wracklemomma-blog

[wracklemomma-blog]

Reminisce Pilot

I know, pilot is more for a tryout for a series.  Or someone that can operate airplanes, but I’m talking about the tryout part.

So to get the ball rolling, and to help me get more inspiration to record and write more scripts [to be honest, the part that’s getting me is my voice.  I really don’t like the way I sound but it is more genuine when my thoughts are conveyed through my voice I think.  Gotta jump that hurdle.] I figure I put some of my reminiscing out there and also get some things cleared up for those interested in trying this out with me.

As I said in my first post, I want to compare some positive memories of my childhood with circumstances of particular cartoons that I watched when I was younger.  I don’t want to exactly compare the “golden age” to the present date because everyone is different.  People have different decades that they think are the best, and others think those decades were the worst.  I grew up in the 1990′s and early 2000′s.  I’ve heard of different trendy decades through history and other media that have otherwise glamorized or demonized them, that media is usually entertaining so the biases are earned in that regard.

Anyways I don’t want to come off as the crotchety old hag who thinks these darn kids can’t respect their elders or don’t know how to work hard, etc.  I mainly want to be as positive or neutral as I can be.  I shouldn’t have insinuated before about being 100% positive recollections, I know or at least have a decent grasp on the concept that there are bad memories, tragic memories, and even traumatic memories.  Those memories change us as much as the good ones do.  At least that’s just my opinion.

Psychology aside, and if you’re still there, glad you are hanging in there :D

I think I will use As Told By Ginger conjecture because I sort of binged a few episodes today, and they have been discussed by other YouTube people.  Particularly a channel called Old School Lane made a huge podcast series reviewing each episode.

Here it goes:

I think I’ll go with “Sleep On it” episode.  For those who haven’t heard of or don’t remember that episode, the short hand version is “the preppy girl” (usually the girl that is the trendsetter or the most popular, in this case she’s the rich and popular girl) invites “the normal girl” (in this case the namesake character Ginger) to a party (a slumber party) and shenanigans happen.  I’ll probably explain it more in detail later as far as the plot synopsis goes.

In this case, I actually remember my first time at what I called a “preppy party” which was a party of girls who tried to do more fashionable “adult” stuff-HOLD ON, we were in second grade so not that kind of adult stuff.  Basically focusing on makeup and dress up.

It was a girl’s birthday party (granted because it was second grade and I am 30+ years old, I only want to divulge what I remember.  I don’t want to embellish too much and I invite the girl I had the party with to step forward if I get any details wrong :D) and from what I remember, she was only a prep to me because she had pretty clothes and confidence.  Now that I think about it in retrospect.  But she had pretty clothes and some nice toys so my second grade mind thought she was preppy/popular.  I came there with a gift, as you usually do.  We played games, ate cake and she opened all of her presents.  Honestly, I don’t remember what I got her but since you usually bring a present to a birthday party, I figure I did get her something.

I also remember the girls were often giggling with each other, and I did have the feeling of being left out until she brought me closer to the group near the bed (SERIOUSLY, we were in second grade, no shenanigans.) and they offered to give me a makeover.  It was a pretty prevalent memory because for the first time (in elementary school) I felt like I belonged.  I also felt pampered while they put on (most likely her mother’s old) makeup and tried to braid my hair.

When I went to leave with my mom though, I could hear them giggling once more.  Maybe they purposely made me ugly or they were genuinely proud of their work? Not sure to this day but I was happy that I got invited to a preppy girl’s birthday party (mainly because I was a loner in elementary school.  I didn’t make what I would consider “good friends” until middle school.) and that for a brief moment, I was accepted into a clique.

Hanging in there? Awesome! :D

Cut to-what I want to call “a review” of the episode.  Though I will probably go into more detail on YouTube.

