Please welcome Jim Dempsey back to Writer Unboxed today, this time as our newest regular contributor! Jim is a professional member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders and works as a book editor at a company called Novel Gazing. In his own words, Jim tells us that:
I’ve been editing for just over 20 years, and the thing that still fascinates me about literature – or any art – is how it can tell us so much about ourselves and what makes us uniquely human. In that respect, fiction especially has a lot in common with psychology, and I’m always interested in the points where these two meet, and what psychology can teach us about fiction, and what literature can teach us about being human.
You can learn more about Jim and his services on his company website, and by following him on Twitter (@jimdempsey and @novel_gazing).
Three Ways to Discover Your Character’s True Motivation
It might seem obvious to say (or just plain odd), but your characters don’t know they’re part of a story. Except for some metafictional works, your characters think they are real people. They want to behave like real people – and readers want them to behave like real people. That means that the actions they take and the choices they make are all done for a reason. What they do has to make sense to them (and the readers).
Your main character chose to be a hero, at least the hero of this story. Certain circumstances led them to that decision and the position they’re now in. They chose to act in one way rather than continue with how their old life was going. It wasn’t a random decision. It was motivated by events, the past and influences from other characters (who also don’t know they’re in a story).
Your characters – especially protagonists – will make many choices over the course of the novel. They will go this way or that. Knowing what truly motivates your characters can help you decide which direction they, as a real person, will choose and – more importantly – why. This will make your characters even more believable, more human, and the story more engaging.
Readers don’t need to know the precise details of everything that led to this moment in the story except those that are relevant to the narrative. But it is useful if you – the author – know that backstory and what drove them to this point. These three exercises will help you to discover what truly motivates your characters.
1. The opposite job
Let’s start with something fun. The New York Times had an article recently about opposite jobs. Based on the details of the skills required for certain occupations, determined by the Labor Department, the newspaper developed a tool where you can type in your job and it will tell you the opposite job, the job that requires completely different skills.
The tool lists the skills needed for each job, so you can check to see if your character has what it takes to be in that occupation.
The opposite of a writer, for example, is a mobile home installer. The latter are, apparently, better suited to ‘developing and building teams,’ and ‘scheduling work and activities,’ which I think just means they don’t procrastinate quite as much.
The opposite job of a waitress is a physicist. Physicists don’t have the same ‘ability to reach with arms, hands and legs,’ so will probably propel the burger to your table via a rocket, and that’s too dangerous.
Once you have your character’s opposite job, you can think about why they decided to become an architect, aircraft mechanic or whatever and not a meat packer or locker room attendant.
A useful thought exercise is to work out what decisions they could have taken in their ‘life’ that would have led them to this opposite job. Working out what they could have done, the choices the could have made, will help you see why they decided to go the other way and end up in the position they are in now.
The opposite job of an editor, by the way, is a model. Not because all editors are ugly but because models can’t quite hunch over a desk like we can.
Note: if your character is a wizard, warrior, spy or medieval knight, then you’re out of luck. Apparently, the Labor Department doesn’t have data on those particular skillsets.
2. The eulogy
Another way to bring your character to life is to think about their death.
Imagine your main character has died. It might be suddenly or at the end of a long life, long after the story has ended. Picture their funeral, the people (fictional or real) who would be there and whether it’s a grand ceremony or something simple.
Nobody knows this character better than you, and now you have to give the eulogy at that funeral. What will you say?
It’s a good writing exercise to at least jot down some ideas if not the full eulogy. Would you say something about their family, for example? Which close friends would get a special mention? What did the character achieve in life? Was work the most important thing? Did they have another vocation that drove them to success, however big or small?
You could even describe the whole funeral, and think about who would be crying the most, who would be sitting there bored and who would be missing or peering in from outside.
The result will be a description of this character’s path in life and include the things they valued most. From there you will learn who and what is most important to your character, and that will tell you what drives your character, what motivates their actions and choices.
3. What if…
Many of us will wonder at some point in our lives: what if X had happened, where would I be now? You can ask the same of your characters to get a little deeper into what motivates them.
What if your character suddenly had a million dollars? What if your character had finished college (or not), or married that childhood sweetheart (or not), then how would their life have changed?
The answer will tell you something about what’s important to the character. For example, if you think your character would use the million dollars to pay for their children’s college education, then it’s important for this character to be able to provide for their family. If they used the money to buy a flash car, then this character is concerned about how they are perceived by other people. If a college education would have helped your character start their own business, then freedom is probably important to that character.
Imagine the impossible, if your character could have that one thing, what would then happen? What would be the most important change that character would make in their life?
These exercises will help you see what your character would choose in a certain situation, and their choices will be reflected in their actions. Whenever you get to a point in your story when you’re not sure which way your character would jump, try one or more of these exercises and discover what truly motivates your character.
How do you find out what motivates your character? Is it always clear from the inception of that character, or you do have useful tips to discover what drives the characters in your novel?
