I am interviewing Margie Lawson, a wife and mother, who is also a writer, counseling psychologist, workshop presenter, keynote speaker, clinical trainer, sex therapist, director of an Impotence Clinic, hypnotherapist, and at one time a college professor. She holds a Master of Science degree in Counseling Psychology with an additional post-masters specialization in psychiatric counseling.
Though out the year, Margie breaks away from her busy schedule to speak at writing conferences and to present one and two-day writing/editing workshops. In 2008, she’s presenting in 16 cities across the U.S. and overseas. She offers on-line courses and Lecture Packets too.
Margie, I want to thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions about you and the class you taught in the Early Bird Session at the ACFW Conference "Empowering Characters' Emotions."
J.O. – What motivated you to begin teaching classes on writing?
M.L. When I got serious about writing fiction, I applied an analytical bent to my manuscripts. I challenged myself to learn how bestselling writers capture emotion on the page. We all know that bestselling doesn’t necessarily mean best-reading. I analyzed and dissected hundreds of books and separated them into two groups: page-turners and skimmers. I found thirty-plus skimmers to every page-turner.
I set the best-reading bar high. Initially, some books masquerade as page-turners then disappoint the reader. I wanted to learn how to write top-of-the-line page-turners, books that emotionally grab the reader on page one and never let go.
As a psychologist, I analyze what’s on the page as well as what’s missing that would have made that page stronger. I developed my first on-line course, “Empowering Characters’ Emotions,” because the editing techniques I developed were not available to writers anywhere.
The first time Empowering Characters’ Emotions was offered on-line, over 100 writers signed up. I didn’t realize that was large for an on-line course. I’d come home from work, pop on the computer, and respond to class e-mails--analyze, edit, and create Teaching Points--every night until 2AM. Having taught college courses in real classrooms for six years, it was easy for me to teach and connect with writers on-line.
Empowering Characters’ Emotions teaches writers how to use the full range of nonverbal communication, how to write fresh, how to analyze their writing using my EDITS System, and how to add emotional power.
A year later, I developed a second editing course, Deep Editing: The EDITS System, Rhetorical Devices, and More. This advanced course takes my EDITS System deeper so writers learn more about how to fix what’s not working. It also explores twenty-five rhetorical devices -- and how and when to use them. I also share more deep editing techniques to add power to the read.
One of those deep editing techniques is my five question checklist, appropriately titled the FIVE Q. When a writer applies those five questions and the multiple subsets to their scene . . . they know that scene carries emotive power.
Expanding to offer editing workshops at writing conferences, then full day master classes across the country, was a natural transition. I didn’t conceptualize and orchestrate a master plan to share my psychological expertise with writers. It’s one of those happy and fortuitous it-just-evolved stories.
J.O. - What is your continued motivation?
I love teaching writers how to analyze what they have on their pages, and make their writing stronger. It’s fun for me. I get to see light-bulbs and spotlights flash on in their Ah-Ha moments. I am making friends all over the world.
J.O. – What type of writing do you do? Fiction? Non-fiction? Genre? And what is your current work in progress?
M.L. – I do both. On the fiction side, I write psychological suspense. I coauthor with my husband – and our current work is FATAL FREEFALL. We make a strong writing team.
Don’t cringe! Honest – we have the best time brainstorming and plotting together. Then, we decide who writes which scenes – and we edit each other’s work. Given my propensity for deep editing, I dive into my scenes, as well as his scenes, and deep edit, deep edit, deep edit . . .
My nonfiction fun is writing my Deep Editing Power Workbook. The workbook covers the psychologically anchored editing systems and techniques that I created for my editing courses. The lectures for those two editing courses total over 550 pages. I’m developing a series of psychologically-anchored writing craft workbooks.
J.O. – In what way does your professional life relate to your writing and the classes you teach?
M.L. – In my clinical sessions, I analyze emotions and nonverbal behaviors of my clients -- then determine how I can best help them. In my writing world, I analyze how writers capture nonverbal behaviors and emotions on the page, and show them how to write them better.
I use my psychological expertise to analyze and dissect how some authors empower emotion, write fresh, and use structure, rhetorical style, and cadence to write to the reader’s unconscious. I teach writers how to hook the reader viscerally and turn their work into a page turner.
