What’s my motivation? Writer’s Block & Character Arcs

Here’s another blog offering you an idea for when you hit a snag in writing (I’m not actually a fan of the term “writer’s block”). And remember that any suggestions I offer for dealing with writing troubles (or that anyone else offers for that matter!) are never one-size-fits-all. Think of them as tools for your writer’s toolkit. If one works for a given situation, great! If not, ignore it. Clearly it isn’t the right tool for you in that moment.

What is your character’s journey? What lessons are they supposed to learn? What are their goals? Motivations? Their arc?

Let’s face it: sometimes you sit down and start writing a book with a good plot, but you don’t always know what lesson your character (or characters, depending on your genre) need to learn by the end of the book. You focus is the plot.

And that’s ok! We all write differently. We’re inspired by different things and sometimes the plot comes first.

But what happens when you sit at your computer (or paper) and can’t figure out what happens next?

Character Arc

In good fiction, all characters have an arc. They start one way in Chapter 1 but by the time we reach The End, they’ve changed. That change could be positive or negative, but the events of the story and what they’ve gone through have changed them.

In adventure stories or coming-of-age stories like Harry Potter, the main character discovers confidence and strength within themselves to overcome seemingly overwhelming difficulties.

In romance novels the characters often overcome internal doubts, fears that they are unlovable or will be abandoned, or discover that love is more important than something they started the book believing.

Goals

What does your character start off the book believing? Are they convinced getting that new job will solve all their problems? That the new guy at work is secretly a spy and they have to uncover his hidden identity? Maybe they want to be married to their long time partner?

Obviously something stands in the way of all of these goals, otherwise you wouldn’t have a book.

You also wouldn’t have a book if, somewhere along the way, your character didn’t start to realize that the thing they thought they wanted more than anything, wasn’t actually what they wanted. And you as the writer get the fun of showing your character- and the reader- why that is the case.

False Beliefs

This is where false beliefs can come in. Maybe your character believes that money is the answer to all problems and so getting the best paying job possible is the answer to all their problems. Obviously they need to learn the lesson that money can’t buy happiness.

But false beliefs can get a lot deeper than that. They can be emotional, and can lead to emotional and psychological trauma for your character too. Does your character believe they are always abandoned by the people they care about? That the people they love always die? Do they believe they aren’t worth loving? Now you have false beliefs for them to overcome and a past for them to work through. Even the idea that money is the answer to everything can stem from not having money as a kid, which could be covering up other insecurities depending on how you want to write the character.

Lessons Learned

Any way you look at it, your characters have lots to learn to complete their inner journey, as well as any external journey you’ve given them. Consider what will help them learn their lessons along the way. Will they meet someone they can learn from? Bond with an animal? Have a setback at work? Will these things help their journey or hinder them? How does your character react emotionally to these kinds of challenges- both externally and internally? How do the ups and downs (because it’s never just one!) of your story help them grow, learn, and change along the way?

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