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About Jim Dempsey
Jim Dempsey (he/him) is a book editor who specializes in detailed analysis and editing of novel manuscripts through his company, Novel Gazing. He has worked as an editor for more than 20 years. He has a master’s degree in creative writing and is a professional member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading and is a trustee of the Arkbound Foundation. Jim is fascinated by the similarities between fiction and psychotherapy, since both investigate the human condition, the things that make us uniquely human. He explores this at The Fiction Therapist website. If you have a specific concern with your novel, send an email to jim [at] thefictiontherapist.com, or visit the website to ask for a free sample edit. You can follow Jim on Instagram @the_fiction_therapist.
When I’m writing to myself about a story (this happens a lot in the exploratory draft), the final question is always Why? Why? Why? I enjoy playing What If and eulogy. Since I write to myself, I also have my characters write to me or to other characters and what they choose to reveal/conceal is always instructive.
Opposite is pretty funny. Whew! Glad to know I would never have made it as a model. LOL.
It’s seems to be a great technique, Vijaya. I know David Mitchell also sends letters from his characters to himself as he develops their personalities in early drafts. And that’s a pretty good recommendation, I’d say.
Thanks.
Jim
Ask me, there are layers of motivation: the immediate, the rational, the deeply psychological, the genetic and the ideal.
Immediate motives, in my mind, are those imposed on a character by plot circumstances. Because of *that*, you must do *this*. They live on the surface. They are also the least compelling because you and I (readers) are not in that situation.
Rational motives are why a character *should* do this or that, the good reasons, the smart reasons, the selfish or petty reasons. Those may not sound rational, but they are how a character rationalizes what they do.
Deeply psychological motives are why a character must act a certain way in a given situation, and cannot act in any other way. These are born in back story. They spring from what has hurt a character, unmet needs, unresolved conflicts, the need to slay an inner monster or prove oneself.
Genetic motives speak to a character’s disposition and emotional makeup. They’re born that way. It explains how they vote, make moral “judgments”, choose paintings, dress from Brooks Brothers or Forever 21, boogie, and handle conflict.
Ideal motives are why characters are able, finally, to do the right or selfless thing. They emerge only when characters mature, fail, have catharsis, awaken, or in any other way grow up.
When only one motive is evident, characters remain constructs. When those motives conflict with each other, characters become real.
Love this post, very thought provoking. If *I* had a million dollars? Hmm. Probably be doing what I’m doing right now. Thanks, Jim, and welcome to the ranks of WU regulars. Great to hang out with you.
I love how you expanded upon Jim’s post. So many layers, indeed! Thank you.
“Why did the Fifth Floor always think people had to have one motive only?”
–John LeCarré, Smiley’s People
Thanks, Donald, for this addition to the article.
You’re exactly right, and I think each of those motivation types dominates at different times in the story. They should all be in the mix throughout, but the motivation that wins depends on the particular goal or obstacle the character faces at that moment. Those immediate motives are enough for the small choices characters make along the way. Rational motives come up when they think a little deeper, when they have to discuss which direction to take (for example, at those ‘refusal of the call’ moments in a monomyth journey). The deeply psychological and genetic motives are the ones that push the characters at those crucial turning points in the story, while the ideals will be prominent towards the end when, as you say, the character has to have that catharsis, go through a major change.
Each motivation type could have a whole article of its own, and your details here go a long way to explaining how important they are to developing characters that behave as closely to real people as they possible can.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to add to my article, and for the warm welcome to WU. I feel very privileged to be part of such a supportive community.
Jim
Jim, your post and these comments are what I needed this morning! My character has to make a decision in the scene I’m working on about which risk is the riskier one to take. I think know what to do now!! I’m intrigued that my opposite job is a mobile home installer! I always learn here!! Looking forward to more.
I’m with Susan – this is just what the doctor ordered. I’ve been rethinking an antagonist’s motives since I first read your great essay this morning. Kudos to Don for enhancing the conversation (and my exploration), as well.
Welcome to WU! Looking forward to your future posts.
Glad to be of help, Susan and Vaughan. I hope all my posts in the future will be as useful.
All the best with your writing.
Jim
That NY Times article told me that a Physicist was the opposite of a musician. Which struck me as funny because I’m currently writing about a character who is both. Although she got kicked out of her internship at SETI and now devotes more time to her music.
That sounds like a wonderfully conflicted character, which always makes for a great read.
Good luck with it!
Jim
Great article! Characters are my favorite part about reading, but I find they can be the most difficult part of writing. I found this article very helpful.
Good to hear the article was helpful, Samantha. And yes, developing great, believable characters is probably the hardest part of writing, but if you can crack that – and it has to be cracked with every new story – then, I agree, it can be a terrific read. Those are the books that really grip readers.
Thanks for contributing here, and good luck with your characters.
Cheers.
Jim