Each person invests many of the objects in his life with his or her own unconscious meaning, each person subsequently voyages through an environment that constantly evokes the self's psychic history. Taking Freud's model of dreamwork as a model for all unconscious thinking, Christopher Bollas argues that we dreamwork ourselves into becoming who we are, and illustrates how the analyst and the patient use such unconscious processes to develop new psychic structures that the patient can use to alter his or her self experience. Building on this foundation, he goes on to describe some very special forms of self experience, including the tragic madness of women cutting themselves, the experience of a cruising homosexual in bars and bathes and the demented ferocity of the facist state of mind. An original interpreter of classical theory and clinical issues, in Being a Character Christopher Bollas takes the reader into the very texture of the psychoanalytic process.

Take control of your narrative and become the main character of your own life with these creative prompts, activities, and challenges to encourage you to start living your life on your terms. If you feel like your day always looks the same and are jealous of others who seem to be living their best life, it’s time to make a change. Start romanticizing your life today and become the main character of your story with this workbook filled with creative prompts, activities, and challenges to help you build confidence and a positive mindset to make ordinary moments extraordinary. With 70 activities and prompts, How to Be the Main Character guides you toward living your best life. The one where you move through your day with confidence, break out of your comfort zone, and exude the energy you want to attract. The one where you’re having random dance parties at home just because you feel like it, and you make running errands into a spontaneous adventure. How to Be the Main Character helps you shift your perspective so you can discover a new vibrance for life that you’ve only read about in stories!

From the author of Dreamology comes a young adult love story that blurs the line between reality and fiction… Annabelle’s life has always been Perfect with a capital P. Then bestselling young adult author Lucy Keating announces that she’s writing a new novel—and Annabelle is the heroine. It turns out that Annabelle is a character that Lucy Keating created. And Lucy has a plan for her. But Annabelle doesn’t want to live a life where everything she does is already plotted out. Will she find a way to write her own story—or will Lucy Keating have the last word? The real Lucy Keating’s delightful contemporary romance is the perfect follow-up for readers who loved her debut novel, which School Library Journal called “a sweet, quirky romance with appealing characters.”

Grade level: 2, 3, 4, 5, p, e, i, t.

Be yourself like Molly Lou Melon no matter what a bully may do. Molly Lou Melon is short and clumsy, has buck teeth, and has a voice that sounds like a bullfrog being squeezed by a boa constrictor. She doesn't mind. Her grandmother has always told her to walk proud, smile big, and sing loud, and she takes that advice to heart. But then Molly Lou has to start in a new school. A horrible bully picks on her on the very first day, but Molly Lou Melon knows just what to do about that.

"This book belongs on every fiction writer's bookshelf. Anyone who has ever had a story to tell and is dying to get it down on paper will find guidance and inspiration in GMC. The presentation is clear, immediate, and relevant to all writers--from novices to seasoned professionals. Experienced author Debra Dixon has done a magnificent job of demystifying the toughest aspect of fiction writing: that of a giving a story shape, form and urgency." -- Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling and RITA® Award winning author of over 40 novels and novellas "One of the best in her craft." -- Toronto Star "Goal, Motivation & Conflict is one of my all time favorites." -- Jane Porter (Flirting With Forty), award winning and bestselling author with 10 million books in print, in twenty languages and 25 countries Goal, motivation, and conflict are the foundation of everything that happens in the story world. Using charts, examples, and movies, the author breaks these key elements down into understandable components and walks the reader through the process of laying this foundation in his or her own work. Learn what causes sagging middles and how to fix them, which goals are important, which aren't and why, how to get your characters to do what they need for your plot in a believable manner, and how to use conflict to create a good story. GMC can be used not only in plotting, but in character development, sharpening scenes, pitching ideas to an editor, and evaluating whether an idea will work. Be confident your ideas will work before you write 200 pages. Plan a road map to keep your story on track. Discover why your scenes aren't working and what to do about it. Create characters that editors and readers will care about.

