We all know the risks of being TOO much of a plotter, or TOO much of a pantser. Writers who spend all their time drafting outlines can miss the joy of creative inspiration, and writers who spend all their time freewheeling can miss the joy of finishing a cohesive book.
That’s where motivation comes
in. Not our own motivation for writing, but our characters’ motivation for
doing whatever they do.
What Motivates Your
Characters?
It can be tempting to skate
right past that question, just grabbing any old thing that sounds plausible.
"Oh, my detective is motivated by wanting revenge on the criminal who
killed his wife." "Oh, my lab researcher is motivated by the dream of
finding a lost asteroid." "Oh, my diner waitress is motivated by her
desire to become a celebrity chef."
But you notice what's missing
from those statements?
They're giving us the
characters' goal, not their motivation.
Revenge is a goal. Becoming a
celebrity chef is a goal. Finding a lost asteroid is a goal.
Yet what's driving them to
achieve this goal? THAT's where we get into motivation.
What should theirs be?
Sometimes
it's tempting to give our characters a motivation that's one-hundred percent
kind, honest, charitable, grateful, noble, responsible, loving and good.
The
only problem with that is: how can such a person possibly change for the
better?
If
they're starring in an action-adventure story where readers don't especially
care about character development, then we don't need to worry about showing how
they grow & learn & change between Chapter One and The End. (James
Bond, for instance, has never possessed a whole lot of inner depth, and nobody
cares!)
Now
we've got something to work with.
Any
story is more interesting when the characters have to struggle with not only
the external obstacles that keep 'em from achieving their goals, but also the
internal obstacles that keep 'em from achieving perfect happiness until the end
of the book.
Even
if they don't yet realize it, there's something -- aside from wanting revenge,
a chef's toque, or a lost asteroid -- which gets 'em up in the morning ready to
start the day.
Whatever
that is, that motivation will give your readers something to root for. Because,
no matter how much they care about the goal, they'll care even more if they
know what's driving this person.
It's
okay if your character doesn't yet KNOW what's driving 'em. In fact, plenty of
books start with the character thinking their life will be perfect once they've
achieved the external goal…only to discover there's really something else they
wanted (and needed) even more.
Which
leads to a question:
What
goals have you seen characters striving to achieve, whether or not their
motivation was clear up front?
If
you can think of an example, please share it.
(And if we get at least 20 people
sharing *
somebody will win a prize of free registration to my
Plotting Via
Motivation class
starting March 3 at WriterUniv.com.)
*In the comment section, please leave your contact info
so Nancy can chose a winner. Emails will NOT be shared
I
can't wait to see what people come up with!
BIO: Laurie Schnebly Campbell (BookLaurie.com) grew up in a family that discussed psychology around the dinner table, handy for getting her romance-novel couples to a happy ending…which might be what helped her win “Best Special Edition of the Year” over Nora Roberts. The only thing she loves more than writing romance is working with other writers, which is why she now teaches at WriterUniv.com and has written a book for novelists who want to create believable characters with built-in fatal (or not quite fatal) flaws.
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