Writers in the Storm

by Lynette M. Burrows

The life of a writer can be unpredictable. Family, medical issues, housing issues, and many more personal-life interruptions can disrupt the flow of words. Many of you may not have options and write when and where you can write. For example, right now I’m writing in the waiting room of a car maintenance shop. The environment here is nice, but definitely full of distractions. 

When we can choose our writing environment, it makes sense to choose a space that optimizes how we write. Keep in mind that not all of us will respond in the same way to the same physical space. In the list of elements I offer below, choose the ones that speak to you, that feel more creative to you. 

Brain Science

The theory that people are right-brained (creative, intuitive) or left-brained (logical or linear) or both is a popular myth unsupported by neuroscience. The brain’s right and left hemispheres are not separate organs. While the right-hemisphere performs more complex functions, and the left hemisphere controls most (if not all) physiological functions, the two hemispheres work together.

While the right- versus left-brain theory is a myth, it’s an easy way to understand how people think. At the extremes, a few of us are nearly 100% logical-thinkers and a few are almost 100% creative-thinkers. A few of us fall into the moves fluidly between the two. In a reality, we are all a mix of the two. Many of us continue to perceive one or the other thinking style is our primary way of perceiving the world. We’re not wrong, but it’s more complex than which hemisphere controls what. Still, we can use brain science and psychology to help us set up a work environment that supports our creativity.

Space

Environmental psychology is the study of how our physical surroundings influence us. One of the newer sciences, it came into existence in the 1970s. 

Our mental space stands in direct proportion to our perception of physical space.

Donald M. Rattner, Architect

In other words, our physical space affects us both as it actually exists and our intuitive interpretation of that space. The more we perceive a space to be open, the more we are open to new ideas. 

Height

The height of your ceilings affects your perception of openness. Tall, vaulted ceilings give us a sense of openness. Things that draw our eye to the height like pendant lamps or images enhance our sense of openness. 

Lateral Space

Most of us cannot do anything about the height of our ceilings. We can increase our perception of space by focusing on lateral space. 

Artwork of landscapes or faraway places can give us a sense of space. A window or a doorway with a view of the outside makes a space “feel” open. Furniture placement and a lack of clutter also affect our interpretation of the lateral space that surrounds us.

Some will say that they do better in cluttered spaces. That may be true for specific individuals. Maybe you would feel more creative with an uncluttered and more open environment. Try it. If it doesn’t work, clutter is easy to accumulate.

Involve Your Senses

Our environment is more than a window, doors, and a desk. Sound, sight, smell, and touch can also create an environment that invites creativity. 

Sound

Sound is all around us. Certain sounds can help us concentrate or will trigger an emotional response. Know how you respond to silence, white noise, or music. When designing your workspace, consider what the ambient noise level is in your space. Use sound to give you optimal creative energy.

Sight

You may be shy of using sight because of cautions about overusing it in your writing. But there are many aspects to sight: light, color, objects, even textures. Consider all aspects of sight to create your most creative workspace.

Light

You know about overhead, task, and adjustable lights. Most of you have heard of the blue light emitted by computer screens and how it is detrimental to your sleep cycle. Many of you have blue light glasses to relieve eyestrain from hours of staring into computer screens. Most of you understand that the proper level of light in our workspace is crucial. You make certain you have plenty of light in your space. All good, right? 

Intensity

In 2013, psychologists Anna Steidel and Lioba Werth released the results of six studies done to evaluate the effects of light intensity on creative insight. Their findings may surprise you.

“… four studies demonstrated that both priming darkness and actual dim illumination improved creative performance… two additional studies tested the underlying mechanism and showed that darkness elicits a feeling of being free from constraints and triggers a risky, explorative processing style.”

Anna Steidel and Lioba Werth, Freedom from constraints: Darkness and dim illumination promote creativity.

The effects of darkness and dim illumination disappeared “when using a more informal indirect light instead of direct light or when evaluating ideas instead of generating creative ideas.”

