Purpose v. Goal: Story Always Comes First

 

Despite what the dictionary says, purpose and goal are not always the same. This is especially true when writing fiction. Educating my audience is my purpose, but telling a good story is my goal.

I recently purchased a novel from a local author. The story takes place in the region, and the premise sounded good. But when I started reading it, I didn’t get far.

The book begam with a lecture on the social history of the area. I made it through the first chapter and debated whether I should read on. Maybe the author had finished her sermon and was ready to move on to the story. But when I started the second chapter, it was more of the same, so I gave up. The book may have had the perfect plot and told a wonderful story, but I’ll never know.

It’s an easy trap to fall into, though.

I write because I’m addicted to it. I can’t not write. The genre is more of a choice, however. I write middle grade historical novels because I believe it is important for today’s children to know their history. So my purpose is to educate them about their country’s past. But my readers want a story, not a lecture, and if they get bored they will put the book down without learning anything I am trying to teach them. Without a good story, my purpose is lost.

When I wrote Desert Jewels, I wanted to show everything that the Japanese Americans on the West Coast went through during World War II when they were forced to leave their homes and live in internment camps. Unfortunately, that was unrealistic. There were some events and circumstances that I couldn’t weave into the story without bogging it down, so I had to leave them out. I probably still left in a few things I shouldn’t have, but hopefully the story is strong enough that my readers forgive me those slips. And I was able to provide enough of the flavor of those camps to give readers an understanding of what happened there.

By the time I sent Creating Esther to my middle-grade beta readers, I was doing better. However, I still wanted to show everything about how my Ojibwe protagonist lived before she went to a white-run boarding school, and that was unrealistic, too. Fortunately, this time I had the sense to ask my beta readers to point out those passages that sounded like lessons, and they did. The final version either reworked those parts or left them out.

Each beta reader questionnaire since then has asked that same question. I seem to have learned my own lesson, because the answer is usually “none.” When they do point something out, however, I find a way to make it flow with the story. If I can’t, it goes into the trash bin.

Fiction isn’t a textbook or a sermon. If it is written that way, readers will put it down. And they should.

As I said at the beginning of this post, education is my purpose, but telling a good story is my goal.

So if you want your readers to learn something new, put story first.

Finding Time to Read

 

In 2022 I read 122 books purely for fun. Well, maybe “purely for fun” is the wrong way to phrase it since I’m always picking up writing tips (both dos and don’ts) from reading other authors, but that number doesn’t include any of the nonfiction—including the many journals—that I read as research. I even left out the children’s fiction that I read to see how other authors have treated the same subject I’m looking to write about.

“Read” may also be a slight misnomer, since seventeen of them were audio books that I listened to while walking for exercise or doing housework.

Four of the 122 were novellas, and 42 were middle-grade novels, which tend to be shorter than adult fiction. Even so, that’s a lot of books in a year.

In spite of being retired from my legal career, I still lead a busy life. I consider myself a full-time writer, and although those writing hours include reading for research, I left those books out of the count. I'm also involved in several church ministries (e.g., choir, leading a Bible class) and am active in a local camera club. I even find time to watch Jeopardy in the afternoon and a few other game and reality shows in the evening and on weekends.

So how do I find time to do so much reading? Listening to audio books is one way. We all have moments when our body is busy but our mind isn’t. That’s the perfect time to listen to an audio book.

Then there is waiting time. If I have a doctor’s appointment or am going anywhere where I may have to wait around, I take a book. It’s usually my Kindle since that fits into my purse, but I have taken paperbacks and hardcover books, too.

I also use time that would otherwise be wasted. such as reading during commercials while watching TV. That probably won’t work for everyone since your mind has to be able to pick up the story where you left off a few minutes ago. But it does work for me.

If I’m eating a meal by myself, I read. Actually, I sometimes read when I’m eating with Roland, too, but he’s reading as well. I realize that reading while sharing a meal with others won’t work for everyone. Some people think it’s rude, but when you’ve both agreed to the practice, I don’t see it that way. And when we feel like talking, we do.

Then there are the times when most people read. An evening with nothing interesting on TV. A free Sunday afternoon. I take advantage of them, too.

If you complain that you can’t find time to read, you haven’t tried.

So read some good books this year.

Resolutions versus Goals

 

I’m only making one resolution this year, and by the time you read this I’ll have already kept it, That’s because my only resolution for 2023 is to reprint my blog post from January 7, 2019. Here it is.

Resolutions versus Goals

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I won’t say I’ve never done it, but it isn’t my normal practice. Instead, I set monthly writing goals.

As I see it, New Year’s resolutions are either achieved or broken. A resolution to drink a quart of water every day is broken the first time you drink anything less. And a resolution to lose ten pounds during the year can lull you into thinking you have twelve months to achieve it, so you don’t have any reason to be motivated until the year is almost over.

Goals are both more flexible and more forgiving. They say, “here is what I want to get done” rather than “here is what I resolve to do.” If circumstances change or life interferes, goals can be extended, modified, or even eliminated. If you simply fail to meet them, you can try again next month.

I set monthly writing goals and post them on the upper left-hand side of the bulletin board over my desk. That way, they are always there to remind me what I want to get done during the month. I have longer-term goals, too, but breaking them down into monthly pieces makes the task less daunting. And if it is less daunting, I am more likely to accomplish it.

Do I always succeed? Of course not. Some months I meet every single goal, and other months I miss on one or two. But during the year I get more done by setting monthly goals than I would by relying on New Year’s resolutions.

Or I could do both, but then I’d be depressed on January 2^nd when I broke the first resolution.

So I’ll stick with my monthly goals.

Resolutions versus Goals

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I won’t say I’ve never done it, but it isn’t my normal practice. Instead, I set monthly writing goals.

As I see it, New Year’s resolutions are either achieved or broken. A resolution to drink a quart of water every day is broken the first time you drink anything less. And a resolution to lose ten pounds during the year can lull you into thinking you have twelve months to achieve it, so you don’t have any reason to be motivated until the year is almost over.

Goals are both more flexible and more forgiving. They say, “here is what I want to get done” rather than “here is what I resolve to do.” If circumstances change or life interferes, goals can be extended, modified, or even eliminated. If you simply fail to meet them, you can try again next month.

I set monthly writing goals and post them on the upper left-hand side of the bulletin board over my desk. That way, they are always there to remind me what I want to get done during the month. I have longer-term goals, too, but breaking them down into monthly pieces makes the task less daunting. And if it is less daunting, I am more likely to accomplish it.

Do I always succeed? Of course not. Some months I meet every single goal, and other months I miss on one or two. But during the year I get more done by setting monthly goals than I would by relying on New Year’s resolutions.

Or I could do both, but then I’d be depressed on January 2^nd when I broke the first resolution.

So I’ll stick with my monthly goals.