characters

How to Clearly Outline Characters’ Motivations and Goals

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How to Clearly Outline Characters' Motivations and Goals

When contrasting plot-driven and character-driven stories, I talk a lot about characters’ goals and motivations, and for good reason.

Goals are the focus of a plot-driven story. The reader wants to know how the characters get from point A to their ultimate goal, point Z. While the plot may wind through some twists and turns, the characters’ motivations tend to stay constant throughout.

Character-driven stories place a much greater emphasis on motivations. The what of a character’s actions is less important than the why, because in this kind of story plans often change as new information is revealed. As characters grow as individuals and adapt, their motivations often change as well.

There is a common misconception that goals and motivations are one and the same. After all, in daily life, we tend to use these words interchangeably.

They are not interchangeable in fiction writing.

As you plot your next work, it is important to know your characters’ motivations, goals, and the difference between them. That’s what will bring your characters, and ultimately your story, to life.

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How to Use Internal Conflict to Your Advantage When Writing a Character-Driven Story

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How to Use Internal Conflict to Your Advantage When Writing a Character-Driven Story

Earlier, we tackled the definition of a plot-driven novel and covered how to approach writing a plot-driven story of your own. If you missed it, don’t worry; you can find that post right here.

While plot-driven stories call for a lot of work on the front end—plotting, after all, is in the very name—character-driven stories require some work up front, too. Luckily for you pantsers, it’s easier to get away with minimal outlining when it comes to this type of novel.

It’s important to understand the basic elements of plot- and character-driven stories as a writer. Understanding these definitions will change how you approach your outlining and drafting process. This will cut down on the amount of revising you have to do and improve your writing in the long run.

In short, learning this stuff teaches you how to write faster and better, and that’s what’s really going to make your writing soar. 

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47 Creative Questions to Drive Your Fictional Character Design

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47 Creative Questions to Drive Your Fictional Character Design

We writers know that creating entire people inside your brain can be hard sometimes. Really freaking hard. 

If you’re like me, plotting methods like Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake Method can help you out, but figuring out what a character does and discovering who he is are two completely different things. There are so many things you need to learn about your character—things that often don’t make it into the story proper—to enhance your writing and truly bring him to life. Here, I’ve listed 47 sample questions you can ask yourself about each of your characters in order to bring your writing to the next level.

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5 Male Characters Who Fall Flat… and How to Fix Them

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5 Male Characters Who Fall Flat and How to Fix Them

Previously, we tackled flat female archetypes and possible solutions to their plight. Now, it’s the men’s turn.

For those of you who aren’t aware—or just don’t feel like going back to this post—flat characters are those who are neither decision-making nor influential to the story’s plot. Sometimes, it’s hard for writers to spot a flat character because they know more information about him than what makes it into the story. More often than not, flat characters are difficult to recognize because they do make a decision—once. Then that choice becomes their M.O. for the remainder of the story, or until the character dies.

The problem with making the same choice at every crossroads is that the character doesn’t change or grow. He stagnates; he keeps the plot from changing; his scenes become lifeless, tired, worn out. He is a flat character, and this must be remedied.

Here, I’ve laid out five common flat male archetypes, reasons why they fall flat, and some suggestions for fixing them and turning them into characters who are full of life and make unique decisions. Hopefully, this list will give you a head start when it comes to identifying any flat characters who could be lurking in your own WIP.

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How to Make Sure Your Novel Ebbs and Flows Naturally

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How to Make Sure Your Novel Ebbs and Flows Naturally

Among my friends and family, I make it no secret that I dislike watching action movies.

I don’t hate them, per se, but they’ve never truly interested me. For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out why. It wasn’t until I was watching an Indiana Jones movie—and hating the experience, much to my family’s chagrin—that I recognized the source of my aversion: more often than not, in my experience, the pacing of action movies is severely unbalanced. They’re all action, with little to no reaction, and so on an emotional level they tend to fall flat.

Scenes and Sequels

In general, there are two main types of scene: there are scenes full of action that further the plot, and scenes in which the characters (and reader) pause to regroup and take stock of their emotions. More experienced and renowned writers than I, such as Dwight Swain or Randy Ingermanson, may call these “scenes” and “sequels.” 

I find the name of the thing is less important than its definition and, most important of all, its practical use. As a result, I tend to explain them rather simply. “Scenes” are when things happen—this is when the story flows. “Sequels” are when characters react—this is when the story ebbs, pulling back before flowing forward again.

Even more simply put: there is action, and there is reaction, and a good story has both in not-quite-equal measure.

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5 Female Characters Who Fall Flat… and How to Fix Them

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5 Female Characters Who Fall Flat and How to Fix Them

Picture this: You’ve just written a scene, slaving away at your keyboard or notebook for hours, and all your characters have done exactly as you told them—hallelujah, right? 

But wait—something feels… wrong. The scene feels flat—worse, it feels like it’s happened before. Your problem could, of course, be the plot; maybe the scene really has happened before. But, barring that—are your characters flat?

Flat characters are the bane of every writer’s existence, especially writers who rely heavily on character-driven stories. These are stories that revolve around characters who are fully fleshed out as living, breathing, decision-making human beings to keep things rolling. (I have a whole post on character-driven stories here.) Flat characters crush these stories into teeny-tiny pieces that fly off into the night in a gust of smoke while dramatically sobbing, “I could have been so much moooooooore!“

On a more serious note, flat characters often appear fully developed to the writer, smiling up at them through their character charts detailing everything from height to fatal flaw to favorite kind of pie. However, while these characters look good on paper, not enough of those details are present within the story to flesh them out as decision-making and influential characters. 

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