Why Write This Book?
I love the texture of this snow piled on the deck railing.
How old were you the first time you tried to write a novel?
I was 8 or 9. That Christmas my grandma gave me a copy of Little House on the Prairie. I was a regular watcher of the 1970s TV show, but until that gift, I didn’t know the show was based on a book.
I quickly discovered there was a whole series of books about Laura and her family. There were four girls in her family, just like mine. They moved several times across the country, just like mine.
I was quickly inspired to start a novel about my own family. After a few handwritten pages, I was already thinking about publication.
Getting ahead of myself when it comes to publication has been a recurring theme in my writing life. 😉
I stopped working on that project when I learned that publication was not imminent.
The next time the novel-writing bug bit me I was 12. I was inspired by a TV show I’d been watching, a reboot of Buck Rogers, a science fiction adventure. I remember starting at the beginning of my story and writing several pages longhand in a journal.
And then I got stuck because I had no idea what happened next.
Or why I needed to write that story.
The power of why
In fact, the whole idea of knowing why I want to write a particular book wasn’t something I’d given much thought to until I started training as a book coach.
Explaining to yourself why you want to write this book is step one of the Blueprint for a Book process that I use in my coaching practice.
Can you answer these questions about your own novel in progress or new idea?
Why must you tell this story in particular?
What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of?
Take your time. Write a whole page. Your answers will get you to the heart of your why.
And knowing your why will help sustain you when the buzz of inspiration has evaporated and the work itself has become more like, well, work.
A sample answer to why write this book
I’m using the blueprint process myself to revise a middle grade fantasy novel I first started when I was teaching English at Nicolet College in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Scott Walker had been elected governor and then proceeded to wipe out public unions, especially teacher unions.
Here’s the beginning of what I wrote recently in answer to why write this book:
When I first started this story about 10 years ago, I was deep in my anger at Scott Walker messing up public unions. Fighting back against awful people was the start of it. Since then I’ve had to work for tyrannical bosses, most especially [names redacted] at [redacted].
Dealing with tyrants isn’t just about powerful leaders of nations or heads of government. It’s also about petty tyrants we have to learn to deal with in our regular lives—like unfair teachers and bad bosses. People who have power over us and who wield it unfairly and for their own advantage.
Kids understand this.
Because it’s an ongoing fight, because there are always terrible people who are hungry for power and for their own selfish interests, I want to write this book as a solution. One way for people to combat tyranny is through collective action.
A walk through the blueprint process, part 1 of a series of posts
For the next several posts, I’ll continue to walk through the blueprint process for developing or revising your novel. I used this process to write the middle grade mystery novel that’s now on submission! I’ve also used it for revising a complete novel and am currently using it for revising a partial draft.
For more about what book coaching looks like, check out this guest post I wrote for 24 Carrot Writing.
What I’m reading
The Mystery of Mystic Mountain by Janet Fox is a clever treasure hunt mystery set in Montana at a rustic dude ranch. There’s lost treasure from a century ago, a dead Robin Hood-esque thief, a ghost, a ghost town, a rattlesnake, and gorgeous scenery. Two kids work together to solve the clues, which are especially fun, and learn more about themselves along the way. Both the internal and external plots are satisfying. The novel is also a finalist for the 2025 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.