Curriculum
Module 01 of Talk To Your Manuscript Again.
When a manuscript stops talking, the protagonist usually has a complaint they haven't been allowed to voice. We're going to sit down with them — formally, on the page — and ask. The interview format does the work most "character bibles" can't, because it lets the character object. By the end you'll have one paragraph in their voice that tells you exactly what's stuck.
DARE →
Write a Q&A between you and your protagonist. Ask one question they don't want to answer. Let them dodge once. Then ask again.
⚙ ANSWER PLACEHOLDER — write this one in Book Maven voice.
⚙ ANSWER PLACEHOLDER — write this one in Book Maven voice.
⚙ ANSWER PLACEHOLDER — write this one in Book Maven voice.
⚙ ANSWER PLACEHOLDER — write this one in Book Maven voice.
⚙ ANSWER PLACEHOLDER — write this one in Book Maven voice.
✦ MANTRA
My protagonist has a complaint. I'm sitting down to hear it. The book starts whispering when I stop talking over it.
The manuscript that won't speak is usually a protagonist with a grievance. Pull up a chair. Ask. The next chapter writes itself once the air clears.
— L.A. Walton, The Book Maven