Before I begin to plot a novel  — before developing my characters or deciding on the obstacles they’ll face or devising their spiritual journey — I always ask myself the “Big 3 Questions.”

Always.

The Big 3 are focusing questions that every writer should ask before plotting a new novel. So what are the Big 3?

1. What is your novel about?
2. Why should anyone pick up your novel?
3. What is your novel’s Story Question?

To understand the importance of these questions, let’s take the Big 3 one by one.

• What is your novel about?

Keep your answer to this question simple. One to three sentences. If you don’t know where to start, write down your genre. Then give a straightforward explanation of your story’s plot. EX: Contemporary Romance. My novel is about the relationship between a young widow and her husband’s twin brother. (This was for my novel Somebody Like You.)

Another way to approach this question is if you’ve written more than one manuscript or published more than one novel. Consider the plots of your books and then answer the question: What are your novels about? EX: family, life not going according to plan, messy relationships, mistakes defining us, twins, estrangement, widowhood, secrets, where do we find significance, military, medicine/physicians

Doing this helps you begin to see the recurring issues you write about. This kind of question also shows up on the author questionnaires sent by publishers’ marketing departments.

• Why should anyone pick up your novel? Another way to ask this: Why should anyone ever read your book? What are readers going to love about your book? What makes your book un-put-downable? When someone sees your name on the front cover of a novel, what kind of story are they going to get? EX: Rachel Hauck has a literary voice and is known for slip-time novels — stories two time periods intersect — as well as royal romances. Susan May Warren is known for family stories, as well contemporary romances laced with adventure and action. Me? I write contemporary romance with strong women’s fiction elements. 

Again, if you’ve written more than one manuscript or novel, step back and take a big picture look at your books. What defines you as a writer? Humor? Happily Ever Afters? Supernatural elements? Gritty reality?

• What is your novel’s Story Question? 

I’ve written about Story Question before and, yes, it’s vital to know your novel’s Story Question (SQ) because it fuels your novel and keeps it moving forward. Your main characters and subplot characters are trying to answer your SQ — and your readers are subconsciously wrestling with the SQ, too. EX: Some of my novels’ SQs are:

• Is it ever wrong to love someone? (Somebody Like You)
• What if you discovered that what you thought was your worst mistake was actually the right choice? (Crazy Little Thing Called Love)
• How do other people’s opinions about us influence our choices? (Almost Like Being in Love)

By answering the Big 3 Questions, you are discovering more about yourself as a writer: what you write, why you write, and how to connect with your readers on an emotional level through your novel’s Story Question. So what about you? Will you take the time to answer the Big 3 before starting to write your next story?