Writing Tips and Reviews

Character Motivations

Do you know what I look for when I read about a character? It's their motivations. Whether good or evil, it's something everyone has. Every character has a want and that's what drives them forward. Why did Mulan join the army? She wanted to save her father from the war. Why did Ariel go to the surface? Because she fell in love with the prince. Why am I looking at Disney movies? Because I like listening to people rant about the horrible remakes.

It doesn't matter who it is, they have a motive. Alphen from Tales of Arise wants to free his people from slavery and Shionne wants to remove her curse. Those are the reasons they fight. If your character has no motivation and things keep happening to them to progress the story you end up with a boring character.

Mary Sue:

They're not Mary Sues for not having motivation, she's just the best example of things being handed to her while she does nothing.

Mary Sue is notorious for being the worst type of character, she's the center of the universe, the savior, the person who decides what's good or evil. But on top of that her motivation is nonexistent. Why should she strive to do anything when it's handed down to her? Why fight to stop a villain when she can punch them and they'll die immediately? I don't know a single Mary Sue who has a motivation outside of "everyone needs to worship me." And the story gives that to her anyway, so what's the point? 

Heroes:

Heroes have a simple job, to be the good guy. Their motivations are typically save the world, save their family, keep the villain from destroying everything. You can go deeper or more personal, but that's the basics.

Anti heroes:

Their motivations are good but how they achieve it tends to be unconventional. Yuri Lowell murders bad guys instead of taking them in because he knows the justice system won't do anything. Velvet Crowe kills the savior to bring the world back into balance instead of a lifeless shell. Even though all Artorius wanted was to rid the world of despair, he had to destroy hope as well and Velvet couldn't stand for it.

Villains:

Typically the "destroy the world" type of people. They just want to see things burns and hurt others to get there. Minor villains can get away with not having a motivation, sometimes they're just crazy, but the major villains should be striving for something. Vholran from Tales of Arise wanted to be on top so there was no one who could look down on him.

Anti villains:

These guys are a bit more complicated than villains since they're more like anti heroes. They do evil but for good reasons. They only thing keeping them from being a hero is who's perspective we're following. Their motivations line up with what they think is best for the world and they're willing to destroy anything in their path to get there.  

No motivation:

What happens when you don't have motivation? You end up sitting at home and watching the walls, and how interesting is that? It's the same for characters. A character who doesn't want anything shouldn't be our protagonist. Those tend to be the parents of the protagonist who are fine with life and don't want the world to change.  If the characters don't have a want then they aren't interesting. No matter how cool you think it is for your character to be wearing a full body assassin suit and wield every weapon in history, if they don't have a motivation then they're going to be forgotten. Anyone remember Katana from the Suicide Squad? Didn't think so.

A character with no motivation is like watching a fly buzz around your room until it suddenly stops and falls. It's boring and everyone is going to forget them quickly.

Stupid motivations:

There are five billion motivations in the world, but if your character's reason for being evil is "someone disagreed with me" I'm going to lose it. You know it's sad when garden witches who have their plants stolen is a better reason for them to go after a character. There are weak motivations, but "they disagreed with me, so I'm going to destroy them" is... you know what, I've heard that too much from internet poop that I'm going to move on.

What are good motivations?

This is a spectrum and depends on what characters you want to write and how they interact with the world. Romance themed tend to be about wanting a person. Fantasy themed tend to be about changing the world. And daily life media tend to be about whatever is happening. You know, the tv is down so we need to fix it. Or, the car is dirty so let's clean it. Some can be personal while others can be about the people/places around the character. Not everyone is going on a world saving journey, some people just need to drive to the store and pick up a bag of bagels.  If it matches with the character and leads to an end goal, then it is good.

End goal:

Motivations lead to end goals and whether or not a character succeeds will shape their future development. What happens when your character can't save their friends? Who will die if the plan fails? What will be lost? What happens if they succeed? Will the world be a better place? Will the people be happier?

Losing motivation:

This is one that can hit hard for anyone who attempts to do something but gives up. Typically during the climax of the story a character can lose their will to fight. They question why they wanted something and if it was worth it. This can happen when the villain talks to them and they change their mind, when they see that they're not helping anyone, or the ones who they wanted a better future for are gone. This usually leads into a stronger resolution or a new motivation.

Let's look at Dohalim from Tales of Arise. His motivation for creating a land of coexistence was because he didn't want to hear the slaves crying. It triggered his PTSD and he couldn't take it. He's confronted with his selfish desires and told to get out of sight by Kisara. During the time he was gone, he decided he wanted coexistence and left the palace with Alphen to achieve that. He grows beyond looking out for himself and starts to care about others. Backing Rinwell when she was being tormented because he cares about her.

Losing motivation becomes the darkest part of a heroes journey and them growing from it is what everyone likes to see.

Now, not all characters lose motivation or change what they believe. Alphen did neither and he's fine. But it is a good idea to look into.

Conclusion:

Motivation is what drives the characters. They leave home to fulfill a goal and will meet those who stand in their way. Their willingness to keep fighting and believing is what makes them who they are. If they don't have a motivation and just do things "because" then how exciting are they? Maybe you'll get a few people to like them but those who are critical won't see it that way.

Mulan 2020 looks cool and is flashy, but no one cares about Mulan. She has no motivation or character. She mindlessly follows the beats of the original movie with nothing to claim as her own. I've seen literal puppets have more character than this.