Find Your Deep Why

Writing a book takes a long time. There’s the planning, drafting, revision, and that’s all before you look for an agent and try for a book deal.

One thing that will ground you through the months and years of writing is knowing why your book matters to you.

When you know why you need to write this book, you’ll be able to come back to it again and again, because you have a purpose.

So why are you writing your book?

Why do you need to tell that specific story? What about it resonates in you? Why is it important enough to merit all of the time and energy it will require?

On your first pass at those questions, you might come up with something like, “I had a really cool idea about a wizard mechanic, and I’ve never seen that before.” While a wizard mechanic is a cool idea, cool ideas aren’t enough to motivate you to rewrite your entire book. For the third time.

Dig deep, . Really deep.

What soul question does that wizard mechanic unearth? How does her plight (yes, she’s a woman) mirror your own? What truth does this story pull from your heart and leave on the page?

For most of us, our stories grow from our own experiences, questions, and passions. Can you identify the experience or question that sparked this story?

If you can find your why, you’ll have a touchstone for every decision, both major and minute, and a reminder of exactly why this story is worth sticking with.

In the Rooted Writer’s Mentorship, we spend a lot of time exploring your connection to your story, because it’s the soil from which everything else grows.

You can learn more about the RWM here.