Which detail hints at a character’s motivation

Clear, strong, and realistic motivations are essential for every round character in every story. But why exactly are these motivations so important? Obviously, none of these types of characters are ones you want in your story! There are two key types of motivations your characters might experience: internal and external. Bear in mind that they may experience both at the same time — more on that below. Internal motivations are those that come from within the character. The character is motivated to act by a choice they have made within themselves — a personal goal, perhaps, or a desire to achieve some outcome or reward.

External motivations are outside factors that motivate the character to act. Often, a combination of both these types of motivations makes for interesting storytelling — especially if the two happen to be conflicting. The character of Albus Dumbledore is a great exhibitor of both internal and external motivations, and a great example of how such motivations can also be conflicting.

However, Dumbledore also experiences a conflicting internal motivation: the desire to protect Harry, to see him lead a safe and happy life. As Dumbledore himself puts it…. I cared more for your happiness than your knowing the truth, more for your peace of mind than my plan, more for your life than the lives that might be lost if the plan failed.

Or a hero whose every action is completely altruistic and selfless? These kinds of characters tend to fall rather flat — all because their motivations are unrealistic. If you want your characters to read like living, breathing people, their motivations are going to have to be much more believable.

Unrealistic motivations tend to come into play most often with antagonistic characters. In this post, we reveal the seven essential story elements and show you how they work together. Whether you're working on a story, an essay, or an article, here's how to write better with these 5 tips.

Try them on for size! Finished your first draft and ready for the next step? We've put together nine top tips to help kickstart your self-edit! Learn how to write a story in six steps! From initial concept to polishing your final draft, here's everything you need to know. Build a compelling world and tell a story readers will love with these 6 tips on how to write science fiction from professional editors.

Reedsy is more than just a blog. Become a member today to discover how we can help you publish a beautiful book. Posted on Aug 17, What is character motivation? Why do your characters do what they do? Check their motivations! Click to tweet! Every one of your character's behaviors must stem from an inherent "need".

Many characters can share a goal without having the same motivations. Characters, like real people, have desires, wants and needs.

These all impact the choices they make. Here are 7 tips for creating character motivation:. People have differing formative experiences, different upbringings and personalities. All these different factors affect their values and motivations. For example, in a fantasy novel where characters go on a dangerous quest, one might be a money-hungry assassin who is in it for the pay.

Another in the party, meanwhile, has a restless spirit. In many horror novels, part of the mystery and thrill is not knowing exactly why a malevolent entity terrorizes its victims.

Yet there are always at least some characters who show psychological cause and effect in their behaviour. Establishing what drives your characters helps readers to understand why your story pans out the way it does. It lends cohesion — the story just makes inherent sense. One way to keep motivations interesting is to vary how aware characters are of their own motivations:. Just like you or me, characters might not always fully understand their own behaviour.

Conscious motivations are important because as readers we enjoy characters who are active, who take charge of their fates and act. Yet unconscious motivations are powerful for deeper characterization. They reveal character psychology. A character might, for example, self-sabotage out of low self-esteem. This behaviour pattern could stem from abuse earlier in life, such as being bullied badly in school. The sociologist Max Weber gives this definition of the difference between rational and irrational motivation:.

The truth is that most people follow a mix of rational and irrational motivations. Sometimes you might chop wood because you want to light a fire or have a barbecue. Sometimes you might chop wood to keep busy and ease agitation. The underlying cause might not match the action taken quite so clearly. Some characters might be primarily irrational in why they do things. They might be all impulsive, unconscious drives.