 The Write Reason for Research |
Break Free from the Ghosts that Haunt You: Step Four - Expanding and Generalizing
If you’ve been following this series of articles, you know that I’ve been writing about banishing the “mental ghosts” that hamper your writing versus the ethereal spirits that fill the pages of my novel, Midnight Revelations. In weeks past, you have identified your counter-productive voices, challenged them with rational responses, and developed a plan to translate your revised thoughts into action. The last step in keeping the ghosts at bay is to expand these new and improved scripts into other areas of your life. It’s remarkably easy to allow negativity and self-doubt to creep in from the sidelines if you are not vigilant.
Picture a writer who, by using a new “script,” has finally broken out of a self-imposed shell. Imagine that writer gathering the confidence to walk into a bookstore, ask for the manager, and then successfully sell the idea of the shop hosting an author event. When the event comes around, the author meets with fans, discusses the story and signs dozens upon dozens of books. What a tremendous change and one that should be applauded! But, does the confidence extend beyond this setting? If the answer is yes, then celebrate with a hardy pat on the back; however if the answer is no, then there is still work to do!
If the same writer leaves the bookstore, returns home to an empty house and doesn’t see or talk to anyone other than the pizza delivery man for the next two weeks, chances are that the ghosts aren’t really gone. They have simply taken a holiday with their cousins, who happen to fill up the other areas of this writer’s psyche. And the thing about vacations is that they always have an end.
So what is the answer to achieve sustainable ghost–free living? Building up and out! Take the plan and apply it to the other areas of your life. Using a critical eye, take an honest inventory of how you negotiate the world. Is your life so restricted that the only living you do is through the characters in your novel? Or do you live a full and satisfying existence with only one or two areas of self-doubt? If the task seems daunting, remember to start small and proceed step by step, slowly expanding into all the corners and crevices where ghosts can hide. With methodical determination and consistent effort, you’ll find that living ghost–free becomes the only way to live!
Be sure to catch my next article that will take “ghosts from the past” in a whole new direction… adding them to your characters to make them more complex and three-dimensional.
Karen M Bence graduated with a bachelor of arts in Psychology from Dickinson College and a master's degree in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. A former social worker, psychotherapist and educator, Ms. Bence is also an avid equestrian and dog breeder.
