“This uniqueness and singleness which distinguishes each individual and gives a meaning to his existence has a bearing on creative work as much as it does human love.
When the impossibility of replacing a person is realized, it allows the responsibility which a man has for his existence and continuance to appear in all its magnitude.”
It will come as no surprise to most of you that I had the words Do Right By The Miracle tattooed on my person.
Nor would it surprise you to learn that I consider this my purpose in life. That which gives my life meaning.
I have a second purpose, stolen from author, psychiatrist, and Holocaust survivor Victor E. Frankl: The meaning of my life is to help others find the meaning of theirs.
Hence, this blog!
And my oh-so-serious selfie above, taken where the epilogue of my new novel (!) happens. (Hint: Lake Superior's North Shore, my favorite place on the planet). This is Heather Living Her PURPOSE.
I came to this understanding of what my purpose is through a ton of work in the You Have A Process vein, including writing a writer's artist statement and working on the Be / Do / Feel / Have formula .
It's not super often that I write in this space about craft because my greatest joy as a mentor and writing friend is to get into process and practice. But! When I feel I have something meaningful to contribute, something which adds to the conversation among writers about craft, I'm always excited to share. I love talking craft with my 1:1 writers, as well as honing my own in the writer's seat. It often takes years of work in the trenches to come up with something I can articulate to all of you in a way that is actionable.
Many of you have already checked out the free Unlock Your Novel workbook in the Lotus & Pen subscribers portal (soon to be revised re: this blog). Some of you have taken my Writing Bingeable Characters course, or were students in other courses or workshops I've taught. So you're likely familiar with my focus on writing from the inside out, plotting from character, versus imposing a plot on a character.
After years of testing out my approach to plotting and characterization, I finally feel ready to put my process of plotting through character to unlock one's novel (whether in prepping, drafting, or revising) out into the world in a more consistent way.
I feel ready because I've figured out the missing piece to this process! On accident!
And all thanks to being a writer 24-7 and picking up Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning as research for my WIP, as something to help my writers with, and as part of my ongoing inquiry into what it means to do right by the miracle.
Please replace "his" and "man" with your own gender or no gender. I know, it's annoying. But don't throw this baby out with the bathwater!
(Jesus, that's a violent metaphor. Did someone actually do that on accident?)
Frankl's observations and research bear out. To see this in action, check out Atul Gawande's Being Mortal - a must-read for all Americans concerned about aging, caretaking, and navigating the healthcare system skillfully.
“Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life to carry out a concrete assignment which demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced or repeated. Thus, everyone’s task is as unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it.”
As many of you know, I talk about Unlocking your novel through what I previously called the Keyring of Desire, but will now just call the Character Keys because I always felt like that sounded like a regency romance. 🔥
There are now FOUR keys on this story keyring…I think I might have to develop a collection of awesome keyrings to add to my obsession with vintage keys.
So, grab a notebook and pen, because we've got some work to do! (( Do this on yourself if you're writing a memoir. ))
First, write down in whatever way is helpful to you what these four keys are.
Character Keys to Unlock Your Novel
Key #1: Desperate Desire - The thing your proto knows they want. (The job, the throne, etc.)
Key #2: Longing- I used to call this key the "Unconscious Need," but that term wasn't getting to the heart of this key, which is characterized by a deep, almost existential longing. it is often unconscious, but a highly articulate and emotionally intelligent character might be able to identify it, if pressed.
The character NEEDS this key in order to experience the transformation and eventual healing that (hopefully) comes at the end of your book.
Key #3: Misbelief - This is the story that runs your character, and it's not true. About themselves or the world or others. (You can't trust anyone, no one loves me, etc.). It’s a kind of wound, and it festers. You might even think of it as “their wound.” All misbeliefs have backstories. Your character is likely aware of this, but might not be. More likely, it’s not something they would be able to articulate unless they'd been in therapy for 10,000 years.
and...
drumroll....
the fourth key is....
Key #4: PURPOSE - The best way I can explain this is to say that your proto's purpose (and yours) is what they see their reason for being on this planet is. (to make people laugh, to save at least one life with their art, to bring more beauty to the world, to be a great dad, etc.)
In the early days of my publishing career, and even now, when I talked to teens, I structured my talk around encouraging kids to "live your what." Basically, what is your purpose and how do you live that? We had a scholarship program for a while, and it was so cool to read how the applicants wanted to live their what.
There were purposes like helping to end hunger, becoming a great athlete, inspiring others.
Frankl, I found, did the same thing in his wing of psychology, called logotherapy. His version is a more nuanced way to look at living your what:
Frankl didn't encourage people WHAT to do (prescriptive, always changing), but encouraged them to figure out WHY they do it.
The WHY is your purpose, the meaning of your life.
Put another way: Your purpose (and your proto's) is the axis on which your whole life spins.
It filters into everything - how you interact with others, what you write, what you choose to consume, etc. It might not always be front of mind, but it's there.
It doesn't have to be super serious and high stakes like mine!
I was raised by two Marines in an Evangelical family so I had no choice but to ride or die with my purpose. 🤣
I love this French creator's purpose - to bring silliness into the world. YES!!!! Also, how cute is Dumpster Dog???
What if Putin's goal was to bring silliness instead of chaos into the world? What if the NRA suddenly decided that silliness, not guns, would keep society safer?
