WEBINARS

Pitch Wars Webinars Presents…

Realistically & Authentically Portraying Psychological Disorders in Your Fiction

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide struggle with mental health concerns, including depression, PTSD, panic, and OCD. Most of our lives have been touched by these challenges in some way. Yet these aren’t always well-understood, and inaccurate portrayals in fiction abound. As a Clinical Psychologist, I am troubled when I read books that get it wrong. I have spent thousands of hours working with people who are coping with these concerns. Part of my job as a psychotherapist is to understand each individual and to help them gain new insights into their symptoms, how they impact their thinking and behavior, and how that impacts their emotions.

In this webinar, will share some of what I’ve learned from my work. I will talk through symptoms of these diagnoses, so as to consider not only what symptoms actually look like in real people, but how they impact thinking and behavior/functioning. I’ll comment on the symptoms that tend to show up often in fiction, and highlight symptoms that are actually very central to the presentation of these diagnoses that are more subtle/harder to portray/or just not as commonly seen in fiction. I’ll also present some comparison and contrasting to highlight how there can be some very significant differences between different diagnoses but also a great deal of overlap. My hope is that this webinar forms one part of the authors’ research into mental health concerns, which should also include seeking out direct conversations with folks dealing with these concerns personally along with reading resources from reputable sources and seeking sensitivity reads.

The Details . . .

Date: Wednesday, June 28

Time: 8:30 pm – 10pm ET

Cost: $20 to attend the webinar

Please note: There is a 50 person limit for the webinar

About Jessica Bayliss . . .

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Jessica Bayliss is a fiction author who loves all things reading and writing. A clinical psychologist by day and a writer all the time, her genre-bending fiction holds a little something for everyone. She has been a lover ghost tales and horror since her days scanning VHS rental shelves—admittedly with eyes half-averted from the gory covers—so a touch of the mysterious always finds a home in Jessica’s work. Romance with a dash of supernatural. Horror with a bit of humor. You get the gist. Jessica also writes across age groups, whether young or not-so-young. Because one cannot live on writing alone, Jessica also spends a great deal of time with friends and family. She is a lover of all animals especially one very special Havanese. She also loves to eat, cook, and exercise—in that order—and is a firm believer that coffee makes the world a better place.

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About Pitch Wars Webinars . . .

The Pitch Wars webinar series was developed to help writers at every stage of their careers. Mentors and industry experts will host webinars focused on pitching, publishing, developing craft, and more.

Pitch Wars is a contest where published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each, read their entire manuscript, and offer suggestions to shine it up for agents. The mentors work with their mentees for two months before an agent round. Learn more.