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On Finding Character Motivations

Hey everyone, Abby here with another advice post! Today I’m talking about motivations and how to make them unique to each character.

What is character motivation and why is it important?

What motivated you to get out of bed this morning? What’s motivating you to read right now?

Even if it isn’t immediately apparent, everything you do has a motivation behind it, big or small. Maybe you got out of bed this morning to turn your alarm off, or maybe because you have an ultra-important job interview happening today that you can’t be late for.

Character motivation is important because your characters have to have a reason to be doing what they’re doing. Even if it’s just because they feel like it - why do they just feel like it? If your character is going on a journey for literally no reason, there’s no reason for them not to be laying on their bed staring at the ceiling instead. If they’re doing it to rescue someone, to see the world, to pay a debt, they have a reason, and their journey has an understandable purpose.

In essence, motivation answers the age-old question of “why.”

Simple Motivation

Simple character motivation is this: your character wants or needs something, and they are motivated to fulfill that want or need. If they’re hungry, they’re going to eat. If they want they’ll ask someone for a hug or drop hints that they want a hug until someone complies. They’ll do their thing.

A simple character motivation is determined by one will. Your character has a drive to do one thing, and they will do that one thing.

Complex Motivation

Complex motivation is where it gets interesting, where we really see the dimension to your characters. Simple motivation is determined by a will. Complex motivation is determined by a will and at least one counterwill, when your character is pulled in multiple directions and they’re trying to satisfy everything.

Think of it with this situation: Character A’s S.O. cheated on them.

If A’s simple motivation was to be respected, this occurrence would be a sign of disrespect and would more than likely result in them leaving their S.O.

However, if A has a complex motivation, things get complicated. They want to be respected, but they also want to feel loved and supported in a way that perhaps they believe only their S.O. can. Because of these two conflicting interests, what we interpret as a simple decision has a lot more riding on it. Whether or not A decides to leave their S.O., they’re failing to fulfill one of their motivations. A complex motivation like this adds character dimension because we see how A prioritizes what they want in a relationship and what they’re willing to sacrifice or compromise at this level. Whether or not it’s something you as an author (or reader) necessarily agree with, we see depth.

How do we know what motivates our characters?

This question should be one of the first few that you answer when developing each of your characters. What qualities or ideas do they hold to the highest level in everyday life? We’ll stick with the simple motivation of being respected that we used before.

Great! We have a simple motivation. Now: take something your character cares about, and use it to challenge that simple motivation. They want to be respected, and something (that matters to them) makes them feel that they’ve been disrespected. What is their motivation in regard to this thing that happened, and does it challenge their simple motivation?

We see characters at their most engaging when they’re being pulled in what feels like a million different directions, forced to choose between things that matter to them. This is why we so heavily emphasis character motivation.

If this post helped you out, please consider buying me a coffee over on ko-fi!

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🌤 DAY TWENTY-TWO 🌤

DECEMBER 12, 2019 || 11:02 A.M.

🌤 TO DO LIST 🌤

study for finals: physics, japanese, geometry, ap world

get all christmas gifts online

shower and cut hair (for real this time)

prep for ap world presentation tomorrow -> print presentation notes

🌤 DAILY GOALS 🌤

make newsies and waitress fanart

read more of the cruel prince

reorganize yourself

🌤 CHECK-IN 🌤

a very late check-in but:

i cut my hair pretty short and i think i like it? i’m watching newsies again today and i think i might skip on the fanart because it’s quite awkward when it’s a smaller theater and there’s no stagedoor. anyways, i’ve been studying for me geo final but it’s really hard to power through it with everything else that i have stacked up. hopefully i’ll be able to pull it all together.

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☎️ DAY TWENTY-ONE ☎️

DECEMBER 11, 2019 || 10:52 A.M.

☎️ TO DO LIST ☎️

study for all upcoming finals: japanese, geometry, ap world history, physics

prep for ap world history project -> print presentation notes

cut hair today!

☎️ DAILY GOALS ☎️

make newsies and waitress fanart

get back into story writing

work more on creative journal

☎️ CHECK-IN ☎️

i studies really really hard for my japanese oral exam that happened earlier today and i think i did better than usual!! still had the usual stuttering but i felt better about it. anyways, christmas is coming up really soon and i need to get on online ordering gifts today. not to mention finals week.

to distract me from next week, i’m watching newsies a second time and i’m s o excited. it’s all i’ve been listening to for the past week.

