What's the #1 Question To Ask Yourself...

...Before You Start Your Story?

Let's say you have one of these:

• a concept

• an idea

• an image

• a character

• a scene

• a theme

or some other kernel of a story.

You think you know where to go next but hang on.

From experience in my own writing, and after working with authors of all stripes, there's one initial step I believe will help you turn your idea into a book.

You need to be able to answer this question:

Why are you writing this book?

I’m going to bet that the idea of this story has been haunting you for some time. Keeping you up at night. Maybe you think you know what it means, but often you won’t until you start actually writing. So…understanding why you need to write it is key to getting to the heart of your story, and it’s the heart of your story that will connect with readers.

Sometimes when we have a story idea we are thinking about the superficial. Like, “oh, cool, a fantasy about elves!” or “oh, a picture book about squirrels!” or “oh, a YA set in World War 1!”

But that’s not a “story heart”. A story heart is what this book actually means to you, and then to the reader.

Even in marketing, this is a fact: people buy things from you not because of what you do but because of why you do them.

Why People Read

One of the things I had to learn to do as a writer is to go deeper into my own pain and let it guide my relationship with my writing. I’ve always been a writer with a gift for words – grammar, beautiful flowing language, lovely descriptions. But there’s a reason that readers love James Patterson, and it’s not because of his beautiful flowing language. It’s because early on in his career he learned what people really care about.

• How they feel.

• How others feel.

• Why feelings matter.

• How we can deal with our feelings.

• How to relate to others’ feelings.

These are the keys to human relationships, and Patterson understood this. So his stories aren’t about flowery stuff but about human emotions.

There’s another aspect to knowing your “why”, and that’s the question of what you want to say to the world.

We are writers because we need to express something. Rather than shouting into the void, because we can use our words, we want to say something meaningful. But meaningful comes from a deep place, not from standing back and telling the reader how we feel. This is the ultimate meaning of showing, not telling.

Let's expand this...

Your "why" is:

• What is it about this idea that moves you?

• What burning question are you dying to answer?

• At a deep level, if you must spend months or even years writing one thing, why is it this thing?

The "delving deeper" part:

We all long to say something about the world, and our place in it. We all feel some resonance with a fundamental calling or desire. What is yours?

Don’t be stingy or hesitant. Be generous with your emotions and your deepest dreams, your deepest fears. When you think you’ve gone too far, you probably haven’t. Take it further. Go deeper.

Yes. This can be painful. But it is also the source of the greatest stories. If you want to be a writer, truly, you must be able to go deep.

Your "Shadow Why"

You may think you have a reason for writing this book, and it's probably a good one. For example, my first novel was about a girl in 1904 facing a forced marriage. I thought I was writing it because I wanted to talk about this issue.

But while researching my main character's backstory I realized that I was talking about something personal. My main character's mother had died. And so had mine, just as I started writing.

My "shadow why" was to reach deep inside myself to discover what it meant to me to lose my mother at a young age. And this resulted in a more meaningful - and ultimately publishable - story.

To do this as an exercise, dive into and answer these questions:

• what are the things in the world that trouble you most

• what are the things that you've been dealing with since you were a kid

• what are the emotions that you feel when you think about this idea

• what are the emotions conjured by your relationship to a potential character

The deeper you are willing to go, the better your book will be. It will truly represent a core theme of your life and your relationship to the world.

So before you write another word, or begin a new project, do these exercises. Take your time with them.

You may find that your first idea or premise didn't really speak to you at a deep level, and it's better to discover that now. Because you can always reframe it or restart it and have a much richer outcome.

Want More Like This?

If you are a hopeful writer, especially a writer for kids, I’ve made a course for you. My Six Day Story System is an easy way for you to get exercises like these, at a level and budget just right to get started. You get lifetime access to the entire course and all exercises, regardless of updates. Find it here!

[Special note!! I’m always improving my courses and Six Day Story System is no different. I’ll be raising the price of this course in the next few days, so don’t wait to get the current low price offer!!]

And, tell me, where do you start with your stories?