The Question that Gets Deeper

What Do I Want?

In August, I had the pleasure of going on a writer’s retreat with the East Valley Authors chapter of Romance Writers of America. The speaker that day was the talented Shannon Donnelly, and her focus was on storytelling (which also included writing well-rounded characters).

What really stuck with me was something that I’m using in my personal life now. As I get older, and as the family dynamic around me changes, and as I spend more time getting comfy with the hour of 2 am during bouts of insomnia, I find myself dissatisfied with certain areas of my life; so Shannon’s story question became personal for me.

I asked myself the question. What do I want?

Insert Superficial Answer Here

When I ask myself that question and I’m at the Day Job, and it’s almost lunchtime, 99% of the time my answer will be the Beef Panang from Vic’s Thai. No, seriously. It’s THAT GOOD.

But when I  stuffed myself with Beef Panang and asked myself the question again, I came up with a different answer. And it got deeper (the way it’s supposed to) when I applied Shannon’s method of divining character motivation.

What do I want? – A life free of day-to-day financial worry. (And Beef Panang from Vic’s Thai.)

What do I Really want? – The ability to travel to foreign countries with my husband.

What do I Really, Really want? – To hit all the bestseller lists with my novels.

What do I Really, Really, REALLY want? – A successful career in writing that enables me and my family to live without the day-to-day financial worry, whether that career be in novels, playwriting, writing for the movies, or TV.

Of course, there’s a second part to this. Who am I willing to kill   What am I willing to do to get what I want? But that’s a post for a different day.

~oOo~

What about you? What do YOU want? Sound off!