Finding Your Story's Heart by Unveiling Your Why
Cultivating the Writer's Mindset: Finding Renewed Passion by Understanding Your Why
Last time, I mentioned the importance of setting an intention. There, I focused on your intention as a writer… your overall purpose for writing, which helps inform your goals.
Today I want to discuss the importance of understanding why you’re writing the specific story you’re working on right now. This is a slight pivot from my plan, but this feels like a good time to discuss it.
Although most writers—especially comic writers for some reason—fight me on this and suggest this isn’t necessary, I’m confident that taking a moment to understand your why can change your writing overnight.
Welcome to "Cultivating the Writer’s Mindset," a series focused on unlocking your creative potential by addressing the thoughts and beliefs that limit you. As we explore how these internal barriers contribute to self-doubt, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and other negative patterns writers face, you'll learn to reshape your thinking, paving the way for ease and success. If you haven't read the previous articles, I suggest you start with Part I.
When Motivation Takes a Hike
I met with a comic book writer a few months ago. Let’s call him Jake.
Jake was stuck. He’d been working on his story for months, but he’d been thinking about it for years. He knew this story could be the one… the one comic project that would make him a household name, at least for those who read comics.
But now that he was writing it, he felt like a failure. The vision in his head hadn’t appeared on the page, and he wasn’t writing as frequently as he hoped he would. He still loved his idea, but the spark was fading.
Quick side note:
Writers often come to me asking for tips to get them moving again, to help them overcome procrastination, perfectionism, or imposter syndrome. (Of course, most of them don’t know that’s what they’re asking for; they just know they’re struggling.)
I want you to know that Jake isn’t alone in this, and neither are you. Don’t let those perfect online writing influencers suggest you shouldn’t have an iota of difficulty along your way.
Anyway, after I called attention to the massive weight he’d put on his shoulders by making this next project “the one,” I asked, as I often do, “Why are you writing this story?”
He looked at me, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Like, why are you writing this story? Why are you compelled to tell it right now?”
He said, “Oh, I just want to write a horror story with lots of gore.”
This is the response I always get. A sort of surface-level answer. You can replace horror with any other genre, and you can change “gore” to “action” or “twists.”
Many writers think they want to mimic the look and feel of their favorite comics, novels, or movies. So they try to grasp that, thinking twists and action or gore will see them through. But usually—I’d say always, but you’d just debate the hell out of that—you need something deeper.
After listening to Jake tell me about his grand ideas, his set pieces, and those moments of horror his readers won’t soon forget, I asked a more pointed question: “What’s the point? Yes, readers will enjoy the sweeping action and suspense, but what will readers take away from it? What’s the point you’re trying to make?”
He, like most writers I ask, didn’t have an answer. In fact, he rebelled at the idea that he needed a point at all.
And that’s why he was struggling. He had set up this need to write a perfect story, the one that would put him on the map, but he didn’t have anything solid to hold himself up with after the gore and action lost its luster.
Here’s something I’ve learned: When you’re struggling, when the self-doubt kicks in, understanding why you’re writing the story helps you get over the hump.
Not only that, but it’ll help your story resonate with readers, too. And isn’t that why we’re writing in the first place?
No, I’m not saying your why is all you need, but it’s one more tool in your writer’s toolbox, one that might help you get through those moments of doubt and insecurity.
What Is Your Why?
Your why is your reason for being here. It’s the heart of the story. It expresses the themes you choose to play with. It’s often the moral of the story or the message you’re trying to convey.
I know, I know, you don’t have a message. You’re not trying to teach your reader anything.
But deep down, you’re trying to communicate something to your readers. It’s the whole point of your story. The point that underlies the action. It’s what resonates with readers by making your character’s goals and fears relatable.
In other words, the action and twists are what engage the reader, but your why is what makes it resonate.
Maybe one of the values you live by is honesty. Maybe you get fired up when cheaters win. Perhaps you don’t know this as you’re writing about a tycoon who looks like he’s getting away with murder. But you have this ending in mind where the hero overcomes the odds and defeats this rich bastard at the last moment, all while following the rules.
So, in this case, it’s possible that despite the cool action scenes you want to throw in, despite that insane twist at the midpoint, it’s possible that the story you’re trying to tell is one that proves cheaters never prosper.
Or maybe, with all the turmoil in the world, you have this conviction that what everyone needs right now is a little more compassion. To get away from it all, you’re writing an action-packed heist novel. But although you’ve got the tropes down and you’re hitting all the beats, it’s not coming together the way you’d hoped. Something’s missing. And the burning need to write this story is starting to fade…
Then boom, you realize this is the perfect vehicle to share your message that compassion is what we all need right now. If you tweak this one pivotal scene, and if you give the hero an underlying need to help others, and if you change that ending so she gives the bag of money to a homeless child… yeah, yeah. That’s it! The spark is back, baby!
That nugget of wisdom, that emotion you’re leaving with the reader at the end, that feeling… that’s your why.
The How of Your Why
Knowing your why can help you as the writer as you create the story, it can help the story itself, and it can help your readers, too. Here’s how:
The Writer — Passion and Motivation
Look, let’s get real for a second. Writing can be a challenge. There are going to be days you don’t want to write. Some days, you’ll realize you’re a hack. Other days, you’ll ask why you’re writing this story when that one over there—the one with all the thrills this one lacks—seems so much more exciting.