The message for writers? Design your workspace with lighting that allows you to adjust the light brighter or dimmer according to your day’s work. 

Color

Research has determined that color affects our both body and brain in visual and nonvisual ways. Morning light and blue-green light stimulate the release of cortisol, which wakes us up. Late evening light, which has less blue-green color, releases melatonin, which makes us sleepy.

So what color should creative people use? There are many articles online that claim blue or blue-green are colors for creativity. I found scant evidence to support that. A 2019 article on C&P Business Media explains which colors create what emotions and physical responses. That article suggests we should select our primary color based on what our primary function is. If you write thrillers, you might want a color (red) that increases your heart rate and encourages physical activity. The author of that article claims that blue is an intellectual color and is best used in a space to promote logic and communication and focus. 

My suggestion? Choose a color that makes you feel safe, comfortable, and eager to work. 

Touch 

Another thing you “know” about your work environment is to set up your chair and workspace ergonomically. Using proper ergonomics is critical to your health. Better health means you can be more creative, longer. Need a refresher on ergonomics check out my December 2021 article, “35 Tips to a Healthier Writer You in 2022.”

 Go beyond ergonomics. Consider physical touch. What textures does your workspace offer? Does it matter?

In May 2022, Claire Heeryung Kim, Kelly B. Herd, and H. Shanker Krishnan published “The creative touch: the influence of haptics on creativity” Their study focused on the “creation of new product ideas” such as a new Christmas ornament. They found that “participants who actively touch objects during the ideation process experience more positive moods than those who do not touch the objects and that this increase in mood leads to more creative new product ideas.” (Haptics is a science concerned with the sense of touch ) 

How does this apply to writers? The surface of your desk is (most likely) smooth. Computer keyboards offer a little in the feel of pressing the keys. Think about varying textures of other objects in your office from coarse to fine. Objects you can handle, you can meditate on, you can sense through your fingertips. Especially consider textures you might describe in your fiction. 

Smell

There is limited research on how scents influence creativity. Yet, scent is a powerful tool in eliciting memories of past events and emotions. For me, scent also can be a powerful trigger of creative ideas. Scented candles, essential oils, aromatic herbs and flowers are all tools I use when writing. If you’ve never used scent to enhance your creativity, take a day to experiment. Gather at least three distinct scents. Sniff them one at a time. Write about whatever memory or thought that scent triggers for the next ten to fifteen minutes.

Your Workspace Design

All of this goes to say, be deliberate. Think about how your environment helps or hinders your creativity. Experiment. Try one thing at a time. Choose or create the space that increases your creativity.

Need more inspiration on how to make your workspace increase your creativity? Read Kris Maze’s article “13 Ways Your Writing Inspiration Surrounds You” and learn how Feng Shui can help you in Ellen Buikema’s article, “Does Your Workspace Affect Your Writing?”

How does your workspace inspire your creativity? Is there an element you will change to increase your creativity?

Lynette M. Burrows is a blogger, Yorkie Wrangler, sometime stained glass technician, and writes thrilling science fiction with heart.

Her Fellowship Dystopia series, Fellowship, My Soul to Keep and, If I Should Die, are available everywhere you can buy books online.

Lynette lives in the land of Oz. When she’s not procrastinating by avoiding housework and playing with her dogs, she’s blogging or writing or researching her next book. You can find Lynette online on her website, Facebook, or on Twitter @LynetteMBurrows. 

Image Credits

Top: Ernest Hemingway in London at Dorchester Hotel 1944, National Archives and Records Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons 

Second Image: Mark Twain at his desk, marktwainhouse.blogspot.com, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Third Image: Ray Bradbury and his wife, Maggie, in his office., Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

by Margie Lawson

“Here Be Monsters” was printed on old nautical maps on regions that were uncharted. 

No one knew what was beyond. They didn’t know what they didn’t know. And unknowns were scary.

