A Question of Character

Commonly, we as writers are told to continue questioning. Sage advice. Especially if you're the sort of writer who plots by the seat of her pants. (This is the same kind of person who would attempt parachuting by checking to see if she actually grabbed a parachute after she leaped out of a plane, the kind of person who would steal a ship--and then realize she probably can't sail it all the way to Tortuga all by her lonesome.) The Wily E. Coyote of Writers.

So for us Wily types, we're reminded to question, and naturally because our questions tend to be of the "What If" variety, because those are more fun and easier to answer--we think that's what it means.

No. It's not that simple. Just like there isn't just one type of ship to sail or man to date, there is not just one question to ask when writing your Great American Novel (GAN).

There's two. Only question two is trickier than "What if?"--it's "Why?"

Figuring out your characters' motives is rather like the numerous times when your mother, beleaguered expression on her face, asked "WHY?" You flailed around looking for the reason why the cat was covered in yogurt, or the entire bag of brussel sprouts had been used in a nefarious scientific experiment, or...your little sister now had a mohawk. You certainly couldn't say the truth: Because it sounded like fun--or you were bored. That was not an acceptable excuse. If you're that bored, she would find you something productive to do. No, no, so you had to devise other reasons WHY--and it usually entailed "It was the cat's idea" or "Sissy said you said it was okay."

It's no wonder you're incapable of finding appropriate character motivation now, after all those years of having it drummed out of you. It's like learning to walk all over again.

You'll be tripping along going, "What if my heroine goes to a New Year's Eve party?" "Why?" "Because her friend asked her to." "Why?" "Because they're friends! She always does things for her friends!" "Why?" "Because...she...uh...wants people to like her." "Why?" "Because she doesn't have any self-confidence." "Why?" "Because her childhood sucked." (Around this point the "Why?" usually gets substituted for "So?" or "Who cares?"--and you start bashing your keyboard.)

"Why" is a tricky, yet important question. You have to answer "Why" to explain character, and character is usually WHY people are going to read your book. They want to experience and empathize vicariously through a character who is like them, only bigger. "Why" always has to be answered, because unlike us, who can answer "why" with random idiocy like, "Because it seemed like a good idea at the time" or "Because I wanted to"--characters in books actually have to have a reason for doing things (or at least the BIG things).

Why? Because they're larger than life--and we readers like life explained. We're all looking for a little meaning here in the chaos, are we not?

Why answers character motivation. It doesn't have to be a "huge, wonderful" motive, but it does have to be believable. If your character believes in his motive for doing something--wholeheartedly--it is most likely you'll get your readers to believe it to. Revealing a motive is like telling a lie--tell a big enough one and everyone believes it.

So what do you think is the most important question to ask when plotting? How do you determine character motivation?