Want to Contribute?
To contribute, click the Contact link on the left or send an email to the webmaster AT archetypewriting DOT com.
We're interested in articles on:
- The craft of writing (writing, editing, proofing)
- Queries, proposals, pitches, and other aspects of publishing fiction. We're willing to look at information on e-publishing or self-publishing as long as it's a legitimate educational piece and not just veiled advertising.
- The writing life
- Genre writing
- Creativity (both from the psychological side and the writer's side).
- Psychology that is accessible to laypersons and relevant to writing or the creative process.
- The psychology, creative process, psychological problems, or writing of famous people
Contributions by people who are in media psychology, entertainment, and mental health organizations are also welcome!
Individual articles remain copyrighted by their authors.
All articles should follow the American Psychological Association's suggestions on how to remove bias 
from language. The point is to avoid reducing someone to his or her problem. If you've ever been called "brace face," "four eyes," or some other playground slur, you know it's no fun to be reduced to one little thing that isn't even your fault.
So rather than calling someone "a schizophrenic," we say "a person who has schizophrenia." Rather than saying, "the mentally ill," we say " a person with a mental illness." The APA site has a lot more examples.
If you're wondering why "problematic" uses of words appear in psychological resources like college textbooks, it probably has a lot to do with when the psychological professional was trained. The more recent the training, the more likely the person is to have been formally schooled in the use of unbiased language.
Examples of media portrayals will be considered if they
- Explicitly warn readers about any spoilers
- Set up the information so someone who isn't familiar with the media example can still get something out of reading about it
- Explain how the portrayal does a good job of accurately capturing psychological/psychiatric practices, ideas, values, etc. (if the portrayal is an example of an accurate portrayal)
- Explain how the portrayal differs from the information generally accepted as accurate in the fields of psychiatry and/or psychology (if the portrayal contains inaccurate information) and what changes might be made to improve accuracy
Visual contributions will be considered if
- Screencaps or scans are clear
- You're able to do all of the things detailed in "examples of Media Portrayals will be considered..."
Please note
At the present time we're unable to provide pay for articles or book excerpts, but we do offer the publicity and publication credit associated with the article. We reserve the right to say no to any pitch or suggestion, and to edit submitted articles.
Given the nature of the site, we're especially picky about three things
- Submissions must be professional -- formatted, proofread, and spellchecked.
- Jargon and other psychology-speak must be made accessible to people who haven't studied psychology extensively. Even if you know a particular phrase or term is explained elsewhere on the site, please make the information in the article self-contained. (Do feel free to hyperlink to other pages in the site to provide additional explanation.)
- Please don't send anything that perpetuates obvious psychology stereotypes.
Please submit articles in the body of an email; if you must send an attachment, please state in the body of the message what's in the attachment. Likewise, if you send an image, make sure you tell me in the body of the message what you've attached.
Finally, if you send something, please be patient! We'll get back to you as soon as we can!