In those days, cartographers drew in the off-the-map areas. They drew what they feared most. They drew monsters.

They drew monsters devouring ships.

They drew monsters devouring people.

If they’d looked into the future, they could have drawn monsters devouring writers.

Writers have their monsters too.

Mind monsters.

When faulty thinking rules your life, it’s a monster.

Writers often sabotage themselves with faulty thinking. Negative thinking. Catastrophic thinking.

And they let the mind monsters win.

Can you manage your mind monsters? Manage your thinking? Manage your mood? 

Sure. If you identify and challenge your faulty thinking.

Faulty thinking is like the imaginary beasts in those unknown areas. Negative thinking grows and grows and grows until it takes over, dominating your thoughts. Dominating your career.

Review the Faulty Thinking Traps below. You’ll find yourself, your spouse, teenager, mother-in-law, sister, best friend, and neighbor in these thinking traps. Everyone you know thinks and speaks from several of these faulty thinking traps every day.

Or they’ve had a truly insightful, change-driven therapist.

As you read the list, check off the traps that trap you.

Faulty Thinking Traps

Self-Flawed Thinking:  Nothing I do is good enough.

Perfectionistic Thinking: Things have to be perfect for me to be happy.

All-or-Nothing Thinking:  If I cannot be all things to all people, then I’m nothing. I can meet needs of my family or meet my needs—not both.

Telescopic Thinking:  I always feel like a failure because I focus on and magnify my shortcomings and ignore my successes.

Blurred Boundary Thinking:  It’s hard for me to know when to stop, where to draw the line, when to say no to others.

People-Pleasing Thinking:  If I can get others to like me, I’ll feel better about myself.

Pessimistic Thinking:  My life is chaotic and stressful and full of misery and despair. That’s just the way life is.

Catastrophic Thinking: My life feels out of control and something terrible might happen, so I can’t relax. I must be prepared by always expecting the worse.

Helpless Thinking:  I am helpless. Powerless. There’s nothing I can do to change what’s getting in the way of my success.

Self-Victimized Thinking:  Other people and other situations are to blame for my overdoing, my stress, and my lack of success.

Resentful Thinking:  I am bitter and resentful and will never forgive others for what they did to me.

Resistance Thinking:  Life is an uphill battle, and I must fight to get my way and cling to things to keep them from changing.

Wishful Thinking:  If only my situation would change, I could slow down, take better care of myself, be successful achieving my goals. But my situation will never change.

Serious Thinking: 

Playing and having fun are a waste of time because there’s too much work that needs to be done.

Whew! Those are deep traps. 

Have you fallen into any of these thinking traps today? Yesterday? Last Week?

Can you consciously challenge yourself when you realize you are in a faulty thinking trap?

Let’s look at those categories again and see what some writers may be thinking.

Self-Flawed Thinking: 

This is the worst book I've ever written.

I’ll never get another contract.

I’ll never sell enough books.

I’ll never get on a bestseller list.

This book is the worst book I’ve ever written.

My writing will never be good enough.

I’ll never get another contract.

I’ll never sell enough books.

I’ll never get on a bestseller list.

Perfectionistic Thinking:

I’ll never get this scene (chapter, book) right. I keep editing and cutting, revising and restructuring. But every time I look at it there’s something more that needs to be fixed. It will never be good enough.

All-or-Nothing Thinking: 

There’s no way I can do it all. I can’t take care of my family and write. I have to focus entirely on writing for hours at a time and I can never find that time. Not until the kids go to college. I can’t do it all. It’s impossible.

Telescopic Thinking: 

Everyone in critique group hated that chapter. They all thought I was a horrible writer.

Most of them didn’t say anything negative. But I could tell they were thinking it. And they didn’t have to say it. Susan said it all. My characters weren’t well developed.

My scene didn’t flow.

Why did I ever think I was good enough to get published? I shouldn’t waste my time writing.

