Inside The Cover Book Reviews
Review by Theresa Schwegel

Psychology For Screenwriters: Building Conflict in Your Script
By William Indick, Ph.D.
Michael Wiese Productions
September 2004
320 pages
Screenwriting
Amazon.com price: $18.33

William Indick, Ph.D.’s "Psychology For Screenwriters: Building Conflict in Your Script" is a textbook for all those interested in creating emotionally charged stories and motivated characters. Using a mix of psychology, philosophy, and popular film, Dr. Indick helps writers delve into their stories through the minds of their characters and their audiences.

That said, this work is not a map for story writing. Indick believes “psychoanalysis and screenwriting are two sides of the same coin [as they are] both creative arts aimed at the investigation of the human character, mind and soul.” Therefore, Indick analyzes popular psychology as it relates to character development, which in turn drives stories. It isn’t simple.

Indick begins, as most scholars would, with Sigmund Freud. He examines Oedipal themes and their extensions. For example, as Freud assumes everything begins in the unconscious, Indick posits that themes of powerlessness and impotence stem from castration anxiety. Indick then links these themes to character motivation (Jack Nicholson in The Shining, anyone?)… complicated, yes. But aren’t we all.

Indick continues through Freud’s theories of Neurotic Conflict, Psychosexual Stages, Ego Defense Mechanisms, and Dreamwork (by the way, he thinks the secret to writing a good villain is to get in touch with your inner id. I’m not sure how that works, but maybe he’ll tell us in his next book). Indick says the id is responsible for a lot of bad behavior; the ego, on the other hand, is the key to any good hero. It is the angel of appropriate social behavior that sits on the hero’s shoulder, whispering about moral reconciliation. Let’s not forget the superego; I’ll just say it all goes back to the hero’s need to identify with his father (but didn’t he want to kill his father? Like I said: complicated).

Indick continues with Erik Erikson and his theories of Normative Conflict and Identity Crisis. Indick says Erikson based much of his work on Freud’s; I got the feeling Erikson translated the inner conflict we struggle with from infancy to the inner conflict many of us call midlife crisis.  The film American Beauty fits this category well.

Next up for Indick: Carl Jung. Basically, he modeled his psychology on archetypes, in which we are all the same, but have many sides, so we identify with all others on one level or another. We are, in fact, predisposed to connect with the good and the bad, the persona and the shadow—just like Norman Bates in Psycho (I can’t say I ‘identify,’ though).  There are dozens of archetypes for both character and plot, all generic enough to say, “yeah, I get that.” But the big question is: do you or I want to write about it?

Part Four in “Psychology for Screenwriters” is an examination of Joseph Campbell. If you’re a screenwriter or a writer of any kind, you’ll know better (just read Campbell). In Chapter Eleven, though,

Indick presents an interesting aside to Campbell called The Heroine’s Journey. The heroine does more than follow the hero’s course, and she actually faces greater risk when she embarks on her journey (Erin Brockovich is the well-used example),

Part Five is Alfred Adler. Adler was a colleague of Freud’s, but he believed Oedipus’ behavior came from feelings of inferiority and sibling rivalry (rather than hating your father, you hate yourself and your brother). Indick examines child heroes like Pinnochio and Harry Potter to make this theory clear. As we get older, Adler says, we struggle with inferiority and inadequacy as they relate to our goals and dreams, and we choose lifestyles that are akin to our desires. Just like Clark Kent.

Finally, Indick analyzes Rollo May. His theory centers around existential conflict, which I can best describe as being benched at a championship basketball game, Teammates are playing, fans are cheering, and you can’t do anything about the outcome. This is life, passing you by. You are a spectator.

This theory gets to the heart of why I believe the following profound and obvious statement: “Writers write.” Sure, we read, we watch movies, we observe. But ultimately, we are not spectators. And if we want to create rich characters, we aren’t going to get them from another book, no matter how informative it is (sorry Dr. Indick).

I admit my reluctance to applaud the connections Indick makes between psychology and story. I guess it’s because, in my opinion, regurgitating theory and backing it up with characters from Jerry Maguire just won’t help me figure out why my characters want what they want.  Yes, Indick knows psychology, and yes, he can analyze film characters, but as a writer, I feel Indick’s application is too academic. And, as a screenwriter, I don’t take comfort in the fact that most of his film research came from IMDB.com.

To be fair, Indick presents his case well, including the chapter summaries, charts, and follow-up questions he offers throughout the book. The book is definitely a refresher course in popular psychology, and it will certainly incite you to WRITE.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE BOOK. 

Theresa Schwegel is a freelance writer who just completed her first novel. A graduate of Loyola University Chicago, she holds a Masters degree in screenwriting from Chapman University.

Sponsored links

Ring binders

 

Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer!

How to find a book publisher

Home

Text on this site Copyright © 1998-2007 Absolute Write, all rights reserved.
Please contact the authors if you'd like to reprint articles on this site.  All copyrights are retained by original authors.  And plagiarizers will be rounded up, handcuffed, and stuck into a very small and humid room wherein they must listen to Barney sing the "I Love You, You Love Me" song over and over again.

writers writing software