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Why I’m Psyched to Write My First Fiction Novel

Based on my experiences living in Japan

6 min readApr 22, 2025

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Photo of the author. Osaka, Japan.

The world outside is dark, peaceful, still. It’s 4:30 a.m., and I hear the hoo of an owl. Fragments of the dreamworld linger as my eyes gain clarity.

I haven’t woken this early in a while, but I’m gearing up to write my next book, and nothing lights me up in the same way.

I lived in Japan for the last two and a half years, and I’ve imagined that my third book would be a nonfiction portrayal of that chapter, similar to how my first two books depicted transformative chapters in my life thus far.

Recently, however, while walking through Princeton, New Jersey on an East Coast trip, I had an insight. It was dusk. The sky was beautiful, the road and bordering woods damp and grey.

Fiction!

The next book will be my first fiction novel, based on my time living in Japan.

Why does fiction feel suited for this story? Well, I can use my actual experiences in Japan as an outline while playing with the elements of one of the most complex and mystical countries on Earth to fill in the colorful details.

It just feels right.

Still, it’s daunting to write fiction when there are countless novels out there, with only…

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Vincent Van Patten
Vincent Van Patten

Written by Vincent Van Patten

I write tales from the heart on what it means to be alive ❤️‍🔥 vincentvanpatten.com

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