For any novel to succeed it needs certain components. You need a strong plot. You need compelling characters. If you write a unique story with characters who the reader cares about, you will be successful.
Your characters need a goal―it needs to be evident in the beginning of the story. It may not be what they want by the end of the story, but without a recognizable goal the reader will see no reason to continue. Characters should want what they don’t yet have, even better it they NEED their goal. We all want something―love, money, security, happiness, justice, even revenge.
The best goals need to be important enough for a character to endure hardship to overcome them. They should be urgent. If they aren’t, the reader won’t be compelled to read on. So the GOAL is WHAT your character wants.
If all the main characters have a goal, (an agenda), then things will happen. Everybody wants something and they are all angling to get it. The reader doesn’t know who is going to win. The goals should also be external and internal in order to create well-rounded characters. Each important character needs to have a goal. The large, central goal is accompanied by smaller goals which drive the book forward.
For each of your main characters fill out the chart.
Sample Goal Motivation Conflict Chart
Character:
Goal External Internal
Motivation External Internal
Conflict External Internal
Sample Goal Motivation Conflict Chart
Character
Goal External Internal
Motivation External Internal
Conflict External Internal
Motivation
Goal was the “what.” Motivation is the “why.” Why do your characters want their goal? It is what drives your character to achieve the goal. As the reader understands WHY your character made that choice, they will empathize.
So…What do they want?
Why do they want it?
Sounds simple, but it is a lot of concept to wrap your mind around. My first response with my main character, Chimera, was: her goal is to survive. True, so how do you answer WHY? I needed to go a little deeper. Her primary goal is survival, then there is freedom. So she wants to escape and be free. Hmmmm. Why? Because her mind is expanding, she is growing, and she wants to experience life without being pushed, prodded, poked, and abused.
What does your primary character want and why? We also need to examine internal goals and motivations. These are the characters emotional reasons for desiring their goals. Chimera wants to connect with the minds she has been touching since she became aware. She wants to feel safe and secure. Basic human desires. That is the what, now why? Because she is lonely! It is why she reaches out to Rachel and Leigh, and Jonny. So Goal is the what, and Motivation is the reason. Motivation drives your character. It is usually expressed in a sentence containing the word “because.” Urgency is important for both goal and motivation. It can never be too strong. The chart can help you visualize the relationship between goal and motivation. They should be appropriate for your character. Example – Bob’s characters should not be motivated by a desire to change the world, he’s only a young lad. Jerry’s character shouldn’t want to be popular. Emotions are the internal side of goal and motivation, they are necessary to build three dimensional characters, but they are hard to pin down. They should just blend into the characters behavior.
Now a word on coincidence. Coincidence CAN NOT replace motivation. They just create an “unbelievable” story.
Different types of coincidence:
1) The failure of the author to properly lay a foundation and motivate the plot actions. ie: If characters run into each other, they each need a solid believable reason for being there, not just because you need to have a scene with the two of them together. A man walks into a coffee shop in a town in another state and “accidentally” runs into his twin sister. Why was he there? Why is she there? You must build the foundation for this meeting and it needs to be believable.
2) The failure of the author to properly develop backstory motivation. I am going to pick on Al on this one. A girl moves to a haunted house that just coincidentally belonged to her grandfather although her own father isn’t even aware of this. It is not believable unless you develop how it came about, why did the family chose this house? Could it have struck a chord of memory in her Dad? A feeling he was home? And you need to have that scene in the beginning before the move, when they are looking for a place.
Now for the final leg of our three part plot.
CONFLICT da da da dum.
Conflict is not an optional element. It is required in all commercial fiction. It is the obstacle your character faces and must overcome to reach his goal. It is a struggle in which the outcome is in doubt. It is bad things happening, it is friction, tension, opposition. Without it your book is a flop. Yawn―booorrring.
Readers want characters to earn their rewards, just like in real life.
Knowing your conflict allows you to create tense scenes, you know what’s at stake. Conflicts test your characters, they learn and grow.
The strength of your book is your conflict―it applies to your villain as well. The villain must have strong GMC or we will not find him a viable opponent.
You must lay a foundation for conflict, create believable goals, motivate the characters, and nurture the conflict to the inevitable climax. Escalate events in your book. Introduce obstacles, each more difficult than the last (think Lord of the Rings). Introduce clues that spell disaster as they pile up. Raise the hair on the back of their necks. But don’t overdo it. Unrelenting conflict can numb the reader.
Last time I attempted this workshop I ran into some problems trying to explain how to apply this same concept to scenes. It is extremely important information, so I’m going to try to give it another shot.
Creating a scene: Showing not telling.
Every scene should do at least one of the following:
1) illustrate a characters progress toward the goal or provide an experience which changes the goal.
2) Provide a character with an experience that strengthens his motivation or changes his motivation.
3) Bring a character into conflict with opposing forces.
See? GMC!
In addition any scene should have three reasons for being in your book. One of the above plus two more. Some common reasons for scenes include:
1) introduce villain or suspect
2) discover clues
3) sexual tension
4) comic relief
5) foreshadowing
6) reveal secrets
7) speed pacing
8) establish/betray trust between characters
9) etc.
Exercise: Take one of your stories and pick two characters. Using the chart above fill in their goal motivation and conflict. Next, choose one of your shorter scenes and look for the three reasons it exists.