Dec 12 2008
Character Development and Motivation
If you ever took a high school drama class, you’ll remember those written assignments where you had to make a concept web about your character role and their motivations.
The same idea goes for writing fiction. You can make your character do all sorts of random things, but without clear motivations for their actions, they all become rather meaningless.
The best way to define motivation is to make your characters as life-like as possible. This means they must be 3-dimensional.
Here are some questions you could ask yourself when creating characters:
- What are the defining moments in their lives?
- Which people mean the most to them?
- Do they believe in God?
- When were they the most frightened?
- In which situations do they find themselves feeling phobic?
- What makes them nervous?
- In whom do they confide?
- Does their physical appearance match or contrast with their personality?
- When were they the happiest?
- If they could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
- What is their biggest regret?
You get the picture. There are thousands of questions you can ask yourself to help develop characters and their motivations.
If you create a character that others care about, it makes your story all the more powerful, and more enjoyable to read.
I actually found a list online somewhere of 100 questions you should ask yourself about your character. We actually use the list for the Star Trek role-playing group I run (www.verak-nor.com). I can’t put my hands on the link right this moment, but I imagine a google search would pull it up.
Dreadpiraterose:
Thanks for the tip. I’ve come across a few different sites that have substantial lists. There are a lot of good resources out there for character development. Your role-playing groups sounds fun.
If the character doesn’t believe in God, it would be nice to know what they DO believe in…or what they believe in most (even if they believe in God)…
I like developing backstory…creating a pre-world defining relationships that exist before my story begins. The backstory helps me see the characters more clearly, understand how they became what they did, and what might change in them in the future.
Shakespeare:
Good point. It certainly makes it easier to sit down and write if you feel like you know your characters already. Definitely helps with character motivation. Thanks.