Mile 5: How to get into your protagonist’s 🧠 head

Novel Marathon

Dear Novelists & Novelistas,
🏃Welcome to Mile 5 of Novel Marathon – The 2023 Edition!
It’s the first week of April! Perhaps some of you are participating in #CampNaNoWriMo. If you are, I’m cheering you on! Meanwhile, I’m doing my own version of camping – in my own driveway, no less… Yes, we bought a camper! The plan is to take it out on the road in the summer, but for now, it’s sitting in front of our house, where it serves as my personal writing studio.
I have to tell you, it’s quite glorious to leave behind the general hubbub of a family of four living in a 1,000 sq ft house whenever I feel like it, and enjoy some peace and quiet in the camper. Its best feature, by far, is the purple electric fireplace 💜 I love staring at it whenever I’m out of plot ideas!
Here’s the last batch of assignments we worked on:https://novelmarathon.substack.com/p/novel-marathon-mile-4-snow-and-palm
Here are the readings and assignments to work on for the NEXT two weeks:
📚Required reading
Ch. 9 & 10 in The One Year Novelist
Ch. 6 in Story Genius
🌟Extra credit reading
Pgs. 18-20 in Refuse To Be Done
✏️ Your Assignment
👟Getting inside your protagonist’s head
What is your MC's misbelief?
What are they just totally wrong about?
What was the formative moment in your protagonist’s life?
What event shaped the trajectory they’re currently on?
What secrets does your protagonist have, what lies have they told – to others, and more importantly, to themselves?
👟Understanding your protagonist’s trajectory
When did YOUR protagonist first adopt an incorrect hypothesis about the world — an incorrect theory about how the world works — and how has that incorrect theory guided their actions for better or for worse before page one of your book?
Imagine three pivotal moments when something happened in your character’s past which caused them to commit even more to whatever faulty theory they have, which gets them further into trouble by misguiding their actions. Imagine those moments as fully as you can, and write out three scenes that describe what happened to them before your book even starts.
Remember, the events of your novel will help the protagonist examine their misbelief, and perhaps form a different worldview as a result.
Previous assignments can be found at novelmarathon.substack.com
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Good luck & happy writing! ✍️