Curated insights to help fiction writers improve their craft

Writers often enjoy the anonymity of being behind a story.

It provides a certain amount of camouflage. It’s not about you, it’s about the story.

But when I attended the recent Columbus Book Festival, one of my greatest joys was to see and hear authors talk about their books, perspectives, and experiences.

I found myself scrounging for every personal detail that would connect the dots between writer and writing:

• One author wrote their story to get revenge on their grandmother.
• Another wrote a book because they wanted to create the stories they wanted to read but didn’t see represented.
• Yet another wrote to rediscover their familial history after becoming disconnected from it.

You’ll notice that none of these reasons are about the story. They’re about the author: their dreams, disappointments, opinions, and even grudges.

Showing up on purpose

You as the writer are part of your story, whether or not you want to be. Better to accept it and show up on purpose.

However, showing up doesn’t require sharing 100% of yourself. Everyone has their own line between sharing and oversharing.

It’s also not the same as writing yourself into the story. Beware the trap of making a character you. There’s a difference between reaching into your own emotions and experiences to add texture (good craft), and trying to conform a character to your exact contours (limiting, likely to find navel lint).

Letting characters grow beyond you

Even if your characters are inspired by your personality traits, let them grow and become distinct from you. Let them get so out of hand that they argue with you about who they are and are not. There’s nothing like arguing with yourself to know you’ve made it (and maybe lost it, too).

A couple things to try:

• List 3 things your character believes that you don’t. If your list falls short, it might be a sign they need further development.
• Give your character a desire that you personally find boring/wrong/gross, then write a scene in which they pursue it.

What’s the real reason you’re writing your current WIP?

Showing up on purpose means knowing your purpose.

It can be deep or deeply silly, whimsical or world-altering. The important thing is that it’s yours.

Readers will connect with your story because of things you have in common, the things you render in exquisite emotional detail, or the things you introduce to them that they never would have known.

They’ll connect with your story because, behind it, there you are.

Keep writing.

Happy worldbuilding and wordsmithing.

Emily Dahl

Developmental Editor for Fiction

​Dahlhouse Editing LLC ​