Blurred Boundary Thinking: 

I have so many commitments, there’s no way I could find time to write.

People-Pleasing Thinking: 

I can’t make writing a priority. I’ve got to do everything I can for everyone else. It’s the only way I can feel good about myself.

Pessimistic Thinking: 

I’ll never find a time in my life when something isn’t falling apart. I have too much stress and my life will always be too chaotic. I’ll never be able to write.

I played with the first seven traps, if you like, get creative and fill in the rest.

I’ll share a quick story about faulty thinking traps.

I remember being in an office building back in my psychologist day-job days. And I glanced out a window and said something about it being a perfect fall day.

It was sunny, in the low 60’s, leaves blowing in the breeze.

I wanted to be eight again, and rake up massive piles of leaves, and run and jump in them with my best friend.

While I stood looking out that window, I was happy, happy, happy.

Then someone nearby commented that the wind blew dust in her eyes that morning.    (Negative #1)

She added that the leaves blew in her car when she opened the door and she’d have to vacuum her car out again. (Negatives 2 and 3)

Then she said that the sun glare would cause accidents for the people traveling west, and it would take her twice as long to drive home. (Negatives 4 and 5)

Did she ruin my mood? 

Nope. 

I knew her. And I knew she was negative. 

As soon as I heard the first burst-my-bubble phrase blast out of her mouth, I turned it into a game in my mind. 

How many points could she earn by saying negative things in response to my positive comment? Three? Four? Five? 

I listened well. She earned five points.

Hellooo…  I’m not a total dork. I don’t always count points.

But just thinking of it as a game helps me keep my positive thinking in line. My good mood stays intact.

I made a conscious decision a long time ago to not let other people’s faulty thinking contaminate my good mood. 

What Faulty Thinking Traps did she live in?

Clearly pessimistic. What about perfectionistic thinking? Catastrophic thinking? 

She awfulized. And it seemed like she tried to make others feel awful too. But that was her way of seeing the world.

It didn’t have to be my way. I didn’t have to let her contaminate my mood.

It’s not fun -- or smart – to spend much time around people who think so negatively.

You all know to spend more time around positive people.

Make a conscious decision to take charge of your mood. Catch yourself when you start thinking negatively. Don’t let the mind monsters win!

Want to be a successful writer?

Manage your mood.

Take classes. Make your writing the strongest it can be.

Work toward your career goals.

Make. Change. Happen.

If you’re interested in Defeating Self-Defeating Behaviors, consider my lecture packet or course by that name.

If you’d like to work with someone who can help you gear up, help you take charge of your career, or help you make your writing stronger, I’m your gal. Check out the coaching page on my website.

Want to chime in and share your reactions to these Faulty Thinking Traps? Which ones do you struggle with?

I’d love to hear from you.

If you POST A COMMENT – you’ll be in the drawing for a lecture packet (150+ pages) from me!

You could WIN one of these lecture packets!

• Defeat Self-Defeating Behaviors
• Empowering Characters’ Emotions
• Deep Editing, Rhetorical Devices and More
• Writing Body Language and Dialogue Cues Like a Psychologist
• Digging Deep into the EDITS System
• A Deep Editing Guide to Make Your Openings Pop!
• Make Your Endings Pop Deep Editing Style!
• Visceral Rules: Beyond Hammering Hearts

About Margie

Margie Lawson left a career in psychology to focus on another passion—helping writers make their writing bestseller strong. Using a psychologically based deep-editing approach, Margie teaches writers how to bring emotion to the page. Emotion equals power. Power grabs readers and holds onto them until the end. Hundreds of Margie grads have gone on to win awards, find agents, sign with publishers, and hit bestseller lists. Several have had their books turned into Hallmark movies, and some are having their books turned into drama series! 

A popular international presenter, Margie has presented over 150 full day master classes in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and France, as well as multi-day intensives on cruise ships in the Caribbean. She’s taught close to 200 Immersion Master Classes across the U.S. and Canada, and in seven cities in Australia. 