J.O. – From the class Empowering Characters' Emotions there were many key words you mentioned for writing success. I would like to throw three words out for you to give us some examples how we can use these in our writing.
1--Emotional Hits - What do you mean by this and how are we to apply these E-hits?
M.L. Emotional Hits are the number of times a writer adds power to a passage with a visceral reaction, nonverbal communication, or internalization. The following Deep Editing Analysis I wrote for Mary Buckham’s newsletter explains how Emotional Hits are used.
New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs uses multiple Emotional Hits of physically-based emotion to add power to her books. Here’s a passage from page 23 of THE WINTER LODGE. Look how she strengthens this panic attack.
Jenny felt the now-predictable pattern of the attack. There was the terrible tingling of her scalp, an army of invisible ants marching up her spine and over her head. Her chest tightened and her throat seemed to close. Despite the freezing temperatures, she broke out in a sweat. Then came the eerie pulsations of light, flickering in her peripheral vision.
We’ll analyze this according to what I call EMOTIONAL HITS. Each of the following gets one point: tingling scalp (1), ants up spine (2), ants over head (3), chest tight (4), throat seemed to close (5), sweating (6), pulsating light (7), flickering in peripheral vision (8).
I gave points to each detail that I felt added emotive power.
Susan Wiggs included eight Emotional Hits to add credibility to this character’s panic attack. Stack up your Emotional Hits with physically-based emotion and build a passage with psychological power.
J.O. 2--Nonverbal Communication - Why is nonverbal communication important and would you please give us some examples?
M.L. In the real world, 93% of all communication messages are nonverbal. Writers need to include a high percentage of nonverbal communication in each scene, or their scenes will not resonate as credible to the reader. We need those nuanced communication messages and emotional stimuli and responses. Nonverbal communication includes vocal cues, facial expressions, posture, spatial relationships, touch, and gestures.
Here’s an example from Toni McGee Causey’s novel, BOBBY FAYE’S VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY BAD DAY. The POV character interprets the nonverbals and shares a power internalization.
He’d never seen such a desperate expression in her eyes, not even the time she’d asked him to let Lori Ann go. There was a wave of absolute primal fear vibrating off her, and he knew she was calculating her shot odds as soon as she’d heard the SWAT running toward her.
J.O. 3--Complex Passages - You mention to link basics together to make a complex passage. How does this strengthen our MS and please give us an illustration of their use.
M.L. A Complex Passage is the second level in my Four Levels of Powering Up Emotion. To create a Complex passage, the writer uses two or three Emotional Hits to make their point. The writer uses the Four Levels of Powering Up Emotion to gauge the importance of the emotional message. The more critical the situation, the more Emotional Hits.
A Basic is one Emotional Hit. She smiled.
A Complex passage provides two or three Emotional Hits.
She squeezed my hand and gave me one of her I'm-harmless smiles, but it didn't work. I know her piranha tactics.
I added psychological power by turning SHE SMILED into a Complex treatment. I provided two nonverbals, used those nonverbals as a stimulus, provided the response, and added a power internalization. That Complex example delivers an emotional punch.
J.O. – If you had to choose the three most important points that you feel should be emphasized to the newbie writer-starting with the most important point first-what would the three points be?
M.L. – You ask tough questions! It would be easier to list my top fifty ways a writer could improve their work. ;-)))
1. Make your work fresh. Nix clichés and write nonverbals fresh.
2. Limit the number of lines the POV character is in their head. Using my EDITS System, writers know every line and paragraph where the POV character is thinking. Revise, tighten, turn part of it into dialogue, or cut. Paragraphs of thinking invite the reader to skim. And they do.
3. When the POV character experiences an emotional stimulus, include a visceral reaction as well as optional responses including dialogue, nonverbals, action, and internalizations.
J.O. – And how could these three points help the more experienced/published writer?
Those three points, as well as my psychologically anchored editing systems, techniques, and deep editing tips, help new writers and multi-published authors take their writing to a higher level.
J.O. – Before I close this interview, is there one writing truth that you would like to impart to all writers, published or unpublished?
ML – One writing truth? Yes. I’ve got it. :-)))
ONE WRITING TRUTH:
Making every line, page, and scene the best it can be, is tough. Writers have to sacrifice more time, more rewrites, more cutting, more deep editing, more brain-cells, than they can fathom, to make their writing soar.
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