Be willing to throw your characters under the bus and yourself along with them.
When I teach writing in my workshops or in one-on-one sessions, I often find myself saying things like “Dig deeper” or “If you are going to go there, go there” or “Ask yourself if it’s true.” I suppose it’s because that’s the kind of writer I am, and I think people who find themselves working with me are also looking for the same truth-seeking-method-acting approach. Of course, to one degree or another, all writers are trying to do this, regardless of their style, genre, or target audience.
I use the word “trying” very deliberately, because we are all somewhere in the process of trying to become better writers – or at least, we should be!
I also use the term “throw yourself under the bus” facetiously. What I mean is that, as a writer, you need to be humble. You must let go of your ego when you are developing not only your narrative, but your characters. Seasoned writers will tell you that their characters need to be nuanced and fully-realized; in other words plausible and real, flawed and authentic. But I am suggesting that you, as the writer, also need to be as real and truthful as you can.
Hemingway captured this sentiment best in “A Moveable Feast,” didn’t he?
“I would stand and look out over the roofs of Paris and think, ‘Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.’ So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there. It was easy then because there was always one true sentence that I knew or had seen or had heard someone say.”
So in the name of truth-telling, I would be honored to help you (or someone you may know) on their journey toward truth-seeking. I also have more space available in my July 9th one hour dialogue workshop. For information on either or both contact me here: https://wordonion.us/contact/