She also founded Lawson Writer's Academy, where you’ll find over 30 instructors teaching online courses through her website. You will also find Virtual Immersion Classes, Deep Editing Opportunities, and Margie's monthly "Get Happy" event, a virtual open house. (Next month's Get Happy is on November 8th!)

To learn more, and sign up for Margie’s newsletter, visit www.margielawson.com.

Lawson Writer’s Academy Courses for November

1. Lights, Camera, Tension!
2. Clans of Ireland, Beyond the Pale
3. How to Write a Novel in World Anvil
4. Diving Deep into Deep Point of View
5. Swag for Authors and Other Creatives
6. Make ‘Em Laugh: How to Write a Comedy Screenplay
7. A Deep Editing Guide to Make Your Openings Pop!

by Becca Puglisi

Escalation is an important element of story structure. The opening pages are often quiet as key players are introduced, the setting is established, and readers are given a glimpse of what's wrong in the protagonist's world. The catalyst then provides a choice, where the hero leaves their ordinary world and steps into a new one. In the next half of the story, they work their way toward the goal that will fulfill them, facing many conflict scenarios that challenge their methods and way of thinking. In those story moments, the stakes get higher, the consequences more drastic, and the clashes more incendiary until everything culminates in a final confrontation that will determine if the hero achieves their goal or not.

This confrontation is the climax of the story. The reader has known from the beginning that this moment would occur. It's what they've been looking forward to, why they've stuck with the protagonist for so many pages. A successful climax will help determine how satisfied the reader is with the story, so it's vital that we get it right.

What Is the Climax, Really?

The climax is the final showdown between the hero and their nemesis.

The two may have butted heads already—multiple times, possibly—or this might be the long-awaited battle they’ve been working toward. Different structure models position this pillar at various places, but it's generally agreed that it works best in the last half of Act Three. This allows for the proper build-up to the climax while leaving enough time for events to resolve afterward.

The purpose of the climax is to give the protagonist a final chance to succeed and achieve the story goal.

Numerous conflict scenarios have tested the hero’s resolve and abilities so far. They haven’t always succeeded, but as the struggles have gotten bigger and the stakes have grown, they have moved steadily toward their outer (and inner, if they’re working a change arc) goals. And now comes the biggest test of all: the final meet-up with the nemesis. It's the protagonist’s last chance to prove themselves. If they fail here, they fail for good. As a result, the climax should definitively determine who wins.

It also allows the hero to display what they’ve learned on their journey.

Whether they’ve acquired skills, identified a strength they thought was a weakness, rejected a long-believed lie, or adopted a new mindset, what they’ve learned should tip the scales in their favor during the climax. This is often where the inner and outer journeys merge because the changes they’ve undergone and the lessons they have learned about themselves are exactly what they need to achieve the outer goal. When it's done artfully, that synchronicity creates a satisfying resolution for readers as the pieces click into place.

Lastly, the climax should mirror the catalyst.

As Michael Hauge says in Writing Screenplays That Sell: “Just as the aftermath contrasts with the setup at the beginning of a screenplay, the climax of the story mirrors the opportunity (catalyst). While the opportunity begins the forward movement of the story—begins the hero's visible journey by taking him to a new situation—the climax ends that journey by resolving the hero's outer motivation (story goal).”

In a story with a three-act structure, there's an invisible hinge at the midpoint that divides the story into two halves. James Scott Bell likens the midpoint to a mirror because the events on one side reflect the other. In this way, the climax relates back to the beginning, closing out the journey that started in your first pages.

What Are the Elements Of A Successful Story Climax?

To recap: a successful story climax should tick the following boxes:

1. It’s the final showdown between the protagonist and the antagonist.
2. It mirrors the catalyst/opportunity.
3. A definitive winner emerges.
4. If the protagonist wins, they do so by using the lessons they learned during their journey.
5. The victor (whomever it may be) achieves their goal.

