How present are you, as the writer or narrator, in your writing?

Your answer likely varies depending on the context. Consider everyday writing:

• Text messages? They’re usually personal.
• Work reports or marketing copy? You may try to disappear into a brand voice.

For other writing, you get to choose. Journalists often hide carefully behind the curtain of objectivity, while memoirists lean toward the confessional. When writing fiction, you pick the narrative voice and their degree of presence. And often we make those choices out of habit.

This month, I’m asking you to notice and experiment with your presence, as a writer or narrator, in your work. To get you started, here’s a fun exercise.

Step 1: Identify your default

Pick a piece that represents the writing you usually do. Now, on a scale of 1 to 10, assess your (or for fiction writers, your narrator’s) presence in the work, with 1 being entirely absent, and 10 being completely intrusive.

Got your number? Move on to the next step.

Step 2: Go for the extremes

Try rewriting the piece (or a part of it) with the dial turned to the opposite extreme. If you’re usually a 2 (mostly absent), dial it up to 10. If you write in the 7-8 range, try out extreme absence (1). And if you’re squarely in the middle, pick the extreme that feels the least comfortable or logical. (Feel free to embrace absurdity in this exercise.)

What does it feel like?

If you are uncomfortable being present in the work, do you see any benefits to showing up? Can you try to make it fun?

Conversely, if you are always sharing your own perspective, what happens when you try to dial it back? (Hint: see if you can shift the focus to the reader instead of yourself.)

Why this exercise matters

When I coach nonfiction authors, we often tweak the dial of presence one way or the other, because their habitual approach doesn’t always best serve the reader. Sometimes it makes sense to show up personally in the work, and other times authors do well to recede for a while and shine the light on others.

This exercise helps you do something similar on your own. By testing the extremes, you can see if you’ve been missing something. If nothing else, you’ll be more aware of the unconscious choices you make about presence.

More like this

This exercise is based on a section of The Writer’s Voice.

Want a version of this with me more present? Watch the video on YouTube.