Are Your Characters Motivated?

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Title:	Are Your Characters Motivated?
Creator:	Susan M. Garrett
Date(s):	December 1991
Medium:	print
Fandom:	multifandom
Topic:
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Are Your Characters Motivated? is a 1991 essay by Susan M. Garrett.

It was published in A Writer's Exchange #1.

Some Topics Discussed

• hurt/comfort
• character's sloppy motivations
• role of the editor

From the Essay

Are you tired of reading fan fiction where the villain beats the A hero/heroine to a pulp and leaves him/her/it bleeding on the shag rug in the living room for no apparent reason? Actually, the reason's obvious - the writer simply wanted to set up an incredibly angst-ridden scene where the hero gets beaten and the hero's partner/friend/significant other/favorite household appliance agonizes over the bloody remains, spends three pages overwhelmed with guilt, two in loud verbal exclamations and recriminations, and then dashes out the door with a gun or a crowbar in search of retribution and a piece of someone's ass (never mind the fact that the poor bastard on the rug is dying of blood loss and the rug itself is beyond hope of cleaning). Why these characters have come to this sorry and exceedingly melodramatic state of affairs doesn't really seem to matter to the author.

But it will sure as hell matter to the reader and it had better bloody well matter to the editor. As a writer, I've found myself asking characters time and time again, "Why the hell are you opening that coffin lid when any sane person knows that you don't go around doing that sort of thing?" or "Why are you going to kill that man with a knife, when a long-distance rifle with a nice target sight is infinitely safer and has a better probability of achieving the outcome you want (i.e., death)?" Finding out why a character does, or doesn't, do something not only affects the actions of that character, but the entire plot.

That's where the editor comes in. It's up to the editor not only to fix grammar, sentence structure, and plot inconsistencies or errors, but to decide whether or not the author manages to convey enough of the character's motivation so the reader has a grasp of the action, but isn't beaten to death by unnecessary verbiage. The editor becomes 'the' reader. If a character's choice of action seems awkward, uncharacteristic, or completely bizarre to the editor, chances are a reader will find the same problem. It's the duty of the editor to bring such problems to the attention of the writer in the draft process, long before the story reaches print. It's also the duty of the editor to let the writer solve the problem - suggestions may be made, especially when asked for, but it's up to the writer to make the final decision on why a character acts, just as it's the editor's duty to make certain the writer's decision is consistent with the story plot and characterization.

Fan Comments

Susan Garrett's article on character motivation had a very good point about the generic hurt/comfort fan story. Only spy stories usually should use this setup anyway, and only because the spy has so many enemies that someone will come after him in the living room! And it's usually overused at that. Except for mood pieces (which should be three pages at the most), EVERY story should have character motivation. If it isn't there, go back and rewrite the dang thing, and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite.... You get the idea. If the story still doesn't work after a few trips through the typewriter, put it aside for a while. You may just be too close to the story to fix it right away. And even if it isn't any good, it may spark another story for you.