The Psychology Of Writing

The human ability to render meaning through symbolic media such as art, dance, music, and speech defines, in many ways, the uniqueness of our species. One symbolic medium in particular--written expression--has aroused increasing interest among researchers across disciplines, in areas as diverse as the humanities, education, and the social sciences because it offers a fascinating window into the processes underlying the creation and enunciation of symbolic representation. In The Psychology of Writing, cognitive psychologist Ronald T. Kellogg reviews and integrates the fast-growing, multidisciplinary field of composition research, a field that seeks to understand how people formulate and express their thoughts with the symbols of written text. By examining the production of written text, the book fills a large gap in cognitive psychology, which until now has focused on speech production, comprehension, and reading, while virtually ignoring how people write. Throughout, the author masterfully examines the many critical factors that come together during the writing process--including writer personality, work schedules, method of composing, and knowledge. In providing an important new theoretical framework that enables readers from a wide range of backgrounds to navigate the extensive composition literature, the author drives home the profound significance of meaning-making as a defining feature of human cognition. Kellogg not only draws from the work of leading composition scholars, but quotes insights into the writing process proffered by some of the most gifted practitioners of the writing craft--including E.M. Forster, John Updike, and Samuel Johnson. Engaging and lively, The Psychology of Writing is the perfect introduction to the subject for students, researchers, journalists, and interested general readers.

The Psychology of Creative Writing takes a scholarly, psychological look at multiple aspects of creative writing, including the creative writer as a person, the text itself, the creative process, the writer's development, the link between creative writing and mental illness, the personality traits of comedy and screen writers, and how to teach creative writing. This book will appeal to psychologists interested in creativity, writers who want to understand more about the magic behind their talents, and educated laypeople who enjoy reading, writing, or both. From scholars to bloggers to artists, The Psychology of Creative Writing has something for everyone.

An accurate and accessible survey of modern psychological theory and practice, this reference offers professional writers practical advice for incorporating psychological elements into their work. With easy-to-understand explanations and definitions, this book is an invaluable resource for any writer wishing to add realistic details to scenes that depict psychologists, mental illnesses and disorders, and psychotherapeutic treatments. Designed around the needs of professional fiction and nonfiction writers, this is an easy-to-use resource that includes historical and modern psychological treatments and terms and refutes popularly held misconceptions.

The second edition of Effective Writing in Psychology helps users produce crisp scientific communication, form concise unambiguous arguments, and render technical information clear and comprehensible. The new edition incorporates the latest guidelines contained within the 6th edition of the APA Publication Manual. Clear guidelines on effective writing illustrate how to generate strong and compelling prose, even when the writing is not aimed at a research audience Incorporates changes to the guidelines contained in the 6th edition of the APA publication manual Includes material on how to adapt APA style for poster presentations using PowerPoint, and for oral presentations Contains a new section on using the Internet to present research papers and a new chapter on conducting a literature search, to guide students through databases, keywords, sources, and connections between articles Highlights methods for selecting a research topic and organizing papers Features a sample manuscript showing common deviations from correct APA style and a version demonstrating appropriate use of APA style

An openly lesbian, feminist writer, Vernon Lee—a pseudonym of Violet Paget—is the most important female aesthetician to come out of nineteenth century England. Though she was widely known for her supernatural fictions, Lee hasn’t gained the recognition she so clearly deserves for her contributions in the fields of aesthetics, philosophy of empathy, and art criticism. An early follower of Walter Pater, her work is characterized by extreme attention to her own responses to artworks, and a level of psychological sensitivity rarely seen in any aesthetic writing. Today, she is largely overlooked in curriculums, her aesthetic works long out of print. David Zwirner Books is reintroducing Lee’s writing through the first-ever English publication of "Psychology of an Art Writer" (1903) along with selections from her groundbreaking "Gallery Diaries" (1901–1904), breathtaking accounts of Lee’s own experiences with the great paintings and sculptures she traveled to see. Ranging from deeply felt assessments of the way mood affects our ability to appreciate art, to detailed descriptions of some of the most powerful personal experiences with artworks, these writings provide profound insights into the fields of psychology and aesthetics. Her philosophical inquiries in The Psychology of an Art Writer leave no stone unturned, combining fine-grained ekphrases with high fancy and dense abstraction. The diaries, in turn, establish Lee as one of the most sensitive writers about art in any language. With a foreword by Berkeley classicist Dylan Kenny, which guides the reader through these writings and contextualizes these texts within Lee’s other work, this is the quintessential introduction to her astonishing and complex oeuvre.

People's lives are made up of good and baddecisions, histories filled with triumph and pain, behaviors formed from alifetime of experiences -- your characters should be no different. But writingpsychologically complex characters requires an understanding of human behavior.Fortunately, you don't need a PhD in psychology to add complexity to yourscreenwriting. William Indick will help you add psychological depth to yourscript with insights from brilliant psychological theorists like Freud, Jung,and Adler. Get ready to create characters and conflict that will have youraudience begging for only one thing -- more.

“A step-by-step guide for writers struggling to create fiction from their life . . . delivers on its promise with such honesty, simplicity, and beauty.”—William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author According to common wisdom, we all have a book inside of us. But how do we select and then write our most significant story—the one that helps us to evolve and invites pure creativity into our lives? In Rewrite Your Life, creative writing professor, sociologist, and popular fiction author Jess Lourey guides you through the redemptive process of writing a healing novel that recycles and transforms your most precious resources—your own emotions and experiences. This fact-to-fiction process provides not only the essential building blocks of bestselling novels but is also personally transformative. Based on the process the author developed and field-tested in the wake of her husband’s suicide, Rewrite Your Life is devoted to the practice of discovering, healing, and evolving through fiction writing. It combines research, practical and engaging guidance, and personal experience to meet readers where they are and take their creativity and personal growth to the next level. Tender, raw, and laugh-out-loud funny, Rewrite Your Life offers both a map and a compass for those seeking to harvest their life experiences to heal, lead a more authentic life, and craft a rich, powerful work of fiction. “My favorite kind of self-help book: irreverent, personal, and superbly useful.”—Jen Mann, New York Times bestselling author of People I Want to Punch in the Throat “A lively exploration of writing’s therapeutic value and an encouraging invitation to apply it to your life.”—Kendra Levin, author of The Hero Is You