Psychology Today: Stories Are Psychology

Each characters growth or interaction is an awareness of attraction or danger.  This awareness can arise through experience and at times circumstances driving logic or feeling.  The following excerpt is from my latest Thriller book.

 

Phil felt like a distant observer around Nanci when she had more to say than most people.

Tonight he felt like Nanci and something else was watching him through her.  Had she responded to something she wasn’t telling him about!  Knowing Nanci it wouldn’t take her long to start talking about it if there was something he should know.

She had begun to have a certain tone of interrogation in her speech.  He didn’t really like being questioned in that manner.  Why would she interrupt to try and block progress!

He remembered what Nar did to Nanci and realized she probably did sound more in charge than Nar would want.  He hadn’t ever voiced being in charge like Nanci was driven to.

He suspected Nar might plan to inflict the same injury on him.  Why Nanci would confront him with Nar’s behavior made sense now.  Possible she was trying to drag him into a bad situation.  She would have to be watched even more closely without feeling trapped.  He had no desire to be tortured; all he could do was complete his work as usual, he was the supervisor in charge.

Several network supervisors walked into his office.  “Phil, the devices have been picked up for distribution,” a network member said.  “Some of the members want to know if you have additional information for them before they leave.

Phil hadn’t expected a follow up for instructions he had already given.  That was beginning to fit in with Nanci’s reactions.  There was something else he had noticed barely discernible about some of the members.  They seemed to be getting somewhat distant and a little disjointed when they spoke.  In fact even the air around him seemed to change when they were present.  He knew there was nothing about them that was familiar to him; yet it seemed they had become almost non-human and dangerous with more demands.  He decided he would ignore it unless something really drastic happened, then he would deal with them.

“There is something that has come to my attention,” Phil said.  “We are moving ahead with our mission.  Make sure you tell everyone they are not expendable.  Nothing has changed we are assured of success; we have the upper hand, a technology that can’t be surpassed and the intelligence behind it that will last forever never changing.”

“We’ll get the news out to network personnel,” the member said.  “They need to know what is happening so they can make plans and move forward.”

“Our helicopters on the ships off shore and from other inland areas will be flying through for moral,” Phil said.  “They can land anywhere is the idea.  They are less obvious for us than jets.”

“Nar and his battle group are here to support us and be visible,” a member said.  “We know his battle group will interact in our defense.  We just haven’t seen that happen yet.”

“Nar is waiting for all of the devices to be delivered.  Then we begin our offensive for complete control,” Phil said.  He looked around the room.  “We are more effective with the devices; this is not a tug of war.  Nar is going have a complete overwhelming success and we are destined to rule earth for Nar.”

“Have patience, Nar and his battle group will come in visibly above us surrounding all of us and then defend us,” Phil told them.  “Keep in mind we are the ground forces and they are the air support.”

Phil clicked a switch on a small control panel.  One of his wall screens lit up.  “This is from one of our surveillance cameras covering a valley to the east,” he said.  “Hundreds of Nar’s battle group are gathered for our support.  You can see them hovering in a square formation.  They have gone to great lengths for us to avoid detection.  There are countless valleys like this around the world.  They are well organized and have continually defended us with wavelengths from individual and group craft.”

My Thriller book:  Secret Terror In Wavelengths, has a Techno element.  If interested it can be found on   http://www.amazon.com/Janett-Lee-Wawrzyniak/e/B005K55SMK  and purchased or ordered from over 25,000 booksellers worldwide.

 

#Character And Word Order

Especially challenging to the interesting character of choice are the situations they are put into.  Grip your reader and return them safely, a lot has happened in full circle.  There are options to arrange speech for maximum effect.  Closeness to the characters emotion and action levels can end with a unity of life going on.

The following excerpt from my Thriller book:  Secret Terror In Wavelengths, has a Techno element.  If interested it can be found on   http://www.amazon.com/Janett-Lee-Wawrzyniak/e/B005K55SMK  and purchased or ordered from over 25,000 booksellers worldwide.

Jay and Leo wasted no time in taking charge of the network device.  The device was now on a table in one of the back offices was hooked up to testing equipment.  Everything about the device was being input into their computer system.

A thick red glow streamed through the huge plate glass windows into the dining room.  It surrounded dinner guests, while most of them were still seated.

With the red glow came a cold electric feeling that caused a sense of apprehension that something sinister had entered.  That feeling was caused by the very real wavelengths surrounding them; that everyone in Nar’s dimension lived in daily.  Just the nearness of the UFO’s close observation of people caused the unsettling feeling.

Guests near the windows stood to watch, and everyone could see the UFO’s outside hovering.  It lasted more than twenty minutes, and then the bizarre red glow receded back to the UFO.

Guests and members watched from the windows as the UFO’s headed in a flight to the south.  Everyone’s sensing and thoughts returned to normal when the UFO’s were a distance away.  Their dining room was warm and comfortable again; many people breathed a sigh of relief when the excruciating ordeal had ended.

For what seemed like a small eternity Knoton and Anton looked through the windows.

“We’ll tell the Commander about this as soon as he comes back from the offices,” Knoton said quietly.  “The UFO’s showing up outside the windows affecting everyone like that is not what anyone expected.  They seem to have caused a connection we haven’t been able to confirm ever before.”

Looking down on the device setting on a work table, the Commander said, “Leo we have to duplicate the wavelength from this device and Nar’s wavelength so we can block them.”

“We’re working on it, and once we have that from the intensities, let’s search out to locate the wavelength from Stephen’s faster quantum dimension.”

“I’m with you on that, measure, trace and track to block Nar and the network from anywhere,” the Commander said.

Ways Readers Believe your Story

Action for characters can also describe the motions they use to get to their goal.  When possible act out the moves for those motions yourself.  Where needed, the written details of sight, sound, smell and touch help make a believable character.  This can also help your characters transition toward the next scene.  The following are character examples in action.

He couldn’t call for help; it began to seem he wouldn’t likely be found.  Realizing the threat Jay broke into an unrestrained run up the street in his dress uniform.

It is just possible; he thought there might be time to avoid the incoming craft and ran toward the left cross street.

Jay was forced to run toward the craft.  He would be able to get to the cross street; it gave a greater distance away, from the crafts closing angle of approach.

Jay put together his escape.  He saw hedges ahead; he would turn right along the tall hedges, up the next street and he would be home.  In a full run his knees were waist level and legs stretching out.

He heard the graveled pavement under his dress shoes crunch grinding loose rock.  But not enough rock to slide him off balance.  If it did he knew he would get up and keep running.

The neighbors had heard him running and watched his approach.  To his right a group of neighbors stood looking out from there porch.  One of them with an overhead arm motion toward Jay yelled, “Why are you running?”

Details can make your story seem to be true.  Details are how we know what we know.