Giving characters a Mission

It was really easy to write the beginnings of Tyrannosaur Queen and World’s Other Side. Why then, was it so hard to write the beginnings of New Frontiers, Charming Lies, and Junction? Charming Lies’ beginning is STILL giving me hell two years later!

The reason? I think it’s whether or not I gave my characters a mission. At the beginning of Tyrannosaur Queen, Trals has a mission: kill the slavers. Anrea has a mission: get home. Watching them try to accomplish those missions and bounce off each other is the whole first half of the story.

So now as I embark on a new story, I’m going to give my main character a mission: hunt down a criminal. Get her baby back. Save time travel. So. Three missions. It’s going to be a wild ride.