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Character Motivations: 6 Questions On What Drives Your Characters
Character Motivations: 6 Questions On What Drives Your Characters
Character Motivations: 6 Questions On What Drives Your Characters
Keep in mind these should be both the good and the bad events.
Backstory has its uses, but you need to be sparing with it. A story can get all
too easily bogged down in backstory. You don’t need to explain every action your
character takes through past events in their life. But having an idea of these events
will help you imagine what a character might do given a specific scenario.
An example of a book that uses backstory well is Thomas Harris’ The Silence of the
Lambs. The title refers to a traumatic event in the childhood of FBI Agent Clarice
Starling. As a child, Starling heard the slaughter of lambs. This imbued her with
sensitivity to the suffering of others. This aids her in her line of work as an FBI agent.
The backstory we get is relevant to Starling’s traits. Yet Harris also keeps backstory
to a minimum. He gives us enough to help us understand Agent Starling, her
personal strengths and weaknesses.
There are various approaches you can take to working out character motivations.
You could write a brief imaginary biography for your character. This can take the
form of a made-up Wikipedia entry. Or you could pretend they are a keynote speaker
at an event. Write the blurb the MC could use to introduce your character. Use
whatever creative approach works for you.
The things characters want that drive their motivations should be specific and
concrete. Then obstacles between your character and their heart’s desire supply
narrative tension.
Some genres supply us with character’s desires by default. In a romantic novel, for
example, the character wants the object of their affection. In a detective or crime
novel, the investigator wants to solve the crime. When you have the desire supplying
your character’s motivations already, think about ways you can complicate these
motivations.
For example, give your character flaws that get in their way. The romantic lead might
have an unfortunately shy or stiff manner. It could come across as cold and
disinterested to the love interest, for example. Jane Austen milks this character flaw
for all it’s worth in her classic novel Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Darcy’s standoffish
behaviour comes across as rude to Lizzie Bennett. We enjoy the narrative tension in
Lizzie’s gradual realization of Darcy’s true nature. It is much kinder and more caring
than first appears.
One effect of fear is to help us focus. Take, for example, a performer suffering jitters
and about to go on stage. Their only focus is nailing their performance. So how do
your characters’ fears focus their minds on their goals? A character who is afraid
their lover might bore of them, for example, might go to extraordinary lengths to
remain attractive.
Make a list of a character’s possible fears and rank them from largest to smallest.
What is their worst nightmare scenario? What do they do to keep the things they
want to happen least (job loss, relationship loss, etc.) at bay?
Say, for example, a character wants to survive a sinking ship. They may also be
terrified of water, knowing that they are a mediocre swimmer.
Another example: A character may want a lover. Yet emotional vulnerability frightens
him. Characters’ desires and fears don’t always have to be at loggerheads. But fears
can complicate motivations and give your characters interesting stumbling blocks.
As you brainstorm your characters, think about which are their main motivations.
Which are their secondary ones? Is a detective’s main drive to solve the crime
professional? Or could there be a mingling of personal drives, as they’ve gotten to
know the local community? Mixing professional and private motivations gives
characters complex, interlinked drives. These push them to achieve their goals.