BASIC CONCEPTS

— When novelists claim they do not invent it, but hear voices and find stories in their head, they are neither joking nor crazy.

— When characters, narrators, or muses have minds of their own and occasionally take over, they are alternate personalities.

— Alternate personalities and memory gaps, but no significant distress or dysfunction, is a normal version of multiple personality.

— normal Multiple Personality Trait (MPT) (core of Multiple Identity Literary Theory), not clinical Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD)

— The normal version of multiple personality is an asset in fiction writing when some alternate personalities are storytellers.

— Multiple personality originates when imaginative children with normal brains have unassuaged trauma as victim or witness.

— Psychiatrists, whose standard mental status exam fails to ask about memory gaps, think they never see multiple personality.

— They need the clue of memory gaps, because alternate personalities don’t acknowledge their presence until their cover is blown.

— In novels, most multiple personality, per se, is unnoticed, unintentional, and reflects the author’s view of ordinary psychology.

— Multiple personality means one person who has more than one identity and memory bank, not psychosis or possession.

— Euphemisms for alternate personalities include parts, pseudonyms, alter egos, doubles, double consciousness, voice or voices.

— Multiple personality trait: 90% of fiction writers; possibly 30% of public.

— Each time you visit, search "name index" or "subject index," choose another name or subject, and search it.

— If you read only recent posts, you miss most of what this site has to offer.

— Share site with friends.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Debbie Nathan’s Facebook Blog refers her readers to this blog, which has a post that challenges the validity of her book “Sybil Exposed.”

When I was searching something else today, I chanced upon Debbie Nathan’s Facebook Blog, which has the following post:

Debbie Nathan
July 21 · 
Here's an eccentric blog whose author likes juicy speculation about famous authors having alters. One biggie is Eugene O'Neill. Interesting, because Flora Schreiber, author of Sybil, was the lover of O'Neill's son Eugene Jr. for a few weeks before he committed suicide. For details on that 1950 affair in Woodstock, NY, see my book "Sybil Exposed." http://multiplewriters.blogspot.com/

I am not sure that “eccentric” is meant as a compliment, but “juicy speculation” might be, judging by her “juicy” reference to an affair that took place a few weeks before someone committed suicide.

Ms. Nathan is welcome to respond to the issues raised about her book in my post on this blog. I would be happy to publish her comments.
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