Courtney Psak graduated with a degree in Communications and Journalism with a master’s degree in Publishing. She currently lives in Palm Beach, Florida with her husband and two sons. She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, the National Writers Association, International Thriller Writers and a board member for the Mystery Writers of America.
Creative self-expression has always been considered a powerful way for us to think introspectively to process our emotions.
In some cases, it reduces stress and increases self-esteem. For others, it can provide a release of built-up grief, hostility or trauma.
I recently attended a writers’ conference this past year, and the ongoing discussion on the panels described how connected authors were to their work. So much so, that it allowed them to work through their own emotional issues by way of their characters.
When it comes to domestic thrillers, creative refuge is a great way for the protagonist to rebel, glorify, exploit or celebrate throughout different channels.
In the form of resilience, Sylvia Plath wrote The Bell Jar featuring a character struggling with a mental illness that she herself was suffering from. While Frida Kahlo’s famous self-portraits, depicted not only her physical suffering through Polio as a child and a severe bus accident as a teenager, but her emotional struggles as well dealing with the chronic pain that she suffered most of her life because of it.
In my novel, The Tutor, Rose is a single mom with a tortured past who uses her art as a way to work through her trauma.
As the author, Rose is the character I connect most with because like her, I am an insecure mother, constantly worried if I’m doing the right thing for my children. That weight of responsibility can feel crushing at times especially when you reach an impasse that pulls you in different directions and all you can hope for is that you made the right choice for your family.
When Rose can’t seem to find inspiration, she worries that maybe the only reason she was considered a good artist was because during the times of her best work she was dealing with grief and heartache. Now that she’s supposedly gotten her happy ending with a stable life, she worries that she thrives on dysfunction in order to create.
Throughout this novel, Rose is constantly struggling with her decision. To most, it might seem like the logical choice to marry a wealthy man who is not only good to her, but to her son, providing him the with the best education he can get. But when they have to move in with his ailing mother, Rose sees another side to this family and worries if psychological damage outweighs the financial security.
When her dark secret is threatened to be revealed, Rose takes her upset and anger out on the canvas, creating a dark abstract figure bleeding out from the heart.
It disturbs Rose because her art reflects her inner most thoughts that can’t be conveyed into words. Through abstract symbols and colors, she paints her intentions. But when she completes this picture, it feels almost like a premonition to her, though she doesn’t know who the figure is meant to represent and if it’s she who is inflicting the pain.
This provides and a sense of mystery and suspense not only to the reader, but to Rose who isn’t sure how to interpret her own work. This also gives our characters an opportunity to see themselves in a different light which may reveal to them something they didn’t know or like about themselves.
In addition to finding the truth of who we are through art, people can choose how much they want to reveal about themselves or what to hide from others. It allows us to control our vulnerability without having to give up everything.
Since most domestic thriller characters are usually suffering, it makes sense to have those characters use creativity as a form of survival or armor.
By having the characters express their intentions through art, we as the readers can interpret what the real message it, the truth behind the curtain.
Is she the killer or the one being killed?
As Rose contemplates this, we go deeper into her psyche and empathize with what’s she’s been through, threading parts of ourselves with her into a woven fabric of emotion.
Like in real life, providing a creative outlet for characters in a domestic thriller can not only provide a way for the reader to get a glimpse into the inner workings of the protagonist’s (or antagonist’s) motivations, but can be a mystery in and of itself as a tool to create suspense and drama throughout domestic challenges.
The Tutor by Courtney Psak
When Rose’s family moves to a mansion in Florida, she hires a tutor to help her son, James, fit into their new life. Isabel is a young, talented tutor who connects with James, but she slowly gets closer and closer to the family in a way that makes Rose suspicious. Will Rose figure out who Isabel truly is before it’s too late?
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