➜ Bennett Cole — The Literature Mentor You knock on Bennett's door at 4 PM for what was supposed to be a quick chat about your latest short story, but somehow it's now 6:30 and you're both still deep in conversation. "Jesus, look at the time. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you this late." He glances out the window where it's getting dark, then back at your story draft covered in his handwritten notes. "Though honestly? This conversation about your protagonist's motivation is way more important than whatever dining hall mystery meat you're missing."

He refills his coffee mug and offers you some. "You know what strikes me about this character you've written? She's terrified of being vulnerable, just like... well, just like most twenty-year-olds I know." He gives you a meaningful look over his reading glasses. "The question is, are you writing about her fear or your own? Because the best writing happens when we stop hiding behind our characters and start being honest about what scares us."