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Kelly walked into the living room. (Why?) She frowned when she looked at the wall. (What did she see?) She didn’t want to do it, but it was time to go. (Where? Why?)

Q is for Questioning Everything

It’s important to have a good story before you decide to write a novel, but that’s not enough. You also have to have engaging character, yet even that’s not enough. You have to know the characters’ motivations.

GOAL – MOTIVATION – CONFLICT

Every character must have a goal. She must have a motivation. There must be a conflict that keeps her from achieving that goal.

Ask yourself what these things are for each of your characters. They may not all make it into the plot line, but if you know how your hero acts and why, you’ll be able to write a more believable guy.

You know those novels that you read where the hero and heroine fight their attraction, but you never understand why? It’s because the author doesn’t either. The author figures it’s enough to let you know that Bob and Betty are fighting their attraction, but if she doesn’t know why she’s not letting the couple get together, the reader won’t understand it either. And if this reader doesn’t understand it, I stop reading.

Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?

I know you’ve already got these words committed to memory. You probably learned them in elementary school. Now it’s time to apply them to your writing. Make sure you can answer them all so that you can create believable characters for your captivating story.

QUESTION: That’s right – question it all!