The Shit No One Tells You About Writing How to Build a Protagonist Who Actually Makes Sense
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Apr 16, 2026 Miranda Shulman, debut novelist and former Planned Parenthood staffer, talks about writing Harmless. She shares how she wrote first drafts on the job and found an agent through a fellowship. Conversations center on obsession, messy female friendships, late‑20s existentialism, and the narrative choices that shaped her complex protagonist.
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Writing Drafts During Downtime At Work
- Miranda wrote her first full draft while working in Planned Parenthood donor services, using downtime between calls to write on her work computer.
- That early draft felt like a memoir at 22, teaching her she could produce long-form work and prompting her to pivot to fiction drafts like Harmless.
Literary Suspense Rooted In Millennial Existentialism
- Harmless sits in literary suspense territory with strong book-club appeal due to its existential themes about late-20s life and failing childhood dreams.
- The plot centers on three women who try to revive a childhood idea—opening a kennel—which exposes adult anxieties and generational powerlessness.
Childhood Kennel Dream Sparked The Novel
- Miranda's childhood dream was to open a dog kennel with close friends and her sister, which became the germ for Harmless.
- She used that absurd, funny childhood wish to interrogate which youthful desires endure and why adults pursue impractical projects.