One of my favorite YouTube videos ever is of these Soldiers doing a choreographed dance routine in Afghanistan - not only am I happy to have my tax dollars go to that, but I would absolutely love to see war just become an awesome dance off. Is this a silly thought? Sure. But you know what? It makes me smile and it gives me hope. (I know some of you might be thinking this is fucked-up because it's war and these guys are goofing off - I see your point, but have chosen to look at how this video has prompted me to wonder how maybe all Soldiers just want to shake their booty and would do that instead of hold guns if the world would let them know that was okay. And this has led to other thoughts about possibility in the vein of Truth and Reconciliation, another thing Frankl talks about and which is dealt with beautifully in Pumla Gobodo Madikizela's A Human Being Died That Night).
As you can see, I do a lot of light summer reading.🙃
I love how Circe's purpose - to experience her world fully and with pleasure and curiosity - not only makes her happy, but has a ripple effect of joy throughout our household. Her purpose may not "seem" noble, but it helps me keep the lights on when things get dark. And that's really important. It ensures I can do my work, fulfill my purpose.
Isn't it cool, how when you are fulfilling your purpose it helps others fulfill theirs?
What does PURPOSE have to do with unlocking a novel and writing unforgettable, bingeable characters?
One of the challenges I and my writers have had is that EVEN WITH the first three character keys, it can be a bit tricky to find that strong throughline that drives your character.
This is because the DESPERATE DESIRE is temporary - it could be for just the length of the novel (save a kingdom) or might change midway through (save the kingdom might become avoiding the pressures of the throne).
The LONGING is, you'll remember, your character's wound - that thing they need to know or accept in order to be at ease with themselves and their life. This is strongly related to the third key, their MISBELIEF, which is the story they are telling themselves about the world or themselves or people that is not true. This story is a wound and it runs them. Healing that wound (key #2) in the climax is what brings them to the end of their journey.
BUT THE LAST PAGE OF YOUR BOOK IS NOT THE END OF THEIR JOURNEY.
This is the thing I realized was missing:
By focusing only on the length of our novel, we trip ourselves up because we're not thinking about our characters in the absolute fullness of their humanity. We are unconsciously limiting them to this period of time in their life.
We also run the danger of reducing them to emotional wounds and desires.
When you discover your character's PURPOSE, you discover the absolute core of their being.
They can be very aware of their purpose from the beginning of your novel, or they might be discovering it as part of the story.
I have so much more to say about this, but truly, this is not the place - I'd have to write you an e-book. Which is why this aspect of Unlock will be a whole new module in Writing Bingeable Characters. I am so so so excited to share it with you all.
In the meantime, I have an exercise for you! I'll give you my two protagonists' Character Keyings in my WIP as an example, but I highly encourage you to read Frankl's book to really get it (the first half is about his time in Auschwitz and, though you may be tempted to skip it, I hope you read it because it really helps all this make sense).
Writing Exercise
Directions:
Daydream, do side writing, create a playlist and close your eyes....
whatever you need to do to begin working on defining your protagonist's Character Keys. It’s often easiest to do this on yourself first. Also, don't you want to do this inner work?? It will really support your writing practice and, dare I say, your life's journey as a whole.
You might figure out each step out of order. If you feel lost, check out the Unlock workbook on the subscriber portal. (Click here if you aren’t yet a subscriber.)
Here's my examples from my WIP, A Correspondence, about two war correspondents in a city under siege....trust me, I started this long before the war in Ukraine broke out, but....wow is it painful to see a book like this play out IRL.
Dasha Holitz (combat photographer)
DD: To stay alive.
Longing: To feel like she’s done enough.
MB: That she’s a coward.
Purpose: To bear witness through her presence and photography.
Ina Joss (combat reporter)
DD: To find “the story” - she believes every writer has one and that she hasn’t found it yet. The one she was born to write.
Longing: To die with her boots on, for a story that's worth the price of her life.
MB: She needs war to bring meaning to her life.
Purpose: To pay her rent for being on this earth by afflicting the comfortable.
Figuring out this fourth key has really helped when I found myself in scenes where I felt lost as to WHY my protagonists even want what they want.
For example, there is a scene in which Dasha is considering leaving the combat zone. But she is the only photographer left during an invasion. If there was no one to bear witness, then she wouldn't be fulfilling her purpose. This creates good tension - her desperate desire is to stay alive and her misbelief is that she's a coward. But her unconscious need is to know she has done enough. So should she stay, or should she go?
When I discovered her purpose - not just her fears and desires - I knew she had to see the story through. And I was able to give the reader a believable reason, when so much of who she is and what's happening on the ground would make us wonder why the hell she doesn't leave.
Frankl says, "What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general, but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment."
This is great for storytelling: because your proto will always be navigating the world wondering what the next right thing is, based on their purpose, but also the facts on the ground.
Dasha can't help anyone if she's dead. So even if she decides to stay, she might need to change her mind in order to fulfill her purpose. This decision could have a huge ripple effect on others and even on the war itself. Leaving would involve some massive personal sacrifice - but is that as big a sacrifice as her life? What can she live with? What would she rather die than ever do?
MIC DROP!!!!
Whatever your purpose is - and that of your protagonist - I wish you a creative life full of meaning and a deep sense of unshakable personal vocation.
And if you feel ready to dive deeper into Character Keys and writing bingeable characters (and chapters! and books!), you know where to find me….
With love from the trenches,
