Last weekend was one of those longtime-coming-but-so-worth-the-wait kind of events. After 18 months of planning, best-selling author Rachel Hauck spoke at Write in the Springs, the annual conference for the Colorado Springs ACFW group.

One of the first things I did when I became president of ACFWCS was to ask Rachel to be our 2015 speaker. Her yes was immediate and enthusiastic. The result? Two days of writers being taught – equipped and encouraged – by a woman who knows story and who wants other writers to succeed.

In between taking photos and checking on things in the background, I typed a few notes of my own. These two lines about developing characters stand out:

• I am tired of being behind this Fear.
• I am tired of this Wound.

Here at My Book Therapy, we’re all about creating compelling characters. And we start with the Dark Moment, which leads to a Wound, a Lie, and a Fear. The Dark Moment, Wound, Lie, and Fear affects our characters’ relationships with God and with others. As we write our stories, our characters fight against the pain of the Wound, the trap of the Lie, and the Fear that holds them back from being their true selves.

But there comes a time in our characters’ lives when they have to say:

• I am tired of being behind this Fear.
• I am tired of this Wound.

And this is when we, as the author, allow our characters to change. They have to change. Who wants to read a book where the characters remain the same from beginning to end?

Dark Moments, Wounds, Lies, Fears – they are not just craft elements created to help us write better stories. Each one of us has our own Dark Moment that resulted in a heart wound. We believe lies about ourselves and about God. Each of us is afraid. Of someone. Of something.

We have to grow up, embrace faith and the strength of God to say, “I am tired of being afraid. I am tired of letting this wound of my past control today and strangle my future.”

And as authors, we build those life-changing moments into our stories too. Allow our characters to move from fear to courage. Bring imaginary people into their fictional lives who help heal their wounds – who teach them to trust God again, or maybe trust Him for the first time.

Consider the story you are writing. When do your main characters get to say, “I am tired of being behind this fear” and “I am tired of this wound”?