I spent my weekend in charming Fredericksburg, Texas at the National Museum of the Pacific War honoring the Day of Remembrance. This day commemorates the signing of Executive Order 9066 in 1942, which authorized the government to put the Japanese Americans into concentration camps. I was invited to speak because my novel Within These Lines focuses on this history, and I felt so honored!

This is an outside shot of the museum, which used to be a hotel and saloon in the 1800s. The exhibits are actually in a different building, but this is where most of the Day of Remembrance events were:

This is me with my book in one of the museum bookstores:

At this point, I had taught two classes and been talking almost all day, and I look like it in this photo. Still, it’s always a thrill to see my book for sale in a store like this.

Onto talking about writing!

I’m actually working on a new book right now, and it’s funny to be doing it alongside writing these posts. Working on them simultaneously helps me keep in mind that this process of starting your novel can feel clunky and confusing. That at this point you don’t totally know the character or where the story is going to take you, so it’s natural that you don’t know where to begin either.

The book I’m working on now is a historical YA novel I had an idea for last summer. I researched. I wrote chapters. I wrote an abnormally long synopsis (seven pages despite all the advice telling you 2-3 pages is sufficient.) But because my publisher decided they didn’t want it right now (see this post for more details on how published authors get rejected all the time) and because I was under contract for a different novel, the manuscript was put aside.

I pulled the manuscript back out a few weeks ago and had the sense that the story wasn’t quite right. I couldn’t put my finger on it, exactly, but something was missing and it bugged me. I would get out the chapters and synopsis and try to push myself to figure out the problem. I struggled to summarize the book in a blurb, and the original core sentence I came up with didn’t quite fit with some new story elements I’d added. But I didn’t know how to fix any of it.

The struggle was a great reminder to me that writing a book is not a linear process. Not for me anyway. And when you’re trying to organize “how to write a book” thoughts into blog posts, a class, or a book, it’s easy to get into linear thinking. Well, first you write out that core sentence, and then grow it into a blurb, and then a synopsis. Then you start at “Once upon a time” and write yourself to the end!

For me, those steps happen in a jumbled mess. Every time. Currently, I have a first draft of three chapters, a half-baked core sentence, no blurb, and a synopsis that is semi accurate. So, despite my orderly blog posts, my manuscript is currently a mess. (I hope that encourages you rather than making you not want to hang out with me anymore!)

You can’t force yourself into the epiphany moment when things click and the story comes together in a new way in your mind. You can help yourself to get there by showing up, being authentic, putting words on the page, etc., but you can’t make that magic happen. Sometimes you just have to be patient and embrace the mess.

It’s funny to me how often the “aha” moment happens when I’m not actually writing, but when I’m doing laundry or dishes. You need the consistent writing time, but the epiphany may come later when you’re walking the dog.

Like last Thursday I was putting new sheets on my bed when Roseanna sent me a text about a writing prompt she had answered while doing some free writing. She said:

One of the questions was “The things that most defines me and my stories are…” So I was writing about characters and came to an interesting epiphany about how I write them. That it’s not about how they achieve the goals of the story—it’s about who they have to become to achieve them. I rather liked that so figured I’d pass it along.

(Roseanna is brilliant. I’ve already begged her to do a post on these thoughts, don’t worry!)

I read her words and then went on with making my bed. The book I’m working on now has more of a flat character-arc (see K.M. Weiland’s thoughts about this) and I thought, “Kirsten doesn’t really need to become someone different to do what needs to be done. But she could use a good friend.”

And there it was. The answer to the problem I’d been circling for weeks. My character is lonely, and she needs a good friend even though she’s trying to not need that. The next day, I wrote a brand new first chapter that focused on this need of Kirsten’s, and I loved it. I realized that this new piece of information—Kirsten is lonely—showed me how to fix the other chapters I’d already written.

You’ll figure out your own things that you like to know before you can really get going on a story, but three big ones for me are:

What does my main character want? What is his or her goal?

What does my main character need?

What lie does my main character believe?

When I started this blog series, the vast majority of questions that came in were about the end of the book. How do you know when you’re done? How do you know if the ending is satisfying?

Getting these three questions answered is a big part of crafting that satisfying ending.

Character wants: When I first learned about the idea of “main characters should have a goal,” it was like lightning. Oh! If they have a goal they’re trying to achieve, then I’ll know when the story is done! I’ll know what they’re motivated by, how to frustrate them, and what a bittersweet ending looks like.

But finding the right goal—the one that fits the story and character best—is not a simple as it sounds. If the goal was simple, they would’ve done it already. If it’s too hard, they’ll never feel like they can do it.

Character needs: What the character wants is different most of the time than what they need. My main character, Kirsten wants to solve the mystery. She needs a friend. Sometimes characters know their needs, but other times they don’t. Knowing the need will also give you a clue about your ending, because that need is critical to the climax of your story. Readers will be totally okay with your character not getting what they want if they get what they really need.

Character misbeliefs: Lastly, what lie does my character believe? Does he believe his brother’s death was his fault? Does she believe if she’d spoken up, everything would be different? Does she believe she can’t actually change anything? Does he believe his parents will never, ever approve of him if they know his secret? Most of the time (maybe all the time, but I’m uneasy with using extreme words like that) the thing the character needs is directly tied to that lie they believe.

I don’t know what lie Kirsten believes. Hopefully that will be my next epiphany, and I’ll be able to get this first draft off the ground!

Do you know the answers to those three questions for your characters?