Your Body on Stress: Incorporating Reality Into Your Novel

This is a slightly different type of post than my previous ones.  The idea came for it when I hit a serious case of writer's block trying to describe a chase scene involving my heroine.  As I was describing the scene I realized that while the reader would get a pretty good idea of how the action was occurring they had zero idea of what the heroine was experiencing.  Was she scared?  Was she hot, cold, numb, in shock, terrified?

I tried to go back and add some detail but everything just sounded cliche:

• "Her heart raced."  
• "Her heart leapt in her throat."
• "Her blood pounded in her ears."

My amazing hubby obliged me by sitting in the living room and acting out the scene to get a better idea of how the action would progress, what my heroine would feel, etc.

While I got more ideas for action (and hid a smile at my super tall hubby pretending to get thrown off a horse), I still got very little in the way of content for describing what my heroine was going though.  My college physiological psychology professor would be so proud if he knew that my next step was to start looking at how the body physically responds to stress.

So what does happen?  We all know some of the telltale signs, racing heart and frantic breathing included.  But what are some of the other symptoms we experience, not just physically but emotionally? 

HelpGuide.org provided an excellent table that summed up a tidy list of symptoms that people can experience during stressful situations:

Stress Warning Signs and Symptoms
Cognitive Symptoms	Emotional Symptoms
Memory problems Inability to concentrate Poor judgment Seeing only the negative Anxious or racing thoughts Constant worrying	Moodiness Irritability or short temper Agitation, inability to relax Feeling overwhelmed Sense of loneliness and isolation Depression or general unhappiness
Physical Symptoms	Behavioral Symptoms
Aches and pains Diarrhea or constipation Nausea, dizziness Chest pain, rapid heartbeat Loss of sex drive Frequent colds	Eating more or less Sleeping too much or too little Isolating yourself from others Procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax Nervous habits (e.g. nail biting, pacing)

While the symptoms were general they still provided an excellent starting point for me to incorporate more detail and show the event through my heroine's eyes versus simply telling the reader what was happening (one of my biggest weaknesses).

This chart is a great jumping point for those who need a quick idea or are great about adding on detail.  I still wanted to get some additional insight to make sure future scenes didn't mirror this one too closely, so I collected a few more resources that I've included below:

• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/19/body-stress-response_n_2902073.html
• http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987
• http://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-symptoms-causes-and-effects.htm
• http://www.healthline.com/health/stress/effects-on-body
• http://www.patient.co.uk/health/acute-stress-reaction-leaflet

I finally got a first draft of my chase scene down.  It will definitely undergo some changes during the rewriting and editing phases, but it was a step in the right direction.

The research also helped me realize that yes, some of my characters' responses were going to sound banal because many people experience the same symptoms when faced with stressful situations.  

I enjoy writing.  If that means that my heroine's heart "beats wildly in her chest" or "her face turned pale," so be it.

As always, thanks for reading!

-Scarlett

The Value of NaNoWriMo and Some Updates

Sadly it's been forever since I've finally written on here.  Happily, there have been several developments since my last post!

Facebook

I finally sucked it up and broke the link between my Facebook and Twitter account.  For some people linking the two works, but I knew for me it wasn't the best way to stay in touch.  I committed to posting at least three times a week, so fingers crossed that I can keep it up.

I was also blessed with a number of Facebook friend requests, starting with the wonderfully supportive Natalie Alder (nataliealder.com).  I also finally got up the courage to tell my friends and family about my goal of getting published next year and how valuable my social media platform could be.  Happy to have their support!

HeRA Pushing for Publication

I wouldn't have gotten this far in my writing or development of my online platform without these wonderful ladies (and men!).  It was announced at our last meeting that the goal of HeRA is to have 100% of their members published by this time next year.  They already have 85%, which is huge, but are wanting to help the rest of us have a shot at achieving our dreams.  Very excited, slightly terrified...but mostly excited!!!

The Value of NaNoWriMo

I decided to be one of the 700,000+ crazy people and commit to NaNoWriMo.  I quickly learned the hard way that the estimated 1,600+ words NaNoWriMo recommends to hit the 50,000 word goal was more than I had anticipated.

Part of the issue for me is that I try to hand write initial drafts of all my work.  For whatever reason I usually feel more satisfied with my writing.  Sometimes I think it's because when I hand write I take a little bit more time to think things through since I can't automatically hit the "backspace" button.  However, hand writing for NaNoWriMo quickly proved to be not the best option.

One of my amazing critique ladies, Jade Chandler (jadechandler.com) recommended that I check out @NaNoWordSprints, a Twitter profile that hosts writing "sprints" throughout the day.  The sprints can be as short as 10 minutes all the way up to a day, with the majority aiming for 1,000 words in 30 minutes.

First thought: 1,000 words in 30 minutes?  Ha!  Yeah right.

And then I did it.  I actually hit 1,047 words in 30 minutes.  I was typing like a madwoman and I almost gagged at the quality of some of my sentences.  But I did it.

I love to write; sometimes it's getting just the right sentences and dialogue down, and other times it's just feeling the pen run across the paper or hearing the clack of my keyboard.

Unfortunately, I am not in a position to write full-time.  Three months out of my year are my "hell season" at work.  I can be on the go from six in the morning until ten, eleven-thirty at night with maybe twenty minutes for dinner.  The rest of the year is much more flexible, but with my word count remaining flat for nearly a month I knew that giving NaNoWriMo a shot was worth it for me.

The quality of those 1,000 words was pretty bad.  I nearly had a heart attack over one sentence that even my nephew, who is still working on his alphabet, would have laughed at me for it's truly heinous wording.  But I got it down.  And once I went back and edited it before presenting the pages to my critique group, I actually received the best praise since starting to attend back in September.

Now NaNoWriMo is not for everyone.  It is highly doubtful that I will hit the 50,000 words.  But my word count has gone up.  I've met a number of new people, writers, readers and bloggers alike, because of it.  I'll go back and fix the horrifying sentences during my editing period.  So even though it's only November 16 and I'm only 10,000 words up versus 25,000 to 40,000, I've decided that NaNoWriMo is a success.

Best of luck to all my fellow-NaNoWriMo and non-NaNoWriMo writers with their projects.