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🚇 DAY TWENTY 🚇

DECEMBER 8, 2019 || 10:40 P.M.

🚇 TO DO LIST 🚇

physics lab on google docs

japanese homework + study for oral exam

geometry homework

ap world history project

🚇 DAILY GOALS 🚇

keep up on reading and sleep schedule

cut hair short!!

make fanart for newsies and waitress

🚇 CHECK-IN 🚇

this weekend, i majorly prioritized play over work because i thought “why not? i need a break anyways.” and while i did have an amazing time going to newsies and spending time with my best friend, the consequences are really getting to me now. it’s currently 1:45 a.m. and i’m trying to make a study guide for the oral exam for japanese in tuesday. i’m extremely scared about that, on top of class presentations for ap world and my geometry test. and then finals next week. a lot is happening and i’m having lots of trouble balancing it out. but i do think enjoying this weekend was a must and i definitely wouldn’t take it back. sometimes you just need a break.

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📼 DAY NINETEEN 📼

DECEMBER 5, 2019 || 7:55 A.M.

📼 TO DO LIST 📼

work on physics lab -> fill in worksheet

japanese homework + study for oral exam (tues.)

geometry homework

work on ap world project—make more notes and try formatting a worksheet

📼 DAILY GOALS 📼

reading: at least twenty minutes before going to sleep

talk less, listen more

score at least one goal in hockey during pe

📼 CHECK-IN 📼

i’ve just now realized how fast the week has gone by and how close finals are. i just wish i had a bit more time to study for things. after this semester, i think i’m going to have a sort of reset and hopefully i’ll be better about taking care of everything i need to. i’m really trying to stick with the schedule i’ve made with homework and sleeping. i think it’s looking pretty good.

also: newsies is in two days!!

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🚗 DAY EIGHTEEN 🚗

DECEMBER 4, 2019 || 7:55 A.M.

🚗 TO DO LIST 🚗

japnese homework + look over oral exam stuff -> make a quizlet?

geometry homework

see what you can do on the ap world history project

🚗 DAILY GOALS 🚗

finish making the “about me” page in my creative journal

read more of the cruel prince!!

make christmas lists

🚗 CHECK-IN 🚗

good news! my physics exam grade came in this morning and i got an 89/100! while it’s obviously not 90+ i’m still really proud of myself. i studies really hard and it paid off. it’s currently registry right now so i’m going to get my japanese quiz results in about twenty minutes. anyways, i was trying to plan out some story stuff last night for my thing and i couldn’t seem to figure anything out. it was really disappointing because i’ve been wanting to write scenes but i can’t find a plot to tie them together. i’m going to try a bit more today so i can hoepfully get something together.

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🌖 DAY SEVENTEEN 🌖

DECEMBER 3, 2019 || 9:52 A.M.

🌖 TO DO LIST 🌖

japanese homework

geometry homework

ap world history practice exams units three and four on ap classroom (due thurs.)

🌖 DAILY GOALS 🌖

set up more time for yourself!! starting today—all homework should be finished by 7:00-8:00. no more than that.

sleep at a stricter time—12:00 is the latest on weekdays.

keep drinking more coconut water and eat more vegetables.

🌖 CHECK-IN 🌖

i think the japanese quiz went pretty well. i’m feeling sort of tired right now and it’s already midday. luckily i’ve already finished the majority of my homework in class. i just hope i won’t waste the time later when i get home. anyways, with my new lunch container, i’ve been packing my lunch more and i haven’t been late to school yet. i’m going to try and keep that up but we’ll see how it goes. i’ve been wanting to do a lot lately but haven’t had any time so maybe today will be the day. i only have ap world homework to do now and i might drop out of today’s tech afterschool so i can have some more me time. it’s looking like i’ll be finished with all of my work at 5:00 or 6:00 tonight!

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🍸 DAY SIXTEEN 🍸

DECEMBER 2, 2019 || 10:26 A.M.

🍸 TO DO LIST 🍸

take short notes on ch. 6 for physics

study for japanese quiz tomorrow -> quizlet

geometry homework

try ap world practice exam on the ap classroom website

🍸 DAILY GOALS 🍸

work more on figuring out an actual plot

make a new journal entry in creative journal

read more of the cruel prince!! and read the cursed child

make a christmas list

🍸 CHECK-IN 🍸

tomorrow notes—

i studied really hard last night until 2:00 and i’m surprisingly unaffected because of my two hour nap yesterday. i’m really scared about my quiz today. it just feels unfair that i need to try this hard to keep up my grades and not improve as much as i’d want. i’m getting a headache again so that’ll be it for today. hopefully i can get some more personal stuff done today.