Ginger is meant to be the normal kid of course.  She has a mix of different skills: she’s a science whiz, good at volleyball, she’s a poet, has enough confidence to stand up to Courtney but apparently not enough to stand up to the...entire group?  It changes by episode.  So when she is invited by Courtney it apparently is a big deal.  Ginger’s friend Dodie says it’s a big deal, so I guess it’s a big deal?

I didn’t really do sleepovers or host sleepovers until I was in middle school.  And I don’t count the one or two times my sister and I spent the night at the neighbor’s house since they were pretty much family and we didn’t do the stuff that these girls did at the slumber party.  Not saying that if you don’t do those exact games then it’s not officially a slumber party, just the fact that they had games-we never did that when we spent the night.  Basically we did play during the afternoon, but then we’d eat dinner.  Maybe watch a cartoon, and then either go to bed or play Barbies then go to bed.

Was going to go for something but I lost it.  Oh well, keeping this messy word soup up.  Let me know what you think :D

[wracklemomma-blog]

Dumb question but read me out. I'm new to Tumblr and though I a consider myself a hobbyist writer I'm curious about this. Is this therapy helpful more to character/world building? Or more like a side note to keep the characters in line so (as the author) [you] don't seem inconsistent to the audience? Genuinely curious because I have a character that keeps surprising me -_- then again I am considered a "pantser" and not a plotter.

Writing a Person-Centered Therapy Session

Writing a therapy session can often be daunting.  There are so many different approaches to therapy that it’s downright impossible to say “this is how all therapy looks.”

So I’m going to be writing brief guides to help y’all figure out what kind of therapist you should write depending on what purpose the therapy session serves within your story.

We’re gonna start with person-centered therapy, because it’s by far the easiest to write.

The whole idea behind person-centered therapy is that all that you need for a client to change is to really be nonjudgmental, understanding, and 100% there for the client. There’s no fancy techniques. The therapist just builds up a relationship with the client, and does their best to understand them.

What person-centered therapy is best for narratively:

The client character gets to express all the emotions they really feel inside, in a safe environment with no consequences to outside relationships. It’s a great way to show, not tell, your readers what your character is going through.

Advantages of using person-centered therapy:

You don’t have to worry about characterizing the therapist very deeply or learning fancy therapeutic techniques. Just make your therapist a good listener who never gives outright advice, and it’s hard to go wrong.

The client character is the driving force behind the session. You get to explore the client’s emotions in depth, without worrying about the therapist interfering or changing things.

It is especially effective in cases where your client character feels like no one listens to them, or that they can’t express their emotions to others in the outside world.

Disadvantages of using person-centered therapy:

The client character is carrying the weight of the scene. You have to already know exactly where your character is going before you start writing it.

Person-centered therapy is often inadequate for treating certain severe disorders on its own. 

If you need to have an outsider tell your character what they need to be doing, you can’t use person-centered therapy.

How to portray a person-centered therapist:

Kind, compassionate, caring, an amazing listener.  

Tends to nod & say “mmhmm” or “oh?” a lot.

Leans towards the client character; pays full attention to them at all times.

Speaks less frequently than the client character.

Tends to mirror what the client character is expressing to build their understanding of the client’s experience

“It seems like you’re saying…”

“You sound like…”

Really looks at how the client character is reacting emotionally during the session

Important: a person-centered therapist will NEVER tell the client character what to do or how to solve their problems. The client is completely capable of figuring it out themself if the therapist can provide a safe environment for them to explore the issue in.

So what does a person-centered therapy session actually look like? Let’s find out!

The following are some excerpts of this video, which is a filmed session between a woman, Gloria, and Carl Rogers, who founded person-centered therapy. Highly recommend watching this; there’s other videos with Gloria seeing other famous therapists that I will be discussing in future parts.

Gloria: I don’t know if [my 9 year old daughter] can accept me the way I am. I think I paint a picture that I’m all sweet and motherly. And – I’m a little ashamed of my shady side too. 

