Motivations in fiction don’t need to be rational - after all, humans are incredibly irrational. #amwritingĬlick to tweet! Do all character motivations have to be rational? Many characters can share a goal without having the same motivations. In both these scenarios, the goal is the same, but the motivations change. To prove to her mentor that she has what it takes to pull off a big job (self-fulfillment).To pay for surgery to restore her partner’s eyesight (psychological need), or.To save her family home from being sold (basic need),.To prove himself to be the greatest detective (self-fulfillment).Ī bank robber might be planning the heist of her life:.To salvage his reputation in the force (psychological need), or. Before he becomes the next victim (basic need).In a psychological thriller, a detective might be hunting down a serial killer: In fiction, you’ll notice that characters can share an identical goal - while having motivations that are worlds apart. Winning World Cups is not an intrinsic human need, whereas self-actualization is. Motivation is the underlying reason why a person has that goal, like the fear of being financially insecure or the need to prove themselves as someone exceptional.It is a conscious objective like getting rich or winning the World Cup. A ‘goal’ is something that a character wants to achieve.Perhaps the simplest way to think about it is this: Goals and motivations are commonly confused, and understandably so: they’re both things that relate to a character’s ‘wants,’ and they both can drive a character and their story. #amwritingĬlick to tweet! The difference between a goal and a motivation ”Įvery one of your character's behaviors must stem from an inherent "need". The most important thing to take away from this is that all human behavior should derive from an inherent “need. There has, however, been debate over the strict hierarchy he's placed upon these motivations. Maslow’s theory suggests that all basic physiological needs (and most psychological needs) must be met before a person starts to focus on any higher purpose like creative fulfillment. In recent years, Maslow’s model has been simplified in a way that may be more useful to authors, breaking his tiers into three categories. (Sidebar: It’s interesting to note the impact psychologists like Maslow, Freud and Jung have had on modern storytelling) An American psychologist working in the mid-20th century, Abraham Maslow proposed many human ‘wants’ and prioritized them from basic survival needs to existential desires like self-actualization and morality. In her fantastic post on motivation, author Kristen Kieffer uses Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Need” as a way to explain character behavior. So bring them to life and give them real, understandable reasons for doing what they do. Without credible motivations, your characters will read like strange puppets that you’ve dressed in human clothing. Everyone wants something, and so should your characters." As writer and blogger Ryan Lanz says in this post on which story elements to establish right away, character motivations are critical to getting readers invested: "Who do you know in life that doesn’t want something? Exactly. Readers don’t have to like, approve of, or share a character’s motivation - they just have to believe it. Readers need your character’s motivations to be credible. PRO-TIP: For examples of great antagonists with believable motivations, check out these nine best cozy mysteries. If you keep going down this rabbit hole, you’ll soon realize that relatable antagonists are much more interesting and terrifying than ones who care about senseless, abstract villainy. When was the last time anybody did anything for the sake of being evil? Why do they do this? “Being evil” is not good enough. Writers tend to be pretty good at creating the arc of a protagonist while forgetting to flesh out an antagonist. Every character needs to have motivations, no matter how unlikable they are. You know the old cliché of actors asking for their ‘motivation,’ right? They sometimes call it a “playable note” and it’s something that can help you write believable characters.Īsk an actor to deliver his lines ‘desperately,’ and they’ll lay on the motions of desperation (stammering, agitation, etc.) - but if you tie it to a playable motive like “if the customer doesn’t sign the contract, you’ll be fired and your family will be evicted,” then they have something to really incentivize them.Īs an author, it’s tough to write an “angry” character - much better to create a situation that frustrates their motivations, resulting in their anger. Motivations make it easier to put yourself in the head of a character. If you’re writing a short story, novel, song, or haiku that features a character, you need to pay attention to motivations for the following reasons. Why is it important to understand character motivations?
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