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🎣 DAY FIFTEEN 🎣

DECEMBER 1, 2019 || 10:49 P.M.

🎣 TO DO LIST 🎣

study for japanese using quizlet study sets -> quiz on tues.

shower!!

use up the rest of free time prepping for school tomorrow and relaxing -> work on daily goals

🎣 DAILY GOALS 🎣

work more in fleshing out characters and storylines for stuff.

make a new journal entry in creative journal

read more of the cruel prince!! and read the cursed child.

finish season 2 of anne with an e this weekend!!

🎣 CHECK-IN 🎣

the day number for today’s log is quite fitting, seeing as it’s birthday and i am now fifteen!! really i don’t feel any different but i did have an amazing weekend/break celebrating the occasion. to start off, on friday, i got to go to a chainsmokers/5sos concert, which surprisingly got me into 5sos music and was also pretty wild and rave-like. then i got to go to a cat cafe and (surprise!) watched harry potter and the cursed child on saturday. <- an absolutely beautiful show by the way,, like magical. and today i got to watch knives out and eat at my favorite restaurant with my family. i really think that break was beneficial to my health and even though i’m really tired, i still had one hell of a time. hopefully i can get some good rest tonight because i’m not at all ready for school. wish me luck i guess!

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🌧 DAY FOURTEEN 🌧

NOVEMBER 27, 2019 || 4:52 A.M.

🌧 TO DO LIST 🌧

make japanese new years cards + study for japanese quiz and exams -> make quizlets

add more to project pinterest boards

plan thanksgiving dinner outfit

🌧 DAILY GOALS 🌧

plan all upcoming event outfits—concert, birthday, etc.

finish binging available seasons of anne with an e on netflix

save up money starting birthday

🌧 CHECK-IN 🌧

tomorrow notes—

it’s thanksgiving now!! i’m going to skip over the log for today because i don’t want to worry about filling it in. i overpacked quite a bit for today with all of my journaling stuff but i’m sure i’ll use it all. <- what i tell myself.

anyways, i’m doing pretty ish right now. could be better but it’s the holidays so i’ll try to enjoy it. i don’t want to go back to school at all.

i’m in the car with my cousin going out of town for dinner. we’re getting into a bit of traffic now so i think i’ll start reading. happy thanksgiving!! gonna stuff my face.

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🌾 DAY THIRTEEN 🌾

NOVEMBER 26, 2019 || 10:55 A.M.

🌾 TO DO LIST 🌾

make japanese new years cards + study for japanese quiz and exams -> make quizlets

continue working on character development notes + develop plots

plan birthday!!

🌾 DAILY GOALS 🌾

be better about not falling asleep before i can get ready to go asleep

stop procrastinating on these tumblr logs

make something for thanksgiving dinner

🌾 CHECK-IN 🌾

i started a pinterest board for my untitled project and i think it makes it a lot easier to capture the vibe i’m going for. i also think i’m learning towards film for this one.

i also officially started a podcast with my cousin kayla, which we planned out while making muffins. it went really well and we’re definitely trying to make it at least a monthly thing, hopefully a weekly thing.

finally got to buying those newsies tickets for my birthday, and i think i’m gonna be going to a cat cafe too! more on that in a week.

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🌱 DAY TWELVE 🌱

NOVEMBER 23, 2019 || 5:33 P.M.

🌱 TO DO LIST 🌱

prep for second day of crafts fair -> make some more bead bracelets?

make japanese new years cards + study for japanese quiz and exams -> make quizlets

work on character development notes -> try and write a scene tonight

🌱 DAILY GOALS 🌱

figure out birthday plans -> tickets for newsies??

keep working at story development for untitled project

hydrate more!

🌱 CHECK-IN 🌱

i stood the majority of the day for the crafts fair and my feet hurt really bad. hoepfully i can get some rest tonight and a good dinner too—a reward for the hard work today. i might be getting pho, which sounds amazing right now. i could eat a horse.

i’m having some trouble making my characters. i think i’m scared of making them all the same and trying to make likeable dynamics. i guess i just have to keep going with it. i’m sure i’ll do great.

