I was reading Southwest: The Magazine on a flight from Houston to Los Angeles recently when I came across an article by author Margaret Cezair-Thompson. In Secrets of the Earth, Cezair-Thompson shared how she had returned to her childhood home of Jamaica to refresh her memory for a new book she was writing. Squeezed between two rather large men (I thought big guys didn’t fly Southwest?!?!) and wearing pants that got progressively tighter the longer I was in the air, I slipped away from my little space on the Boeing and into this authors’ life . Her experiences were fascinating, but a few simple truths shone through as I read the article:  writers write what they know and readers – at least in fiction – read about what they want to know.

As an unpublished writer who struggles with getting though a scene, a page, a paragraph, it was a subtle, but clear reminder as to why authenticity is so important  – and the lengths a good writer will go to acquire it. Sometimes when I’m looking at a blank page, I literally have to reset my mind to develop an authentic sentence. One that rings true because it’s based on something I have experienced in my 42 years – an emotion, a scent, a piece of scenery.  Authenticity can’t be faked.

Some people might say ‘fiction is all about the make-believe.’ Well, we all know that’s not necessarily true. The fabric of a novel might be an extension of a writer’s imagination, but the characters, the feelings, those are all based on something very solid.

…and that’s what readers appreciate: the believable, make-believe.