Always keep your ideal reader close by in your mind asking “Why?”
Our subconscious is perfectly designed for this process. It already knows the story. Our only job is to remain curious and inquire into the nature of things. As we do this, our story comes into focus.
It takes time and patience. Relax and trust while continuing to inquire. Our ego, the personal, is what limits us. When we connect to the dilemma at the heart of our story we connect to the universal, and specific images are revealed. Whether conscious or not, our desire to write is a desire to explore the nature of something through a particular event.
It requires bravery to challenge our beliefs.
“Why?” — There is something primal about this question. Children ask it incessantly. It is about both survival and evolution. Asking why is essential to get underneath the events (the plot) in our story. Underlying these events is a fundamental truth, as opposed to our idea of the way things are. It is not that our ideas are wrong it is just that they are not the whole story. Our perception widens and we find liberation from some idea that kept us tethered. Through story we seek revelation. For a long time the idea may have provided a sense of security, but somewhere within us lies the desire for a greater freedom — for love.
Because at the core, every story is about love. Love is the mystery that is always on the table. It is our truest nature and the ultimate catalyst in restoring order.
We continue to fill endless volumes examining its countless manifestations. It is primal and essential to our evolution, and asking why is the gateway to an answer.
Learn more about marrying the wildness of your imagination to the rigor of structure in The 90-Day Novel, The 90-Day Memoir, or The 90-Day Screenplay workshops.
