I think it’s great to learn as you go. Narrative memoir and fiction have unique writing techniques that are rarely applied to other types of writing. Diving into your book is the best way to learn the techniques that best serve your book.

I would also council patience learning as you go. If a brilliant writer/story-teller such as Ann Patchett takes several years to write a book, with all of her mastery of writing technique and story structure, it will likely take an aspiring author a bit longer. Each road block or frustration you encounter in your book-writing journey presents an opportunity to grow and learn more.

Empowering writers to lean into what lights them up about their stories is at the root of why I wanted to become a book coach.

I embrace this quote from Ursula LeGuin in Steering the Craft:

The judgement that a work is complete – this is what I meant to do, and I stand by it – can only come from the writer …

For writers to be able to articulate: This is what I mean to do … sounds simple, but it’s actually really hard work. It takes some developed knowledge of writing craft and techniques.

It often takes months, and at least a draft, for writers to be able to articulate what their story is really about – why it’s important to them on a personal level. And that’s if they know to be asking themselves that question.

Every book requires compromises – authors have to edit, shape, and often cull the raw ideas they began with, but at the same time, we all have strong story intuition and wisdom.

Crafting that story into book form without losing the inspirational spark that began it is an art! The best thing authors can do while learning craft and writing techniques is to stay in touch with what they love about their story.

The process of writing a book is a process of discovery. Story is transformation. I encourage writers to lean into the fact that they are figuring out how to write their book.

Your protagonist is figuring out how to fix their “problem.” The “problem” is often a flawed worldview, a “lie” the character innately believes and acts on in the beginning.

Story events challenge the protagonist to confront their flawed worldview or “lie” and eventually learn to act on a “better truth.”

It’s okay that you don’t know how to “solve” all of the challenges your book presents! Your protagonist is also a bit lost for most of your book. If you can lean into the process of figuring your book out, you’ll be in a better position to write a character who is figuring things out along their plotline.

The arc always develops and refines as you write. Mark down what you think the arc might be, but stay open to the story events teaching you (as they teach the protagonist) what the protagonist most needs to learn.

Yes, this is so common! Learning writing craft is like learning another language – the more you learn, the more you realize you have to learn.

The reason even experienced writers write multiple drafts is because it’s impossible to develop all of the narrative elements at once. Same with learning narrative elements – if you take even one or two new ideas or techniques from a writing book that’s a win!

You don’t have to learn all of the tools, strategies, approaches, and techniques. You’re seeking the tools of the craft that allow you to bring your vision to light.

You’ve hit on a very common problem! So often I’ve seen minor characters “take over” a story. The point of view character becomes a neutral “camera” reporting on what it happening all around them, allowing minor characters to read as far more interesting.

This problem is often because a protagonist isn’t reacting to, and in turn, acting because of, what’s happening in the scene. The protagonist – particularly the point of view protagonist – is the main character because story events impact him/her/them the most.

We need to hear, from the protagonist’s point of view, how events are impacting them, and why. This often requires interiority.

A flawed worldview to a “better truth” can read silly or forced if it is written separate from story events – plot. A character’s shift in worldview has to come as a direct result of plot/story events.

An example I use (read more on my blog abigailraeke@gmail.com “Three Pillars of Book Structure”) is from Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds. Hannah is a master of Historical/Book Club fiction.

In the opening pages of The Four Winds, Hannah’s protagonist, Elsa reflects:

 “Elsa knew it was over. This was not a battle she could win. She was to stay quiet and out of sight, not to go out into the world.”

 This interior “thought” comes as a direct result of a previous scene. This seeds the character’s flawed worldview or “lie,” and her arc: She was to stay quiet and out of sight, not go out into the world.

You’d better believe that by the end of the book, Elsa is out in the world, using her voice! The reader “sees” her doing this in scene – the plot events, i.e. what happens in the book, build directly to this “climactic” event.

I think these dark tunnels of self-doubt and self-incrimination crop up because writers don’t know how to revise. It’s hard to really let go with your writing if you don’t know what to do with it afterwards.

The first step after writing and before revising is analyzing. Some questions to begin with are: What does this scene / story event mean to my protagonist? How is it affecting him/her/them? Now, what is the protagonist going to do about it?

I offer a free downloadable workbook about the process at www.abigailraeke.com

To practice letting your writing flow while receiving gentle coaching from me and my editorial partner Libby Baker,  join us for Story Wise in November!

Story Wise is a small writing group with weekly Friday meetings. Set your writing goal for the month; Libby and I provide weekly exercises and guidance developing your protagonist, arc, and story while you write.