My writing mentor keeps pushing me to think bigger with my novel—more ambitious themes, wider scope—but my gut tells me the power is in staying small and specific. I respect their experience but I'm starting to wonder if their vision of what novels should do is drowning out what this particular novel wants to be.
More people experience this than they realize.
Mentorship in fiction can impose external ideas about literary ambition that conflict with a work's inherent scale and intention.
“Where Are You with The novel — form and possibility?”
If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.