What Is Psychic Distance? How To Create Reader-Character Connection

Psychic distance is one of those lil tools you can use to manage how your readers feel about your characters. And some other stuff, but we're mainly talking about this one today.
TOPICS
0:00 | What is psychic distance?
1:55 | Objective observation
3:57 | Indirect thought
4:31 | Direct thought
4:54 | Stream of consciousness
5:19 | How to use psychic distance strategically
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[@HannahLeeKidder]

visual learners (same): hannahleekidder.com/2023/06/26/psychic-distance-in-creative-writing-reader-character-connection/

[@colemanstein9554]

This is becoming one of my favorite writing channels. Keeping up with writing and staying inspired is so hard, but your advice gives direction. Thanks!

[@HannahLeeKidder]

Thank you so much! I'm glad it's helpful

[@sierrahargrave]

Sarah J Maas did this a lot in Throne of Glass, switching back and forth between calling the protagonist by her name and “the assassin” and it definitely bothered me. she did it almost every other description, like that’s one of the only things i remember from that book

[@HannahLeeKidder]

It ruins immersion so easy!

[@evelienheerens2879]

I like narrating from the I perspective. It allows me to have a POV character who does the narration in their own voice. It creates immersion because the way they describe things is suddenly not only a characterization of what they describe, but we also get characterization of the narrating character, because you get a sense of how they feel about what they describe. You also don't refer to yourself by your own name and if a character goes from calling a person Ella, to the dumb kid, or some other desciptor, it's because in that moment the character has strong judgemental feelings about they way the other person is acting. The increase in distance isn't an increase between the reader and the character, it's an increase in distance between the POV character and another character. How they refer to someone in their head can also tell you a lot about their relationship. Do they use a pet name, Call them my sister/mother/friend, or do they just use their name, or maybe an insult like. The hapless fool, of course, pushed the bloody button. There is so much you can play with. You just gotta do it on purpose. 😂

[@TimbrrWolfe]

Always a good time to learn about writing mechanics with that signature HLK flair (creepy things, dead stuff and such)

[@ecyinka]

the cut away to breaking bad took me out. 😂 great video

[@lumberjack5035]

Came for the Bionicle. Stayed for the lesson.

[@cdsteig]

You taught me this way back when and watching this, I realize it helped ground my narration more than I thought. Thanks again! 😊

[@HannahLeeKidder]

That slaps!

[@Fig_Faerie]

I've got a physic distance example that I think works- In a first chapter I'm working on a brother and sister are home alone processing a creepy encounter with a stranger. I use the distance created with "the boy" to indicate a head-hop to that same stranger hiding under one of their beds. For my scene I feel it adds like an out of control feeling on part of the reader, because they know the scary i'm-coming-for-your-eyes lady has been there the whole time, whispering about eyeballs while the POV character's convinced she's hallucinating.

[@Writingsabeast]

The after credits cut brings me life. More of that, and also the writing tips, I guess =P

[@HannahLeeKidder]

I've been feeling very 2013 youtube lately, so we're doing after credits and we're doing shit posting. did the thumbnail update for you yet, bc i rly can't tell if i'm gonna keep it up when it's live

[@Writingsabeast]

@@HannahLeeKidder LOL IT DID and I LOVE it

[@bobrown4609]

This is one of the most insightful writing vids I’ve seen. Great job, dude.

[@feathercompressor]

Good advice/reminder, also commenting to prod the algorithm bc channels like this (that actually contribute and don't just critique) are hard to find and deserve attention.

[@4-dman464]

