Are you finished with your book but can’t quickly articulate what it’s about?  You know it’s a great story, but it falls flat as you struggle to find the right words?  Maybe you need to hone your Storyquestion. 

The Story Question is the conscious, or subconscious question that drives your character – and reader – through the book.  It’s the truth they are seeking to find.  Or it could be the truth they will accidentally discover.  Whatever it is, it’s personal, and something that readers themselves want answers to.

Every book, movie, short story – and non-fiction book, for that matter, has a question, however subtle.  And, it’s the stories that ask riveting questions through the circumstances of their characters that linger with us.  Consider Of Mice and Men. A haunting story that makes us ask – just how responsible is George for Lennie’s actions?  This happens to be the same question George struggles with.

How about one of my childhood favorites – Where the Red Fern Grows.  Does God care about the influences and sacrifices of two hound dogs – or any pet – on a person’s life?  Enough to honor them with a Red Fern?  Are pets sent into our life because of some sort of divine intervention? The author explores this idea throughout the story.

Consider our firefighter from last week’s Quick Skills.  What if he is assigned to investigate fires – and the evidence points to a family member?  His question might be, what’s more important, family or truth?  Now, let’s make it more personal – Would you betray your family for the truth?  Or, you could even add some nuances to it.  What if he had to betray someone who saved his life?

That’s the power of a story question – getting to the heart of the story, for the character, for the reader.  And that element that will make your story linger in your reader’s mind.  (and hopefully tell others!)

Here’s how:  Find the theme – what is the overall story about?  Family?  Honor?  Justice?  Then ask:  what do I want to say about the theme?  What is the lesson your character(s) learn?  How can you turn that around and ask a question about it?  Now, make it personal. For creativity, try making it more specific. Or even turning it over. e.g. What if you discovered you had accidently killed someone?  Would you turn yourself in?

Here’s my trick:  I always ask myself, what about this story matters to me?  What do I care about?  What would I want to know?  What is my question?  If I can answer this for myself, then I’ve got a starting place as I develop it for my character.

By the way, you need to do this for every POV character – because it will lead to their epiphany later.

Here’s the added bonus – when you go to market the story, you’ll have ready questions to raise interest.  You can even use the story question to create a pitch: What if a fire investigator discovered that an arsonist was his brother – the brother who’d saved his life.

Quick Skill:  Give your story power by finding the them, then develop a story question

Have a great writing week!

Susie May

P.S.  As you might already know, MBT is now offering an advanced membership!  And, the month of January is preview
month.  Go to:  http://teammemberpreview.mybooktherapy.com to find out more and sign up for your free trial membership.  No obligation, you get to join in the fun, and you’ll get an invite at the end of the month to join at our reduced rate! Hope to see you on the team!