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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/43735
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/43735
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

It is not unusual for the main character, or the POV character (not necessarily the same thing) to be a writer. There's even a trope for this: [Most Writers are Writers](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MostWritersAreWriters) (tvtropes link).

A famous example is _Dr. Zhivago_. Zhivago is an aspiring poet and novelist. Throughout the novel, we read excerpts from his journal - those form an integral part of understanding the story through his eyes. Through his philosophical musings, we experience the struggles of the post-revolution life. And his struggle to become a "successful writer" is a major plotline. In the face of the madness of the Russian Revolution, writing is what he wants with a passion. A normal want in all the madness.

_Dracula_, Bram Stoker's work, is presented as a series of journal entries, a guide to dealing with vampires. The book exists within itself, its writing is part of the plot. Similar to how the stories about Sherlock Holmes are "written" by Dr. Wattson, only used to stronger effect. Though perhaps this goes a bit further than what you intend - as I understand it, the _Dr. Zhivago_ example is closer to what you had in mind.

One very important note: **the story your character writes must not, cannot, be independent from the story you tell about the character**. The second must shed light on the first, or the first on the second (depending on which is the "main" story - the subsidiary must shed light on the main). It needn't be as straightforward as the play within a play in _Hamlet_, but there must be a reason why those two stories are woven together.

Original score: 4