License to Exaggerate — Sept. 25, 2026
Sheltering Egret, Pacific Grove, CA
“Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story.” – Mark Twain
Do you know someone who’s a terrific story teller, but they stretch the truth a little? Maybe they get carried away and adjust the details just a smidge to spike up the drama? And you forgive them, right, because it’s a damn good story?
Some people intuitively know what it takes to craft a narrative, how to sharpen suspense to create impossible odds, how to turn flawed actors into heroes or villains, how to transform a bleak emotional landscape into something kissed by sunshine or vice versa.
When you write fiction you aren’t trying to mirror reality. You want to enhance it for the sake of your story. Or maybe you ‘ll use only a small semblance of reality to ground your reader in a whole new world of your imagination.
Story telling is a manipulation of facts, whether real or imagined, for greatest impact. Like a camera’s telephoto lens you can magnify subjects and compress scenes to intensify the experience for your readers. You can heighten contrast to draw attention to certain elements or you can highlight the extraordinary by placing it alongside the ordinary.
Your characters’ flaws are a great opportunity for such focus. You can use a character’s Achilles heel to bring them to the brink, sometimes to fail, then to try again, and ultimately to succeed against all odds – or not.
People imagine themselves in outlandish scenarios they would never engage in. But they love to read about characters who would. Let your readers live vicariously through your work. In fiction, you have the license to amplify experience – so find ways to use it!
