When the Heroine is a Writer

Written By : Hannah Corbett

Lately, this newsletter has become my version of a digital diary — a place where I pour my heart out, press publish, and hope someone out there is reading. But even if they aren’t, I’ve discovered something strangely freeing about writing into the void.

There’s no pressure to be perfect. No one to impress. Just me, my thoughts, and a blinking cursor. But behind the scenes, I’ve been chasing something else. A quieter dream. One that’s followed me around since I was a little kid. 

I’ve been writing a book. And surprisingly, im fifteen thousand words in.

Sure, it’s not a full book, not yet. I know novels hover around 80 to 100 thousand words, but right now, 15,000 feels like a miracle. Like proof that maybe, I can actually finish this.

It’s a story I love. One I think about constantly, while waiting in line for coffee, on walks around the beach, in the silence just before I fall sleep. I hear the dialogue before I write it. I see the scenes like little movies in my mind. And in a twist I didn’t see coming… fiction has made me more honest than anything else I’ve ever written.

Maybe it’s because fiction gives you the freedom to tell the truth through someone else’s voice. You get to hide in plain sight. You get to be bold behind the veil of plot.

I think it started long before I opened a blank doc.

Growing up, I watched every movie where the woman became a writer. I read every book where the heroine was typing in a café, scribbling in a notebook, or daydreaming about her first book deal. The writer was always the main character.

And I wanted to be her.  But it wasn’t until about a year ago,  watching people like Eli Rallo carve careers out of creative chaos, and talking with Alissa DeRogatis, author of Call it What You Want for In the Haven, that I realized something: you don’t have to wait to be chosen. You can just begin.

You don’t need the book deal, or editor to start the book. You just need an idea you care about, and the courage to show up for it.

So I sat down. I started. And now, I can keep going. Because writing this book has reminded me of something I forgot for a while:
You can build something beautiful from absolutely nothing.

So here’s to the blank pages that don’t feel so blank anymore.
And to all the books and movies where the main character is a writer.