When you’re writing your story—whether it’s YOUR story or a fictional story, a historical story or the story of your own readers’ particular struggle—you MUST know that the main character you’re writing about begins in a chaos of lies.

We all come into this world innocent little creatures who learn through osmosis, soaking up like a sponge everything we need to learn to be safe and sound. The creatures we learn from are fallible beings who do the best they can without a parenting manual. Between innocence and adulthood, we learn to adapt to lies.

The lies are the states of being we’ve learned along the way. Do this, do that. Don’t do this, don’t do that. Be this way, not that way. This is right, that is wrong.

We humans learn this. We learn to adapt and mold ourselves to minimize hearing any of this.

As we cycle through life, day by day, year by year, we may get stuck in a rut and clouded in confusion. We lose track of what truly is at the heart of our own being. We may be taught desire is wrong, when in fact our true desire is the engine that keeps us going. Even when we’re not aware of it.

Getting out of that rut and expressing the heart of true desire is the purpose of the character you are writing in your story.

If you’re writing how-to or self-help, you know your ideal reader is living in a certain cloud of confusion yet has enough awareness and desire to read your book, which offers clarity that cuts through that cloud. The answer has existed in the universe the whole time, but your book gives them a shortcut so they don’t have to spiral along.

If writing fiction or memoir, you know your character must go through an arc of learning about themselves as they deal with external forces. They begin shrouded in the chaos of life, unaware of the possibilities. Then something comes undone and they pivot toward the new trajectory that catapults them toward facing their desire, their truth.

This is the first few pages of the book. The first step out of the rut, the ordinary, the doldrums. The point of no return is here. Their purpose is revealed. The whole point of the book is here.

There is no story without the lies. There is no story without your character unveiling the truth.

If you need help getting at the heart of your book and deciphering the trajectory of the journey from beginning to end, let’s chat.