Rogers: Mhm, mhm. I see. It really cuts a little deeper. If she really knew you, would she, could she accept you?  

Gloria: This is what I don’t know. Yeah. I don’t want her to turn away from me. 

Rogers: That relationship-

Gloria: And I don’t even know how I feel about it because there are times when I feel so guilty like when I have a man over, I even try to make a special set‑up so that if I were ever alone with him, the children would never catch me in that sort of thing. Because I’m real leery about it.

Rogers: Mhm.

Gloria: And yet I also know that I have these desires.

Rogers: And so it’s quite clear it isn’t only her problem or the relationship with her, it’s in you as well.  

Gloria: And my guilt. Yeah. Yeah. I feel guilty so often. `

And later on, Rogers is super aware of how Gloria is expressing her emotions, and looking at what that means:

Gloria: …I hate myself if I’m bad, but I also hate myself if I lie.

Rogers: I guess, judging from your tone of voice, you sound as though you hate yourself more when you lie than you do in terms of things you disapprove of in behavior.

Even later on, Rogers reflects what Gloria was saying, in a way that made Gloria feel understood:

Gloria: …This has really bothered me. This happened with Pammy about a month ago and it keeps coming to my mind. I don’t know whether to go back and talk to her about it or wait. She may have even forgotten what she asked me, but uh – it just-

Rogers: The point is, you haven’t forgotten.  

Gloria:  I haven… No, I haven’t.

So that’s kind of an overview of what person-centered therapy looks like! It’s not too bad, right? 

Disclaimer

[wracklemomma-blog]

This is kind of what I am working on quilt wise.  Got a bunch of fleece pieces so figure I try to make a quilt from it by hand.

[wracklemomma-blog]

So my friend started her Tumblr journey...

Then we went to the edge of a cliff and jumped-

Maybe I’ll hit the water swimming like she did or I’ll flounder and drown?  Dunno, but going to find out!

Granted, she has some really nifty information and I just want to find strangers to reminisce with while comparing it to specific cartoons.  Maybe I will find the audience I want, or friends.  I hope I can find both but we’ll see.

Anyways, aside from gaming (currently playing Shop Heroes in my own little town)/writing (fan fictions and my own fantasy stuff)/crafts (quilting, sewing, knitting, and weaving), and of course taking care of my little one, we watch YouTube quite a bit.  Well, got a pool so maybe the internet can get a break from time to time.

My choices for channels are pretty...varied?  I’ve gone into the drama channels (watching of course), documentaries (I am fascinated with some aspects of history), some DIYs, and old cartoons that hove into my recommended and that I remember watching when I was younger. 

 In particular, I want to try to make a series where I compare my own past with some of the circumstances that characters went through in those cartoons.  And I do mean the interactions and situations that those characters went through. Many of the old cartoons that I loved and will watch from time to time, I would guess is considered “slice of life” genres.  Basically somewhat real situations with morals and/or consequences.  I found those entertaining and fascinating because depending on the cartoon, there are times where there is dated content.

I do want to clarify my first idea for the series, reviewing Arthur by episode and putting it on YouTube.  Problems are that I am very new to video editing, and when it comes to adding video clips, it’s like another language to me.  I’d like to voice my own opinions and experiences because it’ll be fun and I’d love to interact with others who had or are going through childhood experiences, mainly good ones but I don’t want to discriminate the bad ones as long as it’s shaped the individuals in a positive light.  What can I say?  I am already a negative person, so I want to find some optimism to balance me out.

With all of the negativity in the news, (and drama channels, I know I can always walk away but sometimes I want to binge watch with a pint of ice cream) and the prospects for the future sometimes being dim, reminiscence (the good kind and moderately revisited) I believe can make life a little less crappy.  Of course, I’m not a doctor or a psychiatrist.  I’m a nerd mom who married another nerd and have a girly girl and a spunky ball of fluff.

I think that’s a good starting post, not edited very well but oh well.