Every story has one main question that it raises in the beginning and answers by the end,

and usually these questions are determined by a story genre.

So in an action story, we want to find out whether the characters are going to survive or not.

So will these characters survive the asteroid attack or the threat from the antagonist or whatever

it is or not? Welcome to the Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast.

My name is Savannah Gilboo and I'm here to help you write a story that works.

I want to prove to you that writing a novel doesn't have to be overwhelming.

So each week I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple, actionable, and step-by-step strategies

that you can implement in your writing right away.

So whether you're brand new your writing right away.

So whether you're brand new to writing or more of a seasoned author

looking to improve your craft,

this podcast is for you.

So pick up a pen and let's get started.

In today's episode, we're going to talk about your story's major dramatic question or the MDQ of your story.

And I really wanted to tackle this topic today because it's something we talk about often in my notes to novel course.

I'm always asking my students what's your story really about or what's the central thread of your story or that main plot line and usually this is a

super helpful question to ask and answer so I really wanted to share it with you

today so that you could have another tool in your writing toolbox. But before we dig into how to find

the major dramatic question of your story, we should start with a definition. So what is the

major dramatic question of a story?

Well, the major dramatic question or the MDQ of a story is the engine driving the entire

...