Hi Reader!

I rediscovered a photo recently that has thrown me into all sorts of nostalgia and warm, fuzzy feels.

Yeah yeah, I know, the half-rotting woman on the right isn't exactly cuddly, but she's part of me. And she's a memory anchor—what I call a "ghost" in my story revision framework—that takes me back to 20 years ago, when I first met my partner.

If you're not sure what that ☝️ cake image is from, it's two player characters from World of Warcraft, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG for short) that has played a very special role in my life.

👀 But look at what else is in that photo above. 🍰

It's more than just an image of our hero characters. Because that (edible) screenshot is on a cake. From a wedding engagement. And that cake design was created by his family, who do not know anything about WoW, without any guidance from us.

This photo represents 😍🫶❤️‍🔥 acceptance and celebration and joy.

And it always calls me back to that moment where I "met" him for the first time in game, at a little settlement in the Barrens zone called Crossroads.

✍️ He signed my guild charter—I needed TEN signatures, and I didn't even know that many people—so I could start my own online found family.

His big hulking Tauren 🐂 showed up in my jaded 💀 Undead life and changed it forever.

💕 This was our Memorable Meeting (you might call it a "meet cute"), and that one moment said so much about us both.

I was chasing agency, independence, trustworthy companionship, and personal growth.

He was looking for a place to belong, to help build a group of people that he'd feel safe and welcome in, no matter what.

And our individual journeys crossed paths in a 💻 virtual world, at one very special crossroads where 🦒 giraffe amble by and vendors are ready to buy all your chipped claws and the music is so soothing that 😴 I still hear it in my sleep.

To most WoW players, this little low-level questing hub is a passthrough point. They do their levels there, and then they move on.

For me, the virtual Crossroads represents the metaphorical crossroads that shaped the journey my life has taken over the past twenty years.

When I think of the Crossroads in WoW, I feel. Deeply. 💓

But I don't have to see the savanna or the crude tent village or even be in the game to get that feeling.

All I need is a connection TO it. 🔗 Like that screenshot on our engagement cake.

💥 And THAT ☝️ is why backstory is SO important in your heroes' stories.

It's about more than just what happened, when.

It's about the tapestry of life that moment is connected to, all the little threads that run into and out of it, and the 🎨 explosion of color and meaning and feeling that it channels right into the heart of the hero.

🗨️ One of the chat comments in this past Saturday's workshop was that they realized their hero's backstory wasn't as deep as it needed to be.

💡 If you've been struggling with your hero's motivation or the depth of their story arc or what milestone choices will set up their growth, you might just need a backstory session.

Log back in to Breakthrough Backstories and discover the 🧵 of your hero's story tapestry

And when you do that deep dive into your hero's world, think about the moments in your own life that 👻 trigger feelings and images and thoughts and smells.

That's ☝️ the foundation of a deep story arc.

You just have to know it for yourself before you can infuse it into your words.

👋 PS, way down here!

A while back, I shared that I'm writing a book. And I asked if you wanted to hear about it while I'm discovering and writing and revising. And some of you said yes. 💝

Today's email was inspired by a new scene I wrote in that book, just an hour ago. (It took me longer to write this email than that scene. 😅)

I hope you enjoyed the insight into the world of my own story. And I hope it inspires something within you. 🥰

Hit reply if you enjoyed this email and tell me what sorts of things you'd like me to share next! 🤔 What are you curious about?