Character Motivations

Sechin Tower is one of my favorite bloggers over at Adr3nalin3. His post from last Friday is entitled "Bidding $100 to Win $20." Don't be put off by the title--it's an interesting post about game theory that ends up a lesson in writing. As Kurt Vonnegut said, "Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water."

What are your character's motivations? Why does he do what he does to get what he wants? If your character wants nothing, you have no story. If he wants that glass of water but no one stands in his way, you have no story.

Hop over to Ad3renalin3 and read what Sechin wrote. Then pull up your WIP and look at your first scene. If you can't identify your character's objective, it might be time for some re-writing.

-Sonja