Write a thumbnail sketch of who your protagonist is before the novel starts. Resist the urge to make detailed lists of the color of their hair and what’s in their closet. Keep it short and to the point—the point being, who is this person on the inside? What do they believe? What do they want? Where are they in their life, specifically? Your goal, as always, is to infuse what your protagonist has done with the internal reason why they did it. Never lose sight of this simple fact: it’s not just about what your protagonist did, it’s about why.
