A New Perspective on Fiction

ByDani Pettrey
12 Comments

Hi friends,

I’m super excited to introduce you to my guest blogger Lauren Beccue. I met Lauren at a literary agency retreat in Charleston a couple years back now. Lauren co-wrote a wonderful book with my dear friend Katie Cushman. Since I’ll be road tripping in an RV with my hubby and our grandkids… I thought this was a great time for a guest blogger. And, I’m so blessed I asked. I think you’ll be blessed too.

~Dani

A New Perspective on Fiction

“Can anyone recommend a construction worker in Rhode Island?” The Facebook post popped up on my feed and immediately, I started to reply. Of course I know someone! I’ve spent the last two years in Rhode Island and have grown quite close to a terrific construction worker – a very handsome and kind construction worker for that matter.

Oh wait. He’s not real. He’s a fictional character I created. And I don’t actually live in Rhode Island. Sorry, I guess I can’t offer a referral after all.

Fiction can feel so authentic, can’t it? And what a gift it is to connect with a character, see the world through his or her eyes, traverse a new set of circumstances or time period, and learn valuable life lessons along the way.

While I’ve gotten lost in many fictional worlds as a reader, the connection I feel with the characters I’ve created in my first novel (co-authored with Kathryn Cushman) goes much deeper. I chose every bad habit, quirk, and personality trait, and none of it was accidental. Everything, including the difficult circumstances my characters endured, served a purpose. I was involved in every step of the process.

Not all of us are writers, but here’s something worth remembering: we’re all characters. God has created us and written us into the story of this world. He knows us intimately, weaves our stories through difficult circumstances, and even uses our unpleasant personality traits for His grater purposes. You could say He’s involved in the process. And His desire is to connect with us, because we are so real and so valuable to him.  

Through a season that can otherwise be quite isolating – no vacations, parties, or gatherings, and if you have a sniffle, don’t even come out of your house – that simple perspective change was worth every minute of writing a novel. The Author of my life wants to connect with me. The Author of yours wants to connect with you. And that’s not fiction.

Have you ever caught yourself confusing your fictional worlds with the real one?

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Praised by New York Times best-selling author Dee Henderson as "a name to look for in romantic suspense," Dani Pettrey has sold more than half a million copies of her novels to readers eagerly awaiting the next release. Dani combines the page-turning adrenaline of a thriller with the chemistry and happy-ever-after of a romance.

12 Comments

  1. Haha yes, definitely. I have a lot of thoughts about the books I’ve read and those I write. I think it is normal to think of them as real people, after all, they are just like real people. I would always think ‘if I lived where the story happened…’ or ‘if I had a friend just like XXX…’. I know it is not possible, but sometimes I would dream about it.

    You’re right that we are all characters. I always feel that if I, a human being, can prepare everything for my characters and let them go through their adventures, how much more can God who created us prepare everything for us? And His stories are flawless and without plot holes.

    1. Flawless without plot holes, love that – exactly why we need to keep trusting him to write our story when we’d prefer to edit things out 🙂

  2. I love the photo with the bird. Sooo cool. Yes there was a time when I confused fiction with real life. But that was also a time when I had stepped away from God and all that I knew. Thankfully He used a friend to gently and lovenly bring me back. Now all I read are christian romances and sweet mystery cozies. I was able to get my mom to do the same. Mom and I had a huge garage sale where we gave away a lot of the books and others we just ripped and threw away. Praise the Lord for friends who obey Gods ways.

    1. Thanks, Lori! That’s our book cover and I have to admit, I think it’s pretty cool, too. What an interesting story you have. Thanks so much for sharing!

  3. During my prayer time, I actually started praying for a fictional character in one of Ronie Kendig’s books that was in a dangerous situation. I caught myself and started laughing. Hopefully, the Lord was laughing at me, too. Proves how some characters seem so real that they come to life, and that I’m concerned enough for them to pray for them.

    1. Hahahaha! Too funny, Amy. I have yet to pray for my characters, but Ronie Kendig should definitely take that as a compliment.

  5. Thanks for joining us at Inspired by Life and Fiction, Lauren! Warmest congratulations on your new release. (Katie Cushman’s wonderful!)

  6. I’ve started telling someone about an experience a friend of mine had…when I realized it was from a novel. Lol!

    1. So easy to do, right?! If there isn’t a coffee mug or bookmark that says, “Most of my friends are literary characters” there should be.

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