Character
– Motivation- Conflict
This workshop is intended for those who already
have a pretty good idea of their story, characters, and at least a vague notion
of where they want their story to go. Feel free to be like "It's Magic, I
ain't gotta explain shit!" at this point. That's stuff for later. If
you've got a rough sketch of a scene here, a plot twist there, this is
definitely going to help. Sit tight. But before you sit tight, make a pot of
coffee and grab a notebook, a pack of notecards, and a pen. We're going to be
doing this old-school.
This section focuses on the most important part of story: characters. It's
aimed at organizing your characters on paper--their descriptions, desires, and
disagreements--before you start writing your outline. You may find subplots,
new twists, and new scenes springing to mind as you work through this section.
Take note of them--you'll use that in part II of the workshop.
Note: Wow, y'all! I've had several thousand views on this post, so thank you!
If you're enjoying this, or if it's not working for you, or if you have stuff
to add, I'd love to hear from you in the comments. :)
I. CHARACTER
Write your characters’ names on separate
notecards, or spread out on notebook paper—you’ll be writing quite a bit under
each character’s name.
1. Write
a description of each major character (including your antagonist[1] or antagonistic force) that includes:
DECRIPTOR + NOUN
Descriptor - an adjective or adjectival phrase such as
magic-weilding, willful, out-of-work.
Noun that helps you define your character, such
as mercenary, werewolf, teenager.
Examples:
A. headstrong princess
B. stuttering slave
C. itinerant mage
D. charismatic general
*It is also acceptable
to write NOUN who DESCRIPTIVE ACTION
Example: A girl who recently lost her job / a
boy who survived the killing curse / a girl who hates her fairy-godmother.
2. Once you
have that list, try to add another descriptor you’d like the readers to
discover about the character as they go through the book. You may not know this
yet, and if not, you’ll probably figure it out while you’re writing. I call
these “Shadow Descriptions”
Examples:
A. compassionate
B. brave
C. lonely
D. manipulative
So, throughout the story the reader will learn
that the “headstrong princess” is also compassionate, the “stuttering slave” is
also brave, the “itinerant mage” is also lonely, and the “charismatic general
is manipulative. These traits don’t have to be surprising, but are how you
might describe your characters’ personalities. These are the things you want to
show your reader through your characters’ actions.
II. MOTIVATION
1. Primary
Desires
Write down what each character wants at the
start of the story. Pick the most important motivation—the one thing they’re
most concerned about. Try to make this more specific than “to be happy” or “to
survive”. If you find yourself being too general, ask yourself questions. What
would make them happy? What are they trying to survive, or is there something
they are trying to survive for?
Examples:
A. To be a great queen.
B. To be in control of his own life.
C. To find the master that left him behind
D. To run a combined (and therefore peaceful) Rizellen and Centoren—his way.
Remember to note what their desires are at the
BEGINNING of the story. These are usually the motivations we see right out in
the open, the very first time we meet that character. You may find that your
feelings about these goals change as you write, or even throughout the
workshop. That’s fine!
2. Secondary
Desires
No one wants just one thing. In fact, people
often want two different things that don’t go together, or that create some
kind of internal conflict. Below your characters’ primary desires, write at
least one more thing that character wants. I recommend you have two or three
secondary desires for each character.
Examples:
A. To be seen and loved for who she is / to get home / to stop the war
B. To remain under the radar (and therefore safe) / to protect the people he
cares about
C. To learn and teach magic by writing his book / to prevent war / NOT to be
the only one trying to fix Rizellen’s problems
D. To be respected and revered for ending the war (by either conquering or
combining) / to use the kidnapped princess as a means to get (primary desire) /
to destabilize Rizellen
If your characters’ own desires conflict with
one another, that’s a great source of tension, which gives you plenty of
internal conflict.
Example:
Stuttering (but brave) slave boy wants to stay safely under the radar, but
can’t because he also wants to protect those he cares about.
III. CONFLICT
Write down next to each primary desire at least
two things preventing the character from getting what he wants in the beginning
chapters of your story. At least one of these should be related to your
antagonist’s goals. If it’s not, you probably need to do some thinking on what
makes those characters your protagonists and antagonists, and see if you can
nudge them into more direct opposition.
Example:
The headstrong and
compassionate princess wants to be a great queen. The things getting in her way
are:
1. The council wants her
cousin to be queen
2. She’s been kidnapped
and can’t get home
3. She has no confidence
in herself
4. She doesn’t know what
her people need
The antagonist’s primary goal is to rule both of
their countries, which conflicts with her goal of someday being a great queen.
Further, the antagonist plans to use her against her kingdom, which also
conflicts with her desire to be a great queen, as does his desire to
destabilize her kingdom.
Often, the protagonist and antagonist will have
something in common. In this cast, both characters want peace, but not only do
they have different visions of a peaceful future, they have different ideas
about the methods. These similarities and differences between your
pro-and-antagonists will help you.
The main plot of your story should be rooted in
this conflict of desires.
Of course, there will be much more to the story than
just your main character and antagonist’s conflict, but that conflict should
always have a bearing on the story—like Voldemort and Harry Potter’s
conflicting desires shaped the overall narrative arc of the series (and each
book) without being the most important part of every scene.
Was this helpful? Did
you make any discoveries? Having trouble? Let me know in the comments!
[1] If
you don’t have an antagonist, go listen to Adryn’s villain workshop and come
back when you’ve got a little more idea of your bad guy or antagonistic force.
Check it out on Pendragon Variety Podcast. This is VERY
IMPORTANT.
