Sharon Cole
Sharon Cole is an author, creative innovator, and the creator of Abstracting Realism™, a distinctive writing system designed to capture real-time human thought, emotion, and awareness as it unfolds. Based in Houston, Texas, she spent six years developing this immersive storytelling method, studying how people process intense emotional moments and translating that experience onto the page. Her approach uses spoken dialogue in quotation marks and internal thoughts outside of quotes, allowing writers to present what characters think, feel, and say simultaneously. This creates a deeply immersive reading experience that many describe as “feels like a movie in my head.”
As the founder of Abstracting Realism™, Sharon has built a structured methodology that helps writers tell stories from the inside out. Through ten clearly defined steps outlined on her website, she teaches writers how to reveal a character’s inner world, motivations, and emotional truth rather than relying only on surface-level reactions. Her work is centered on authentic character development, realistic thought patterns, and emotionally resonant storytelling that allows readers to connect more deeply with the people on the page. She is especially passionate about helping writers create characters that feel fully human, layered, and unforgettable.
Writing under the pen name Bella Parker, Sharon is currently working on her upcoming psychological romantic thriller, Five Minutes, along with additional fiction projects that apply the Abstracting Realism method. She is also the author of What’s Wrong? I Don’t Know, written under the pen name Kelleen Dawson. Sharon strongly believes that authentic human emotion is at the heart of great storytelling and that while AI can support grammar and basic writing tasks, it cannot replicate the complexity of genuine human thought and feeling. Through her writing, teaching, and thought leadership, she continues to challenge traditional storytelling by helping readers not just read stories, but truly enter them.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering the writing and creative storytelling space is to stay curious, experiment widely, and not feel confined by traditional methods or expectations. Explore different styles and approaches until you find the one that feels most authentic to your voice, because originality often comes from willingness to test boundaries. In my own work, I developed Abstracting Realism as a way to deepen character development by capturing both speech and internal thought in a more layered, human way. I am especially passionate about helping writers understand that the most compelling stories come from exploring a character’s inner world—their motivations, contradictions, and emotional truths—rather than focusing only on external actions. While technology like AI can support aspects of writing such as structure or grammar, it cannot replace the depth of lived human emotion, which is what ultimately makes storytelling meaningful and resonant.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In both my work and personal life, the values that matter most to me are authenticity, clarity, and a commitment to understanding the deeper human experience. I have built a writing system called Abstracting Realism, developed over six years, that reflects these principles by focusing on how people truly think, feel, and communicate beneath the surface. This method allows me to portray a character’s inner world alongside their spoken words by using a structured approach where dialogue is marked with quotes and internal thought is presented without them, creating a layered and more truthful narrative experience. Guided by a clear set of steps outlined on my website, I aim to help writers tell stories from the inside out, ensuring that characters feel fully realized, emotionally honest, and genuinely human to the reader.
Locations
Abstracting Realism
Houston, TX 77070