MOTIVATION - Arlee's A to Z - CHARACTERISATION

Characters should always act the way they do for a very good reason.

Why they do what they do should not be hidden in mystery and ambiguity because the reader needs to be able to understand, and to relate to the character. The reader should know everything the character knows about themselves.  

Motivation is what causes us to act. It involves the biological, emotional, social and thought processes which activate behaviour. In everyday usage, motivation is the reason characters think, feel, or act.

Motivation is made of three parts:

• Activation - the decision to initiate a behaviour
• Persistence - the continued effort toward a goal
• Intensity. - the concentration that goes into pursuing a goal. 

A character with clearly defined motivations will attract the empathy of the reader. The more powerful and immediate that motivation, the more engaged the reader will be.

Lucas was angry. He sat at the foot of his unmade bed and drummed his heels against the carved, wooden frame. The glass of orange in his hand sloshed high like a breaker on the cliffs near home. When he raised the glass he licked at the cold rim. The orange tasted sickly sweet. He closed his eyes, threw back his head and downed the liquid in one swift movement. He banged his feet harder – faster – against his bed.

So far, all we know is what Lucas was doing.

Lucas was angry. He sat at the foot of his unmade bed and drummed his heels against the carved, wooden frame. This was the only way to prove to the Praeceptor, and to the Department for Specialist Education, that his magical abilities had not been forced. The glass of orange in his hand sloshed high like a breaker on the cliffs near home. He could cope with being excluded. His parents? They would spend at least five minutes finding him a different boarding school. But the punishment would destroy Rowland. Ruin his family. Hurt Nia. When he raised the glass he licked at the cold rim. Magic brewed within each droplet. The thick, orange liquid tasted sickly sweet. Cloying.Tacky and insistent, it clung to his lip. Lucas closed his eyes, threw back his head and downed the liquid in one swift movement. He banged his feet harder – faster – against his bed.

Explaining the motivation makes a huge difference to our understanding of what the character elects to do and why.

GET MOTIVATED ;) 

Which emotion are you feeling motivated by today?

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