f you've been around at all this year on my blog, then you probably noticed the extremely long series of posts I did on following your heart as a writer. 😆 In it, I talked about your Why: a message in your stories that inspires you to continue working on them. It's why you push through the hard times of writing it. That series was really about accessing your unique abilities as a writer, and so for that context, referring to this message as a Why made sense. However, in my own writing, I don't actually call it that. I decided while writing that series that I would need to write a post afterwards on the Why - and what I actually think of it as - because simply by changing the word, you create a whole new mentality when you're working on the story.
Tag: Character Arcs
Should You Include Dialogue Snippets in Your Outline? {Case Study}
I think that all pantsers have this fear inside of them that making a plot will box them in when they try to write their story, limiting their creativity. That fear keeps them from trying to outlining. They want to be creative, and in their eyes, having a plot stops that. If you don't know, I actually used to be a pretty hardcore pantser. I don't think it shows very much anymore, but that used to be the only way I wrote. Some of those leftover fears from my time as a panster still lurk in the back of my mind, though. (Also, WordPress keep trying to autocorrect me whenever I write 'pantser' into 'panther'. 😑) However, as a person who now refuses to walk into any book without at least some semblance of a plot, those fears have taken on a different form in me: the idea that, while I'm plotting, maybe I'm plotting too much. I need creative freedom to go meandering down whatever paths happen to pop up along my way, and if my plans have to be followed exactly, then I can't do that. So how far am I really willing to go with my outlines?
Finding Your Why {Every Writer is Different}
Have you ever stumbled upon a part of a book, blog post, podcast, or video where the person who created it is talking about your Why? And... had absolutely no idea what they were talking about? 😅 Or, have you ever heard about it and understood what it was, but been unsure as to how to even go about finding your Why? Join the club. 😆 However, over time, I've found a couple of sure-fire ways to help you find that. So today, I'll be explaining what your Why is, why you need it (see what I did there?) (okay I'll be quiet now), and how to find it.