On Writing: Things I Learned About Fiction Writing This Year

Photo by Darius Bashar on Unsplash

I write fiction, and this will be the year I change my Facebook profile from “Nurse” to “Women’s Fiction Author.” It’s been a short but intense journey, and because I’m 62 years old and a little long in the tooth to begin a new career, I’ve given it everything I have. Along the way, I’ve learned a few things.

1. If you don’t care about or relate to a character, neither will your readers.
2. Writing historical fiction is freaking hard — at least to do it well — and I do not have it in me.
3. If a character is speaking to you loud and clear, keep writing. Or, at least, take really good notes.
4. If a character goes temporarily silent, don’t worry about it. Remember the words of Anne Lamott: Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you. This works for writing, too. Take the dog for a walk.
5. You can include scenes from your own life and rework them as you choose. But if you include scenes from another person’s life, it’s best to consult them, first, especially if they are a professional, or an artist, or they have a public presence. You have the absolute right to your own life story — but consider carefully whether you have the right to anyone else’s.
6. If your heart is torn asunder by the…