The Definition of Psychological Realism

The Definition of Psychological Realism Psychological realism is a style of writing that came to prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  It’s a highly character-driven genre of fiction writing, as it focuses on the motivations and internal thoughts of characters to explain their actions. A writer of psychological realism seeks to show not only what the characters do but also to explain why they take such actions. Theres often a larger theme in psychological realism novels, with the author expressing an opinion on a societal or political issue through his or her characters. However, psychological realism should not be confused with psychoanalytic writing or surrealism, two other modes of artistic expression that flourished in the 20th century and focused on psychology in unique ways. Dostoevsky and Psychological Realism An excellent example of this genre (although the author himself didn’t necessarily agree with the classification) is Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. This 1867 novel (first published as a series of stories in a magazine in 1866) centers on Russian student Radion Raskolnikov and his plan to murder an unethical pawnbroker. Raskolnikov needs the money, but the novel spends a great deal of time focusing on his self-recrimination and his attempts to rationalize his crime.   Throughout the novel, we meet other characters who are engaged in distasteful and illegal acts motivated by their desperate financial situations: Raskolnikovs sister plans to marry a man who can secure her familys future, his friend Sonya prostitutes herself because she is penniless. In understanding the characters motivations, the reader gains a better understanding of the conditions of poverty, which was Dostoevskys  overarching goal.   American Psychological Realism: Henry James American novelist Henry James also used psychological realism to great effect in his novels. James explored family relationships, romantic desires and small-scale power struggle through this lens, often in painstaking detail.   Unlike Charles Dickens realist novels (which tend to level direct criticisms at social injustices) or Gustave Flauberts realist compositions (which are made up of lavish, finely-ordered descriptions of varied people, places, and objects), James works of psychological realism focused largely on the inner lives of prosperous characters. His most famous novels- including The Portrait of a Lady, The Turn of the Screw, and The Ambassadors- portray characters who lack self-awareness but often have unfulfilled yearnings. Other Examples of Psychological Realism James emphasis on psychology in his novels influenced some of the most important writers of the modernist era, including Edith Wharton and T.S. Eliot. Whartons The Age of Innocence, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1921, offered an insiders view of upper-middle-class society. The novels title is ironic since the main characters of Newland, Ellen, and May, operate in circles that are anything but innocent. Their society has strict rules about what is and isnt proper, despite what its inhabitants want.   As in Crime and Punishment, the inner struggles of Whartons characters are explored to explain their actions, while at the same time the novel paints an unflattering picture of their world.   Eliots best-known work, the poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, also falls into the category of psychological realism, although it also could be classified as surrealism or romanticism as well. Its definitely an example of stream of consciousness writing, as the narrator describes his frustration with missed opportunities and lost love.

How To Write Every Day (and why you should)

How To Write Every Day (and why you should) How To Write Every Day (and why you should) How To Write Every Day (and why you should) By Ali Hale If you aspire to be a writer, and read tips from well known authors, you’ll have come across the advice that you should write every day. Sharon suggested this in the best way to start out in freelance writing: I recommend writing every day, even if it’s only for a little while. It makes writing part of your daily routine and it makes it easy to draw on the skills you have built up even if a particular writing project isn’t very inspiring. And shes in good company. Stephen King (in On Writing) tells fiction writers to aim for a target of 1,000 words a day, six days a week. Julia Cameron’s bestselling book The Artist’s Way has popularised the idea of â€Å"the morning pages† – writing three pages in your journal when you wake up. And if you have a blog, whether a personal or professional one, you might well be trying to publish something new every day (perhaps you want to emulate the success of blogs like ‘Daily Writing Tips’ †¦ ;-)) Knowing that it’s a good idea to write every day, however, doesn’t make it easy to do so! Often, you’ll be busy and struggle to find a chance to write – and when you do have the time, you may not feel creative. Here’s how to write fiction, journal entries or blog posts every day: Fiction I’ve found it easiest to write daily when I’m working on a longer piece of fiction, such as a novel. End each day in the middle of a scene (or even in the middle of a sentence), and you’ll never be faced with a blank screen at the start of your writing session. Have a target number of words or pages to aim for each day – perhaps working towards a deadline. I’d strongly recommend taking part in NaNoWriMo this November (or doing your own novel writing month before then); to â€Å"win† you have to write 50,000 words in a month – averaging 1,667 per day. It’s challenging, but will definitely help you to establish the daily writing habit! If you’re working on short stories, and aiming to write every day, I’d urge you to count planning, outlining and editing as part of your writing. You might find you need to allocate a day for coming up with ideas (brainstorming), a day for planning in more detail, then three or four days to write the first draft. Journal You don’t need to write in your journal first thing in the morning. If, like me, you’re a â€Å"morning person†, you might well find it’s a good time to think through your plans and hopes for the day in writing †¦ but for many people, finding time to journal before breakfast just isn’t practical. The important thing with daily journaling is to be consistent with when you do it. Pick a time of day when you’ll always write in your journal (before breakfast, during your lunch hour, last thing at night before you go to bed) and it will quickly become a habit. Also, try to see your journaling as a treat – a little chunk of time set aside just for you and your thoughts. It might help to buy a really nice notebook to write in (I have a lovely A4 hardback one for my journal), or to have your favourite drink or snack during your journaling time. Blogging Just because you want to publish a post every day doesn’t mean you have to write one each day: many bloggers write several posts ahead of time (perhaps at the weekend, if they have full-time jobs) then publish them throughout the week. Skellie, for example, suggests: Set aside one morning or afternoon on the quietest day of the week where you will write all non-news posts for the following seven days. However, if you have a news-orientated blog, you’ll need to cover stories as and when they break – writing and publishing on the same day. Or if your blog is a personal diary, you might be trying to keep it updated daily (especially if you’re posting your achievements towards a goal). In these situations, a deadline and a sense of responsibility to your readers can work wonders. Promise on your blog that there’ll be a new post each day, then set yourself a private daily deadline (eg. 8pm) and aim to hit â€Å"publish† before then. Even when you’re not in the mood to write, the embarrassment of letting your readers down will motivate you to get typing†¦ Are you trying to write every day? What sort of writing are you doing – and is it going well? Do you have any great advice for other Daily Writing Tips readers who want to establish a daily writing habit? Let us know with the comment form below! Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Examples of Passive Voice (And How To Fix Them)Proved vs. ProvenPrepositions to Die With