That shocking twist you had planned for the midpoint? That kick-ass action sequence you couldn’t wait to write? Well, those will only carry you so far when the going gets rough. If anything, those will be the first to lose their luster when the shiny new idea comes along.
But knowing your why—and I mean really understanding the heart of the story and why you have to tell it right now—will help you stay motivated. It’ll help you get through procrastination, writer’s block, and other obstacles.
Why? Because now you have something to say. You understand where the burning need is coming from.
It’s so easy to give up on a story with a cool plot point but nothing else. But damn, it’s hard to give up on a story that’s been eating at you for years because you’re dying to show what it’s like to overcome addiction or show what it’s like to stick to your beliefs even when you’re persecuted for them.
When you know your why, when you understand the heart of the story and why it moves you, you can’t not write it.
The Story — Direction
Like a good central dramatic question, a clear understanding of why you're telling the story can guide key decisions about plot, character development, and conflict/resolution. If you’re dying to tell a story about a girl overcoming her self-loathing and learning to tell herself she’s enough as she is, that knowledge can help keep the story on track. It helps make sure every element contributes to the overarching message you want to convey.
In a way, your why acts as an emotional anchor for your narrative. It keeps you focused on the central themes and emotional truths that motivate you.
The Reader — Authentic Connection
Your why helps you connect with your readers. It helps you express your true self, making the story more relatable and impactful. This helps you craft a story that not only entertains but also inspires or provokes thought.
Remember, the action and twists are what engage the readers, but your why is what makes the story resonate.
In another post—the one about bad pitches—I mentioned that I love underdog stories and those that show how teamwork saves the day. It (almost) doesn’t matter how well the story is told, if it contains elements of underdog and friendship, I’m going to get choked up at the end.
And that’s the why of those stories. That’s the point.
When you understand your why, you’re better able to convey messages that resonate with your audience. It helps readers feel understood. It makes them feel seen.
Journal Exercise
Sometimes, you won’t uncover your why until you write a draft of your story and the characters sort of tell you through their actions. Other times, the why is the reason you get started in the first place.
Regardless of which one feels right for the story you’re working on, here are a couple of suggestions that might help you discover your why.
Know Your Values
I’m a big fan of understanding the values that drive us. And they can help with your storytelling, too.
Let’s use the evil tycoon example again. Let’s say you’ve drafted a story about an ultra-rich dude who sends ninjas… no, vampire ninjas… to steal secrets from his competitors.
But the story isn’t working for some reason. The action’s there, but it doesn’t have any heart. It doesn’t resonate.
So you hop over to a list of values (like James Clear’s or maybe Brené Brown’s) and you browse until you find one that fits your beliefs.
You realize you’re driven by honesty and that by injecting your hero with a need to always work within the rules, you have a character who’s belief system counters the beliefs of your villain.
Or maybe you value forgiveness, and suddenly you realize that by having your hero forgive the villain at the end, your story comes alive in a way you never imagined it could.
Or hell, maybe your hero values being the best and anything less is a waste of time, which turns the entire story on its head.
Regardless of what it is that drives you, I suggest you take a moment to jot down a few of your values and see what might change in your story if you inject them into the narrative.
Ask the Five Whys
This one goes a little deeper, perhaps, and looks for other reasons behind the why.
The Five Whys, which I’ve also seen called the Seven Whys, was introduced by Taiichi Ohno at Toyota Motor Corporation as a way to explore cause and effect. Granted, he used it for business, but I think you can put it to good use for your storytelling, too.
Let’s look at that heist story idea again. Let’s imagine that you haven’t written this story yet, but what you know is that your main character needs some cash, and she knows just who to take it from—oooh, maybe it’s an evil tycoon with a contingent of vampire ninjas. But for some reason, you want her to give the money she steals to an orphan.
Okay, great, you want her to give away the money, but you’re not sure why that idea drives you. So you ask the first why…
Why? I enjoy helping others in need.
Why? I believe everyone deserves a chance to thrive.
Why? I remember seeing my mom give money to a homeless man, and it made me feel alive.
Why? Because her actions resonated with my sense of empathy.
Why? I have an innate desire for justice and kindness to prevail.
Okay, so maybe that example is a little forced, but you get the idea.
The point is to uncover why you’re motivated to end on a positive note with the hero giving away what she fought for. Knowing that will give you new insight to use as you develop the story.
You can ask the whys for your characters, too. You ask your hero why she’d give away the money, and you learn she was deprived of opportunities as a kid and saw a rich uncle succeed by cheating others. You drill down with more whys, and boom, you suddenly have new motivations for both your hero and your villain.
As I said earlier, knowing your why isn’t going to magically make everything easy, but it is another tool to use. And it can help you, your story, and your readers…
Journal Prompt
With each Cultivating the Writer’s Mindset post, I provide a simple statement. Each statement will elicit a thought or emotion. After reading it, take 5-10 minutes to journal about the thoughts and emotions that come to you. If journaling isn’t your thing, then at least sit with your thoughts for a moment. Ask yourself why you reacted the way you did.
Today’s prompt:
If my novel/comic is good enough, and I mean really good, then readers will find it without me needing to market it.
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Dude, this one came at the right time for me. I was getting a bit stuck again and thinking about the Why and what I'm trying to say is exactly what I needed, I think, to get me through it.