The Importance of Character Motivation in Fiction Writing

Often, writers get lost in their own words. They work on a project so long they see it as clear as day. What they lose here is the critical eye. One important aspect of any work of fiction is a characters motivation. With an piece of fiction characters should run the show; but many writers struggle with this piece of the writing puzzle. There is no single way to handle a fiction characters motivation. This essay will explore a few possible motivations.

Consider, before writing anything, what your character looks and acts like. That is the easy part. Now we must deepen our character so they will fit on the page in just the right way. What do they want? Every person in the world wants something; it is one of those things we all have in common. Some of us want wealth, power, love, food, and, as you can see, often these are interrelated. To find he heart of a character we must find their motivations.

Let's say we have a young man who grew up in extreme poverty. It will write itself won't it? He simply wants to either make sure his family is always well fed, or that his refrigerator is never empty. If we were playing with images, this character could start crying when he sees his fridge is empty and there is nothing that he can do about it. Explore that idea because that is another piece of humanity instilled even in the rich: we want to be able to at least provide for ourselves. Now, what if he has a family? This raises the stakes. A family does not mean everyone will relate, but often the burden on the character will be even greater.

The pieces to the writing puzzle will start to fit when we explore what our characters want. This young man struggled with poverty and there it is staring him the face all over again. Now, would it be different if the "he" was a "she?" This is a tough situation for anyone, but often we can alter our character's sex and see what happens. Perhaps the girl is the opposite: she was born rich and never had to worry. The problem is that everything she wants is given. What motivates her? It may be different. She might have easier access to power. But how would she react to the empty fridge? Those are just some thoughts on character motivation. We can work on them all day, and then find we are writing about ourselves. That is when a character is truly taking a life of his own.