The Novel Workshop: How to Create Motives for Your Fictional Characters

What drives a person to do what they do?  In real life and in fiction, motivation plays a major role in the direction of a person's life.  It can be what separates two people with the same external circumstances--with one overcoming the obstacles and the other succumbing to them.

Here are more tips and ideas on the topic:

• First, make sure that you have a core goal or drive for every main character in your stories--this keeps your plot from being aimless, which is often a cause for writer's block when you finally dead-end. What does he or she want to accomplish? What would your character do to reach that goal? What are possible obstacles that stand in their way?
• Know the "why" behind your characters' motivations. This could range from something from their childhood to an immediate and urgent situation that's thrown them off-guard.
• One great way to create conflict within a story is to have two characters who have goals that clash with each other--they both want their own way but both can't have it. This can be a clear-cut hero/villain situation or simply a protagonist and antagonist that aren't necessarily completely good or bad.
• If you get stuck in your story, refer back to the characters' motivations. This will usually spur an idea that will help you get things going again.

More Resources:

• Fictional Character Development Template
• The Writer's Library (More Writing How-to Articles)
  
• Web Writer Central

I would also recommend owning a few used psychology textbooks for reference on motivation and related topics--you can often find older editions at used bookstores for less than $10.  I was a psychology and broadcasting major in college, and it turned out to be great preparation for becoming a writer (though at the time I didn't know what I wanted to do).  I tend to approach things differently than people trained in literature--doesn't make one angle better than the other, but it's beneficial for any writer to be well-rounded in many topics.  It makes the whole process easier, and it's fun if you're a already a curious person.

If anyone has more tips that I haven't mentioned, feel free to include them.  I don't want this limited to just my perspective and like to learn from other people, too.

You can find out more about my writing at my author's blog by clicking here.

Have a great night!

Tricia