ShrinkWrite – Editing and Consulting for Writers

CONSULTING AND EDITING

The best characters in literature and film become real to the reader. They not only take on a life of their own but they enhance the color and depth of their co-characters, creating a rich tapestry of storylines.

ShrinkWrite’s Dr. Julia Stroud is a retired psychologist who consults with fiction writers to ensure realistic, psychology-based character development. Julia applies her thirty-five years’ experience as a therapist to the figments of your imagination and the creatures of your wildest dreams. She helps you create:

Characters who are compelling, complex and ring true
Villains who are plausible and chilling
Actions, interactions, and motivations that are accurate, authentic and believable

Applying her knowledge of human nature, she enables you to:

Enhance your storyline with depth and believability
Untangle snags caused by faulty psychological reasoning
Develop provocative character arcs

From initial character study to line-by-line story editing, Julia is your Character Psychologist. Depending upon where you are in your project, she will lead you through some or all of the following steps:

The Book Bible

At the inception of your project, it is imperative that you have a complete and detailed understanding of each of your characters. Julia helps you apply the standard procedures of psychological case history to make sure that all facets of your characters hang together and ring true.

From a work up on family history to a dissection of the central conflict of the story, Julia will help you have a clear understanding of the options in your characters’ reactions to the events of your tale. Using her thorough understanding of the human psyche, she will help you conceptualize personality traits, patterns of behavior, habits of speech, expected reactions, and typical interactions with others for each of your main characters.

This “Book Bible” will not only jump start your understanding of the characters you are creating, but it will be your psychological reference and guide to ensure your storyline is cohesive and rings true to the reader. The Book Bible offers support for your reasoning as you chronicle the actions and events in your characters’ lives.

Writer’s Bloc

If you are stuck or you’ve written yourself into a corner (and it happens to even the best writers), Julia can apply her experience working with all types of personalities to spur you to break the logjam and find the next step.

Polishing

After you’ve completed your manuscript, Julia can review it and offer suggestions for plot development, character description, realistic dialogue, and much more:

Tweak a character’s strengths and foibles so they will ring true to your readers
Enhance with details a character’s pathology
Ensure that you are using the correct terms to refer to your characters’ mental conditions
Portray realistic scenes of therapy or psychological treatment

Because of her broad and high level of education, she frequently catches errors of details that other editors may miss in areas such as science, medicine, and historical accuracy.