The Universal in the Specific
Sometimes the most challenging part of a writing project is getting started. There are simply limitless possibilities, and that can make a writer reluctant to start making choices. After all, we know we’re going to be stuck with a bad choice for the length of the book, or that we will have to go back and revise away the evidence of said flawed decision. But once you make the first few decisions, giving yourself limits, it becomes much easier to extrapolate out what happens next, or specifics about a character’s bio. After all, we find the universal inside the specific. We don’t want to read about just anyone. We want to read about a well-developed character with specific flaws and goals, someone we can imagine has life beyond the page.