Creative Writing Tip:
Motivate Your Characters
We've all seen the
stereotype of the actor whining at the director, "But what is my
motivation?" There is a practical reason to motivate your characters.
My nine-year-old daughter recently panned a popular summer movie. She didn't
understand why the bad guy of the show kept attacking the hero. "It
seems like he only did it because he was bad, but that's no reason for him
to do those things." Yes, kids can see through the special effects
flash and know when a story doesn't make sense. It didn't make sense
because the characters didn't seem to have a reason to be there.
So, you need to motivate your characters to carry out the actions you
want in your story. To find your character's motivation, ask yourself the
following:
- What does the character want? Usually, characters strive for some
sort of goal, such as a romantic relationship, financial gain, or to
be reunited with family. Sometimes, characters just want their
circumstances to stay the same. In any case, the character should
want something definite so that the reader can identify it clearly.
- How desperately does the character want it? Would the character
die without it? Would it mean the end of the world? Would it destroy
that person's whole way of life? That person's values? The more the
character cares about achieving his or her desire, the more the
reader will care about it as well.
- What stands in the character's way? Is someone else in love with
the object of the character's desire? Does the character have some
sort of limitation that keeps him or her from reaching the goal,
such as a physical impediment or an addiction? The more difficult it
is for the character to achieve the goal, the more interested the
reader will be in seeing what happens. Readers will also keep
reading when the outcome in in doubt.
- What is the character willing to do to achieve it? Would the
character lie? Cheat? Cover up? Or do you have a character who
wouldn't compromise his or her principles, even if it meant defeat
or destruction? Here is where the character becomes someone the
reader wants to cheer for or boo at.
Make sure that all of your characters have motivations and use those
motivations to bring the characters into conflict. The thief wants to get
away with the crime, and the detective wants to find him and bring him to
justice. The woman wants to go off to college, but her ailing mother wants
her to stay and run the family store. Make the motivations strong enough,
and you will write an engaging story.
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