Captivate the hearts and minds of young adult readers! Writing for young adult (YA) and middle grade (MG) audiences isn't just "kid's stuff" anymore--it's kidlit! The YA and MG book markets are healthier and more robust than ever, and that means the competition is fiercer, too. In Writing Irresistible Kidlit, literary agent Mary Kole shares her expertise on writing novels for young adult and middle grade readers and teaches you how to: • Recognize the differences between middle grade and young adult audiences and how it impacts your writing. • Tailor your manuscript's tone, length, and content to your readership. • Avoid common mistakes and cliches that are prevalent in YA and MG fiction, in respect to characters, story ideas, plot structure and more. • Develop themes and ideas in your novel that will strike emotional chords. Mary Kole's candid commentary and insightful observations, as well as a collection of book excerpts and personal insights from bestselling authors and editors who specialize in the children's book market, are invaluable tools for your kidlit career. If you want the skills, techniques, and know-how you need to craft memorable stories for teens and tweens, Writing Irresistible Kidlit can give them to you.

Each person invests many of the objects in his life with his or her own unconscious meaning, each person subsequently voyages through an environment that constantly evokes the self's psychic history. Taking Freud's model of dreamwork as a model for all unconscious thinking, Christopher Bollas argues that we dreamwork ourselves into becoming who we are, and illustrates how the analyst and the patient use such unconscious processes to develop new psychic structures that the patient can use to alter his or her self experience. Building on this foundation, he goes on to describe some very special forms of self experience, including the tragic madness of women cutting themselves, the experience of a cruising homosexual in bars and bathes and the demented ferocity of the facist state of mind. An original interpreter of classical theory and clinical issues, in Being a Character Christopher Bollas takes the reader into the very texture of the psychoanalytic process.

An analysis of acting and characterization on stage, covering theories of character from Aristotle to Brecht and approaches from formalism to post structuralism. The Early Theatre Group have, over the last 5 years, used an experimental approach to performing some of the plays written about here.

Character can be defined as self-aware knowledge that helps the individual to set goals, values and ethical principles (Cloninger, 2004). This meta-cognitive dimension of human personality involves ‘Theory of Mind’, and is positively related to measures of well-being, mental health, and constructive behavior patterns. Research from at least three different fields, cultural (Shweder, Much, Mahapatra & Park, 1997), personality (Cloninger, 2004), and social psychology (Abele & Wojcizke, 2007) suggest that character can be organized along three broad principles: agency, which is related to the autonomy and the fulfillment and enhancement of the self; communion, which is related to engagement in the protection and relations to others such as families, companies or nations; and spirituality, which is related to the human ability to transcend the self and find and interconnection with all life and appreciation of the whole world around us (Haidt, 2006; Cloninger, 2013). Using the Temperament and Character Inventory (Cloninger, Svrakic & Przybeck, 1993) researchers have found that agentic (i.e., Self-directedness) and communal (i.e., Cooperativeness) values are associated to high levels of happiness, psychological well-being, and less violent behavior. Moreover, low Self-directedness and Cooperativeness is recurrent among individuals with all types of mental health problems, such as, depression, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and etcetera. Spirituality, in coherence with agency and communion, guides the individual to seek self-realization in harmony with others and nature in the changing world (Cloninger, 2013). Seeing character as self-awareness of the self in three dimensions has also been associated to human responsibility and empowerment. This research topic will focus on all article types that put forward findings regarding: • Character as a protective factor against mental illness. • Character’s association to conduct disorders and violent behavior. • Character as a promoter of happiness, life satisfaction, and well-being. • The etiology of character. • Longitudinal studies on character. • Agency, communion, and spirituality as broad dimensions for the conceptualization of positive measures of mental health. • Innovative methods to measure or conceptualize character. • Non-linear effects of character on mental health. • Character as a measure/conceptualization of responsibility. • Character in school and work place settings. • Character in relation to empowerment.