But this is no fantasy novel. This unique situation occurs when an individual has dissociative identity disorder (DID), formerly known as multiple personality disorder.
From The Perfect Daughter by D. J. Palmer to the TV show "The Crowded Room," popular media continues to use DID for its tantalizing plot twists and the unique opportunity it presents to explore the expansive possibilities of identity.
One of Alyssa Cole's primary goals was not to add to the harmful narratives surrounding DID, a mental illness that impacts an estimated 1 percent of the population according to the National Institutes of Health. And in this interview, Cole discusses her efforts to represent the disorder responsibly.
Cole is a New York Times bestselling author who first made a name for herself in contemporary romance. Her debut thriller, When No One Is Watching, won the 2021 Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Paperback Original and the Strand Critics Award for Best Debut.
WD spoke to Cole about One of Us Knows, which was published by William Morrow in April.
Since the main character has DID, you wrote several characters at once who are both autonomous and deeply connected. What was the most challenging aspect of this?
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Denne historien er fra May - June 2024-utgaven av Writer’s Digest.
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Avoiding the Dreaded Info Dump
Pouring too many details into a few pages is both the sign of an immature writer and an unfocused story.
FINDING LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
How comic Gary Gulman effectively blends humor into his story of overcoming major depression.
Stephen Graham Jones
They say you should never meet your heroes. But speaking with Stephen Graham Jones is a lot like speaking with your local theater nerd about the history of Broadway, except with a lot more goosebumps and nightmares.
Failure Is the Foundation
I can recall exactly where I was when I came up with the idea for my adult fantasy series, Emily Wilde.
Fiction Is the Lie That Tells the Truth Truer
On the Legacy of Tom Spanbauer
What Is Your Story Question?
Revision and editing advice to take your first draft to the next level.
Writing for the People We Hope to Become
Elisa Stone Leahy's new middle-grade novel, Mallory in Full Color, tackles the in-between moments of adolescence, when who we are and who we want to become collide.
Creating Community
Whether hot off the presses or on the shelves for years, a good book is worth talking about.
Pat Barker
The Booker Prize-winning author of Regeneration shares the role characters play in developing novel ideas and explains what appeals to her about reimagining mythology.
How to Write in Different Genres
Emiko Jean and Yulin Kuang share tips and strategies for how they successfully write in different genres and mediums.
