by Rieko Mendez

Editor’s Note: This is the second of three installments on What to Take on Your Writer’s Journey. Look for the third installment next month that will explore deeper revision.

I’ve been writing YA fiction seriously for the last five years. Like many of you, I’ve immersed myself in books on the writing craft and consumed every minute of workshops I could afford. Early in the pandemic, I lived for those free SCBWI digital workshops. In these blog posts, I want to share something different — the less obvious, yet crucial insights that upped the game in my writing journey.

One of the first questions you want to answer to set your writing up for success is why must you write this book? This question often gets deeper with another question, why are you the right person to write this book? 

Writing is putting a little or a lot of yourself out into the world. So it can be scary. We often have doubts about whether the work is good enough or how others would receive it. But as writers, we are compelled to write some message or story that needs to get out. 

Early on my journey, a friend asked why I was writing the book. My YA fantasy fiction is a coming-of-age story about a teen who finds belief in herself and unleashes her full powers to save her world. At the time my boys were teenagers and I wanted them to find belief in themselves on their own terms. So I thought that was why I needed to write the book. That was only the beginning.

As I worked on my character arc, I got stuck. I initially fashioned my protagonist starting out shy and unsure of herself and eventually becoming confident, brave, and believing in herself. It didn’t work. I kept veering off the arc — I couldn’t let go of the strength of my character’s voice, a voice that wanted to be heard, a voice seeking answers about herself. 

My writing partners asked, “what is your protagonist’s wound?” I started to understand that my character is carrying survivor’s guilt from losing the people she loves. So, I asked again, why must I write this book?

Often what compels us to write a specific story isn’t so obvious — it emerges and takes shape as we write. For example, you might set out to write about your family’s history to document their story, but as you write, you might discover that it’s really about expressing your voice against an injustice or giving voice to your love of a country. 

Answering these questions of why must you write this book and why are you the right person to write this book, helps us write a better book. But, here’s the catch — this requires being vulnerable and honest with ourselves.

My writing groups, which I wrote about in my first installment, gave me the strength to be okay with being vulnerable. 

Digging deeper into my story, revision after revision, I realized I was writing about my seventeen-year-old self’s grief over my mother’s death. She left before I could share all my dreams. She left before I could tell her sorry for not spending more time with her. She left before I could tell her that I love her. My book is a fantasy fiction about seraphs, a daughter of death and an epic battle to save a world, but my character’s emotions are real. 

When you’re okay with being vulnerable, the truth comes alive in your story and readers can connect and relate to the story.

I now know why I am writing this book and why I am the right person to write this book. My protagonist realizes her mother’s love has always been inside of her and that’s when she believes in herself and unleashes her full powers.

I ask you: why must you write your book?

Look for the third installment of What to Take on Your Writer’s Journey next month.

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Rieko Mendez, a SCBWI member, received special mention for her YA contemporary fantasy at SCBWI-L.A. Writers Day 2021. She mentors teen girls in underserved communities on writing through WriteGirl, an organization that promotes creativity and self-expression to empower girls. As board chair for Ready, Set, Read, a local literacy nonprofit, she co-authored articles for the 2020 LA Times Reading by 9 Guide. She is a graduate of Stanford University. http://www.riekomendez.com