Recap:

Last time, you learned about using your characters’ actions to better define them and their views. Remember that often your characters will act in different ways with different people, groups, or settings. What were some of the examples that came to your mind? How are you planning to use actions to build stronger characters? Next, we will look at what drives those actions and the choices they make—motive.

Introduction

Characters are the key elements of a compelling story. One technique that draws readers deeply into a narrative is exploring the motives behind a character’s actions. Identifying motivations provides the reasons why readers should care about the story. By developing strong character motives, you’ll give your story greater depth.

What are Character Motives?

A character’s motive refers to the driving force or reason that propels their thoughts, actions, and decisions throughout a story. This underlying motivation shapes who the character is and what they aim to achieve.

Where you’ve already started researching your character’s personality and actions, you have a head start for this section. Sometimes we try to get to this part too soon and end up in a stalemate, as our brain refuses to work. But now, with the personalities and actions you have, you can work backward to develop your character’s motive. Be ready for it to flow and change until you find the right ones as you write your story. A phrase from the military comes to mind: no plans survive first contact. This means that even if you outline your character to the ridges on their teeth, your character will find some reason to change their motive throughout the story.

Ask these Questions:

• What drives your protagonist’s thoughts and actions?
• If you had to sum up your antagonist’s motivation in one sentence, what would it be?
• What do these motives say about your character?

Developing Motives Adds Depth

Defining a character’s motives allows you to add nuance beyond their outward personality and behaviors. Consider a scenario where a model student abruptly becomes rebellious – selling drugs and skipping school. At first glance, this change seems like decaying morals. However, the motive could be a need to pay for a parent’s medical treatment. The revelation of this underlying drive adds empathy and depth to the character.

Remember that not everyone will agree with the motive of your character. Different backgrounds change how people judge motive. You can see this if you compare religions, political beliefs, and family standards, just to mention a few. By looking internally and externally, you can find unique ways to add depth and motive to your characters.

Ask these questions:

• How could you reveal an unexpected motivation that adds empathy to a character?
• What backstory could explain a character’s sudden change in behavior or morals?
• What are some difference in views that change how you view people’s actions? Or how others view yours?

Motives Shape Relationships and Conflicts

Motives are fluid – they shift as relationships and circumstances evolve. Different motivations in characters can create interesting tension when they work toward the same goal. For example, a hero and villain competing for the same object, like Laura Croft and the antagonist in the Tomb Raider. Their clashing motivations reveal insights about the characters.

In stories without a shared goal, contrasting motivations distinguish the characters. Their unique drives explain why they were chosen for this tale. Methods like this can also pull the reader into the equation by asking who do they agree with more. The response might surprise you!

Ask these questions:

• How are your protagonist and antagonist driven by contrasting motivations?
• How do your characters’ motivations shift as their relationships evolve?
• What are some reasons for your character’s motives?

Techniques to Reveal Motivations

Here are some techniques to uncover and convey your character’s motives:

• Conduct an imaginary interview to probe their desires, fears, and history.
• Write a detailed backstory highlighting formative experiences.
• Use internal monologues to uncover inner thoughts and feelings.
• Consider external influences from society, culture, or family.
• Analyze motives by asking who, what, when, where and why questions.
• Research psychological concepts like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

By developing strong character motivations, you can create an engaging story that pulls readers into its world. Defining what drives your characters makes them more realistic, relatable, and compelling.

Conclusion

Character motives are the driving forces behind a character’s thoughts, actions, and decisions. Defining powerful motivations adds depth and complexity, shaping relationships and conflicts within the story. To reveal and convey motivations, one can use techniques like imaginary interviews, backstories, and internal monologues. Character motives make individuals more realistic, relatable, and compelling. Understanding character motivations is possible through targeted questioning. Knowing why characters act a certain way is key to impactful storytelling.

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