On my mind lately is one of the biggest stumbling blocks I notice in my clients' revisions, and that is: you don't know what your character truly wants.

So it's hard to envision the end of the story.

Or maybe it comes up for you like: "I don't know where I'm going," or "I don't know what my story is about," or "I don't know my story's premise."

The problem isn't the story. The problem is knowing your character really well.

So here's a writing prompt or brainstorming prompt.

Daydream this. Noodle on it. Journal on it. Interview your character.

Or maybe there's another way you go about it, like talking it out, or dictating, or acting it out with a friend.

However you get there, here are some questions to get you started, as if you were asking a best friend.

Ask your character:

• What do you really, really want? If you could wave a magic wand, what would that be?

You need to know the answer to this question, crystal clear, as if they painted a picture so you could see it, and hear it, and feel it, and smell it, and taste it.

Next question:

• What's the surface-level want when we meet them on page one? What do they say they want, if you were to ask them?

Often, this is a surface want. Sometimes it's a deeper want, a more important want, something that has stakes, something that's related to their survival.

And it could be the most intense thing that is top-of-mind for them, like:

• survival,

• paying their bills,

• where they're going find the next gig,

• will the person they want to ask out say yes?

In essence, this could be something vital to their survival, their happiness, their well-being.

Next, ask them:

• What is the secret want?

Here, you can play in the domain of subconscious, dreaming, even unconscious. You want to dig in there. We want to find out.

Sky's the limit, no matter what it is. Mundane, extreme, or silly.

So, noodle on these three questions:

• the biggest dream, most important dream;

• their current surface desire, the thing that's top of mind for them on page one;

• and then their secret.

After you've brainstormed these three questions, envision the end of your story.

At the end of your book, do they have what they want?

How does it compare to what they wanted on page one?

This is what we're playing with in our story: this journey, this transformation.

Reminder: make sure that you paint the picture of what they want in as vivid detail as possible.

• What do they see?

• What do they hear?

• What do they smell?

• What do they taste?

• What do they touch?

How will your character know they have achieved what it is they truly want? Be very specific.

We all carry specific pictures in our mind of what we truly want, what our surface wants are, what our secret wants are.

This is such a great exercise to do with your main character, any POV character, and even secondary characters.

On to the rest of this newsletter: events, the most recent podcast episode, and more!

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