a dear friend we know well.

So, my question is, what unexpected is going too far--isn't capable of suspending disbelief?

Say I have a shy heroine who is very self-conscious and considerate to all. What could I definitely NOT have her do?

Also, I'm really interested in learning about common disorders that we maybe don't realize are so popular and how they drive the person to act and react.

Good luck with creating your post, Jeannie. I know it'll be great.

Michelle D. Argyle said...

Eileen pretty much asked my question. Do you think that even though things can happen a certain way in real life that putting writing some of those things in fiction is not a wise decision? Or do you think that maybe hinging a story on something "too real" that might be a good idea?

Jeannie Campbell, LMFT said...

thanks eileen and lady G. great questions that i should address. feasibility is a big question mark, then, for some authors. i listed "feasibility of plot threads" on my blog under my announcement, but maybe this didn't translate how i wanted. thanks, ya'll!

Jaime Wright said...

My question is simple: I would like to see a "sample" of what a character query sent to you would look like! :) I mean, I'm not sure how to even begin a conversation about therapeutic character assessment with you. :) The thought intrigues me, but where to start?

Lynnette Labelle said...

This is a neat idea. I'm excited to see how it unfolds.

Lynnette Labelle
http://lynnettelabelle.blogspot.com

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

I'm rather like Jaime, not really knowing "how" to approach you. In some ways, I know my H/H have problems, but then I created these and maybe it reflects ME! Maybe I am the one who needs the therapy. lol

Jeannie Campbell, LMFT said...

okay...i'm really getting an idea of what this post should look like for seekerville. it's a basic question of how it is i could help you, huh? have you looked at the other treatment tuesday posts i've written? i've got one tomorrow on family dynamics that should be helpful, i hope. but i'll work on explaining how this can help you and your writing...so thanks for those who have responded!

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Okay...you keep commenting on other people's blogs about a book you are reading. What is it???? I'm so curious about what has you so hooked!

Jeannie Campbell, LMFT said...

it's a regency, sherrinda...you'd probably love it! linore rose burkard's Before the Season Ends. however, i'm a die-hard regency fan (even though i'd never write one).

Suzette Saxton said...

It's great to see you on the QueryTracker Blog. Thanks for following us!

Katie Ganshert said...

Jeannie - I think the idea of putting in a sample email you might recieve from somebody is a great idea. Excited to talk to you on the phone about this!

I also think posting some common disorder and just answering the basic question: why my service is so valuable. Well - it's so valuable because psychological issues saturate our world - and thus, they should saturate our novels - and we need to do it realistically. Which we can't, if we don't have the background knowledge to attain this. You do! Your the sage. :)

Also - what is querytracker?

Love ya!

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Oooo..I loved Linore's book! Regencies are one of my favorite types of books. I used to think that is what I would write, but then I read a medieval...sigh...love that period!

Tess said...

Hi, Jeannie! I found you over here from your visit to my blog (thanks, by the way!). I love this whole concept! Character therapy? Fantastic idea. Would you mind if I did a future post and linked your blog?

Katie - Query Tracker is a great site and their blog is an amazing source of industry updates and more. I'm not affiliated w/ them but you can find them at querytracker.blogspot.com