Good writers know the value of both Immediacy and Distancing and how to get it. Spacing has a lot to do with Distancing. Space gives the reader a breather in pacing the narrative or even in getting over a difficult sentence. Space encourages the reader to reflect on connotations or gives the reader time to anticipate consequences. A cliff-hanger yields to Space. Space even allows the reader time to reflect on whether s/he agrees with the writer. That's why academic texts offer so little spacing in those clogged paras and cluttered footnotes. The rhetoric of scholarship is all about persuasion, and regardless of objectivity, scholars can't stand it when you dispute their findings, so their writing gives you little time to stop and think. 2 types of Space that good writers know the value of and how to get it: Conceptual space, and Typographic space. Conceptual space gives you time to ponder. Open questions can do it. Simplifying sentences: not saying everything all at once. Presenting parallel alternatives. Typographic space spreads out sentences and frames paras on the page. Margins. Colons. Em dashes. Shorter paras. Line breaks. Indents. The other half of all that is Immediacy, bring readers closer to a subject. There's a whole other bunch of techniques for that, for some other time. A good way to explore the possibilities of both Immediacy and Distancing is to find authors that are excellent at crafting one or the other. Kurt Vonnegut is best of all at Distancing, at Spacing. Herman Hesse is good, too. Tom Wolfe is fabulous at Immediacy. Hunter Thompson is good, too.

[@DerrekWayne]

wow good teaching here 5:35

[@tainoroyal6585]

Excellent advice!

[@ffstopP]

As usual, you're clear and concise. Very helpful. Thanks.

[@TelainaMuir]

Great examples. Thank you!

[@bill_jennings]

Wow! Just WOW! Rarely does a video hold my intense attention on the subject, but you, Hannah, really nailed it. Psychic distance; I need to work on that. And yeah, I'm going to watch this a few more times too. Good use of the stuffed toy to animate and emphasize the point near the end too.

[@sandlercruise7102]

Excellent, helpful and concise information. Thanks.

[@PaulRWorthington]

Great video! I used to be overly guilty of that last problem, using distant descriptions of characters that I have already closed in on… Now I try to make sure I do it only when switching point of view in a later chapter: I think it works to show how the second point of view character feels about the first.

[@blackmirrorprisoners]

This is a really great video. It wasn't something I had given much thought to and honestly didn't even know what it's called, but now everything is a lot clearer. Thanks!

[@katgreer6113]

I need this advice so much.

[@Roan7995]

Thanks for the knowledge!

[@HannahLeeKidder]

Thank you for the comment!

[@Garrison_the_Barbarian]

I have a question regarding psychic distance and traumatic scenes. I have a character who goes through a horrible experience (I won't say what it is), but he dissociates as it's happening to him. I'm doing this because I don't want my audience to be disgusted with what I've written, while at the same time I want to maintain the integrity of the story. How would psychic distance factor into that given what I want from this scene?

[@StoneCatCreations]

A Series of Unfortunate Events has been one of my favorites since I was a child.

[@chilledkarl5973]

The babies chirping in the background are there for moral support

[@HannahLeeKidder]

if there's one thing they're doing, it's hollering

[@milkflavored]

Thank you, this was extremely helpful. Knowing *why* epithets feel jarring is even more incentive to avoid using them ✌️

[@seraphimboys3699]

I feel called out

[@HannahLeeKidder]

my job here is done

[@TimbrrWolfe]

I still haven't read Lemony Snicket but it's been on my radar forever so I should probably rectify that at some point

[@HannahLeeKidder]

it's my narration example go-to lmao

[@ColdUtopia]

What about multiple charcters doing the same action? Two siblings or a group. Can I use "the sisters" to describe them? Or is it better to use their names, they, or the girls?

[@HannahLeeKidder]

Personally "the sisters" would be one of those phrases that reminds me I'm reading a book, if that makes sense. I think it still applies

[@cabrielleholden]

I talk to myself/the camera a lot before finally being comfortable talking for a video. It always feels weird. Every single time.

[@StephenHarperRaptagon]

Look at that cute little Bohrok. How could you now fall with it?

[@HannahLeeKidder]

she lives on my desk rn

[@SplashyCannonBall]

Like the Gita. You are Krishna. So when he says Follow Me. He means you or you mean you. It means you. You’re pretty.

[@cephinisemodestin3348]

I write a lot of lgbt stuff so sometimes there’s two characters of the same gender doing stuff together and i switch between the characters name and “the blonde”. So how do you jungle names of people who are of the same gender and not keep having to use their name over and over again?

[@HannahLeeKidder]

Just using names and paragraph breaks. Also helps to have them positioned differently in a scene. Like instead of two sitting on a bench, one's on the bench and one is sitting on the ground or leaning against the back of it. Then the body language description will make it obvious after the scene is set. Kind of gotta tweak it around depending on the situation, happy prideeee