Characters (Part 2) - Motivation

I can guarantee that every moment of your entire life there has always been something that you wanted. It could be an object like a book or a specific car, or it could also be an emotion like happiness or satisfaction. Before you tell me that I am wrong and there was moment X where you were happy and nothing could ever go wrong, I will reply, “Ahh, but you wanted that moment to continue.” Even when we seem to have no motive, there is always a desire behind our actions. Even if we are doing it for someone else. 

Every time a character acts, speaks or thinks there should be a motive behind it. If there is a dog that appears in your story for one paragraph, it wants something. It probably won’t be motivated by anything more than food, but that is still something. 

While we can’t always decipher what those around us want, we need to be clear when writing our books because if the reader is going to relate to our characters they need to understand the reasoning going on behind their actions. If my protagonist decides to leave her family but I don’t explain why, the reader won’t understand why they are hurting their family simply to get a job in another country. But if you explain their desire for adventure, and that they understand the pain but that it is necessary, suddenly you can emphasize and be on board.  

There are two different motivations that can affect your character: outer and inner. 

Outer motivation can be easy to describe. It is a runner’s desire to win their marathon, or complete it with a high score. It is a chef’s desire to bake that perfect cake. It is something that can be quantifiable and attainable. A final scene of a novel will have them finishing that race with the score that they wanted, or taking that cake out of the oven and seeing how perfect it is.  

That is not to discount outer motivations as being simple because they are necessary. It is these visual clues that most readers will look for to deem success for their protagonist. They won’t be satisfied if that runner never gets the time they wanted or if that chef will always bake flat cakes. Suddenly the whole point of the story was for naught. 

But it is because they are combined with the inner motivation that they seem more meaningful. This is an emotionally based motivation. A character is seeking a certain feeling. Perhaps it is the satisfaction of baking that cake, or the elation of crossing that finish line and seeing everyone in the crowd shouting their name. Either way, a non-self-reflective protagonist will only ever think of that outer motivation and it is the writer’s job to share that inner motivation with the reader.  

True, some writers won’t concentrate at all on inner motivation, and yet some won’t ever concentrate on outer motivation either. I believe that they are both important for good story telling but every writer has a different opinion. Every reader has a different opinion. I like to know that something more than just an emotion has been created because while a writer can depict the feelings of euphoria that are happening, I like having the tangible event so that I can feel it for the protagonist as well. I can be along for the ride with the protagonist and feel as though I have succeeded as well. 

Reading is all about having an experience that you wouldn’t otherwise have, especially for me because I love fantasy and I will never be able to meet a dragon, so being able to go through the events with the protagonist is important to me.  

Whatever the motivation of the character is, it must be present throughout each action and thing that they say. The motivation does not have to stay the same the entire time either. As they accomplish smaller things, their motivation can change and develop. The runner had to finish top eight in a smaller marathon on their way to the major event. The chef had to prove he could bake a cupcake before he was allowed to tackle a bigger dessert. Or the chef discovered he no longer cared about the cake and instead wanted to open a cupcake store.

There needs to be that consecutive building of introducing the motivation, struggling with its completion, and finally achieving it. Though it does not always have to be achieved either. There are some stories where the protagonist might have wanted something that was impossibly out of his reach so even when he tried his hardest he was unable to attain it. The lesson learned here was that we have to be reasonable with our expectations. Like I had to come to terms that I would never be able to meet a dragon.  

As you can tell, there are many exceptions to the rules so I can never say, “You must do this.” However, before you decide to bend the rules, consider learning them first, that way you know how to break them to more effect. Every character must have a motivation, even if they will never meet it, and they must actively work to get it.