Have you ever wondered if the descriptions you are using for characters or people in your novel, screenplay or column are accurate? Author Carolyn Kaufman, Psy.D., shows us in a clear, concise guide how to know for sure. Kaufman uses her years of experience in psychology and writing to bring us the most current information on this fascinating area of life.

Today, most of us learn about psychology on TV shows, movies or plays. We have more information available today than ever before. However, did you know that the writers of those TV shows, movies or plays may have not researched the actual psychological traits they are using in their characters?

There is a lot of misinformation circulating today. Why not find out for sure and make your characters come alive and be accurate as well?

Kaufman's book is an easy to access, up to date manual on psychological disorders, medications, personality issues, as well as degrees in the field of psychology today. If you are writing about people, you will find great help in this book.

I enjoyed how Kaufman takes psychological disorders, explains them, and then writes from a writer's perspective helping you get your characters right. This is not a boring treatise on Psychology. It is a writer's how-to manual written by a professional in Psychology who also happens to be a terrific writer herself.

She opens her book with common myths and mistakes. Then, covers why people do what they do as she teaches you to think like a shrink. She touches on the degrees, training and ethics of the professional therapist. Then, she includes a "look behind the closed doors" of a real therapy session.

Next, you will learn about when a problem become a disorder. You get to walk through childhood disorders, dementia, eating disorders, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Dissociation, as well as personality disorders.

Need a villain? You will find the real truth about psychopaths inside, to help you craft your characters correctly. Next, you will learn about emergencies in psychotherapy as well as physical and biological interventions. All in all, I've found this to be a complete guide to everything you need when crafting and writing about characters and people.

Don't end up like some TV shows and novels that create interesting characters, with the wrong types of personalities and disorders. Make your writing come alive with factual information, to bring new understanding and enjoyment to your readers.

You can even use this book to look over your past writing and find the cliches' and misinformation you have been using, and never knew about. Then, quickly correct these issues and land that publishing contract using correct psychological information.

Happy Writing!





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