To illustrate how these elements can be used to craft a perfect climax, let’s use Star Wars: A New Hope as an example. In a nutshell, here’s what happens in this important scene:

Luke Skywalker uses his Jedi training to destroy the Death Star, crippling the Empire and sending the enemy packing. Peace and safety are restored to the galaxy.

It’s the final showdown between the protagonist and the antagonist.

Luke’s fight to destroy the Death Star is the last confrontation between him and his enemy in this story. It should be noted that the true villain here isn’t a tangible one that Luke can face off against; it’s the empire. But every protagonist needs a physical adversary to battle. That’s provided in the form of Darth Vader, and Luke’s defeat of the empire is also a defeat for him. It’s a good reminder that if your hero is going up against an antagonistic force rather than an actual person, you’ll want to introduce a physical antagonist for them to fight against.

It mirrors the catalyst/opportunity.

Luke’s catalyst occurs back on Tatooine, when he’s invited to learn the ways of the Jedi and help the Rebellion defeat the empire. The climax mirrors this as the journey he began culminates in him destroying the Death Star. It’s also a nice touch that the person who offered Luke his catalyst opportunity (Obi-Wan) shows up unexpectedly in the climax to remind his protégé that he must use his Jedi training if he wants to succeed.

A definitive winner emerges.

This is made clear in the rout of the empire and the medal ceremony that follows.

If the protagonist wins, they do so by using what they’ve learned.

Luke is unsuccessful in destroying the Death Star until he embraces the lessons he learned from Yoda—mainly, his knowledge of and connection with the Force.

The victor (whomever it may be) achieves their goal.

Luke’s goal was twofold: learn the ways of the Jedi and defeat the empire. Thanks to Yoda, he has begun his journey to becoming a Jedi and has completed the first part of his objective. With the destruction of the empire, he achieves the second.

A Few Caveats

The protagonist won’t always win.

If you’re writing a tragedy, such as The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Into the Wild, or Up in the Air, the hero will fail to defeat their adversary and/or achieve fulfillment and improve themselves.

Maybe they’re unsuccessful because they didn’t learn what they needed to learn, or they weren’t able to fully embrace those lessons during the final confrontation. Sometimes, their internal conflict remains unresolved, and they allow self-doubt, fear, pride, or another habit or hang-up to rule the day. It’s also possible that they achieve their goal only to discover that it was a false goal—one that made things worse or ended up ruining them.

If your protagonist is doomed for failure, element #4 becomes inverted: they don’t succeed precisely because they haven’t gained the knowledge they needed or they failed to utilize it when it mattered. The rest of the key ingredients remain the same, regardless of who wins.

Quiet climaxes can be just as effective.

While many thrillers, suspense, and action movies require a gargantuan clash at the end, other kinds of stories don’t necessarily need this. The climax of Pride and Prejudice, for example, happens with Lizzy and Mr. Darcy going for a simple walk. They don't even argue at this point. Instead, they admit their past failings, express their love for each other, and decide to get married.

It's a quiet climax that still achieves its purpose. It is their final confrontation as antagonists and happens at the right point in the third act. Lizzy's recognition of pride as her fatal flaw allows her to overcome it and find true happiness with Mr. Darcy. And her choosing him for a husband reflects the catalyst (her determination when she first met him to have nothing to do with him).

This is something to keep in mind if you’re writing the kind of story that calls for a low-key resolution. A quiet climax can work as long as it does what it’s supposed to do.

As you can see, the climax is important, both for your characters and readers. And the necessary elements for this moment can be applied to all kinds of stories, giving you a blueprint for success when writing this vital scene.

Do you have any questions for Becca? What are some of your favorite climax moments in books or movies? Please share them with us down in the comments!

About Becca

Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and other resources for writers. Her books have sold over 500,000 copies and are available in multiple languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.