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📖 DAY ELEVEN 📖

NOVEMBER 22, 2019 || 9:45 A.M. 📖 TO DO LIST 📖

make japanese new years cards + study for japanese quiz and exams -> make quizlets

bead bracelets for tomorrow’s crafts fair

add an introduction page into bujo/creative journal

bake brownies!!

📖 DAILY GOALS 📖

continue working on character development notes

plan out a new project notebook -> block moleskine notebook

figure out birthday and thanksgiving break plans

📖 CHECK-IN 📖

i think i did really well on my physics test this morning!! i’m feeling really really good about it and hopefully i can my grades back around the beginning of break.

on the topic of yesterday’s free time use:

i got to make the cover for my creative journal and i’m planning on using it to track ideas and other project things. we’ll have to see i guess! i’ve got a pretty big day tomorrow at the crafts fair so it’s looking like i won’t be able to sleep as much as i’d like to, but i’m sure it’ll be fine.

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🥬 DAY TEN 🥬

NOVEMBER 21, 2019 || 9:46 A.M. 🥬 TO DO LIST 🥬

study for physics test (tmr.) with table tests

japanese homework + study for quiz and exams

geometry homework

finish ap world notes + prep for saq

🥬 DAILY GOALS 🥬

continue working on character development notes

plan out a new project notebook -> block moleskine notebook

figure out birthday and thanksgiving break plans

🥬 CHECK-IN 🥬

i think i’m absolutely terrified of physics test i have to take tomorrow. my teacher isn’t exactly the best at his job and i’m not exactly the best at physics.

i started studying at 7:11, and i think i’m getting a better grasp at what’s happening. i’m just scared that my physics teacher is gonna throw something crazy at me and i’m not going to know what going on. hopefully i’ll be okay. i don’t know. we’ll see i guess. there’s always curves? although that’s not a very sturdy thing to rely on. will update on the test tomorrow.

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🍰 DAY NINE 🍰

NOVEMBER 20, 2019 || 8:54 A.M.

🍰 TO DO LIST 🍰

japanese homework— kanji list

geometry homework

ap world history notes + prep for saq (tmr.)

🍰 DAILY GOALS 🍰

do character notes for the main four + make a to-do list for any development notes

plan out a new project notebook -> black moleskine

figure out birthday plans—buy tickets to newsies

🍰 CHECK-IN 🍰

following day notes—

i really need to get better about how i handle actually finishing the homework. because i finish at around 6:00 or 7:00 and then i end up only watching criminal minds and knocking out while doing so. it’s a bad habit that i’ve been building up lately, knocking out before i can actually get ready to go to bed. i should probably get on that.

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🍯 DAY EIGHT 🍯

NOVEMBER 19, 2019 || 10:47 A.M.

🍯 TO DO LIST 🍯

physics problem set + study for physics test (fri.)

japanese homework

geometry homework

ap world history notes + prep for in-class saq (thurs.)

🍯 DAILY GOALS 🍯

do character notes for the main four + make a to-do list for any development notes

plan out a new project notebook -> black moleskine

figure out birthday plans

🍯 CHECK-IN 🍯

following day notes—

i’m definitely doing better organization-wise. i was able to finish all of my homework last night be around 11:00, which is very unlike me. random thing, but my physics teacher has hot chocolate and an electric water boiler and i think i’m addicted. it’s filling for breakfast but it’s a bad excuse not to pack lunch. i think i need to get a new lunch container so i’m more encouraged.

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🍊 DAY SEVEN 🍊

NOVEMBER 18, 2019 || 11:20 A.M.

🍊 TO DO LIST 🍊

do physics exercises for chapter five and study for test (fri.)

japanese homework

geometry homework

finish ap world student log

🍊 DAILY GOALS 🍊

write character and relationship defining monologues or scenes

plan out a new project notebook

get better about snacking

🍊 CHECK-IN 🍊

update from the next day:

i have a really bad habit of falling asleep in the middle of the day and neglecting doing my homework. it’s definitely something that i need to get on fixing because it’s been really crappy on the rest of the work i actually do during school. i ended up not packing myself lunch today because i took a lot of time working on my ap world history. i think i’ll be able to figure myself out after thanksgiving break, like a restart of sorts.

anyways: i started organizing my writing work in my notes recently and i think it’s gonna be really beneficial to actually starting to write my stuff. so that’s pretty good.