The Writer's First Responsibility . . . is to Listen

Writing "The Life I Didn't Notice" in Tuscany

After 20 years of writing seven novels and two movie screenplays, I’ve come to a profound realization that my role as a novelist is not to control my characters but to understand them.

Every story begins with a profound intention, a question about human nature, identity, family, or truth.

There is an aura, an invisible layer of meaning and understanding inherent in every novel. It is through the art of listening  to one’s soul that the story truly comes alive. If I listen with my heart, each character reveals their fears, desires, contradictions, and wounds as they begin to shape the story in ways I could never have predicted.

I don’t force characters toward an ending, regardless of an initial idea or concept; I follow them with curiosity and compassion. The more deeply I understand WHY they make the choices they do, the more authentic the story unfolds.

Characters are like blocks of marble. Their true nature already exists within them. My role as a writer is not to create who they are, but to patiently carve away everything that isn't, until the person they were always meant to be finally emerges.

In many ways, writing has become an exercise in empathy. Every novel teaches me that when we stop trying to judge people and instead seek to understand them, we not only become better writers . . . we become better human beings

GERRY VISCA

Architecting meaningful books that move the human spirit.