What does your character want? This is an important question to answer because it determines what your protagonist hopes to achieve by the story’s end. If the goal, or outer motivation, is written well, readers will identify fairly quickly what the overall story goal’s going to be and they’ll know what to root for. But how do you know what outer motivation to choose?
If you read enough books, you’ll see the same goals being used for different characters in new scenarios. This thesaurus explores common outer motivations so you can see your options and what those goals might look like on a deeper level.
Goal (Outer Motivation):
Overcoming Abuse & Learning To Trust
Forms This Might Take: Because of the trust involved, abuse in this case might come at the hands of a partner, family member, person in authority, or someone known to the character. Some examples might be sexual abuse, domestic violence, being raised by a abusive parent or caregiver…
Human Need Driving the Goal (Inner Motivation): Love and Belonging
How the Character May Prepare for This Goal:
- Getting to a place of safety (a government-supported shelter, a friend’s house, moving into a place of their own, moving in with a trusted relative, etc.)
- Starting treatment for conditions resulting from the abuse (post-traumatic stress, suicidal thoughts, phobias, anxiety, depression, etc.)
- Reading books and articles about overcoming abuse and dealing with the resulting emotional turmoil (trust issues, disassociating when deeply stressed, emotional numbness, etc.)
- Seeking relationships with people who respect boundaries and honesty…
Possible Sacrifices or Costs Associated With This Goal:
- Financial hardships from leaving the place of abuse
- The character making themselves vulnerable to others and being hurt…
Roadblocks Which Could Prevent This Goal from Being Achieved:
- An abusive partner or parent stalking, harassing, reclaiming, or trying to hurt the character
- Having no support system; having to go it alone
- Telling the truth about the abuse but not being believed…
Talents & Skills That Will Help the Character Achieve This Goal: Good Listening Skills, Blending In…
Possible Fallout For the Protagonist if This Goal Is Not Met:
- Being unable to trust people
- Being victimized again
- Living with fear as a constant companion…
We hope you’ve found this sample useful. To access the complete entry and our full range of thesauruses, head over to One Stop for Writers.
What does your character want, and how far will they go to achieve it?
On the surface, the protagonist’s goal seems to be the most important, but the inner motivation driving your character toward this goal (despite pain, suffering, fear, setbacks, and sacrifice) is what really draws readers in. Understanding the four cornerstones of character arc and how they frame a story is paramount for today’s writers. To help with this, we have integrated this Character Motivation Thesaurus into our online library at One Stop For Writers.
Each entry has been enhanced to provide even more information about your character’s motivation and is cross-referenced with our other thesauruses for easy searchability. We’ve also included a must-see tutorial on Character Motivation.
Interested in seeing these expanded entries? Head on over and take advantage of our FREE TRIAL!
Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.
Overcoming abuses in a person’s life is a very difficult process. Any violence leaves its mark on a person’s life, which can be manifested in later life. If you read information about domestic violence on the site, it will help you a lot to create an image of a character that will be as realistic as possible and will have habits that characterize the person who experienced it…
Although I own several of your books, I don’t check in on this blog regularly. Today, by chance, I did. This article was written for me(!) and is most helpful. My MC has suffered neglect, abuse, molestation and rape, and in asking myself what his motivation is upon his release from prison, I wondered if “learning to trust and have meaningful relationships again” could be a goal. From what I’m reading, it can be. However, my MC is not proactive in trying to make it happen. He still has something of a flinch-reflex to people getting close. He self-medicates rather than seeking real help. I think that being ready to admit that he can’t heal on his own will have to be part of goal. In any case, thanks for a great, insightful post.
That’s terrific! I’m so glad this posted just as you needed it 🙂
Hi Angela: Thank you for sharing this very informative and interesting information. I think that The Skills and Talents listed regarding a Character who has been abused would need to be developed. In taking a look at the link you provided, two talents that I believe this type of Character would inherently possess could be ‘A Way With Animals’ and ‘anything to do with nature’. I look forward to learning more about this Thesaurus.
Sure either of those could apply. Our entries are a jumping off point, and the talents and skills merely a way to encourage individual brainstorming of what talents might best fit each individual character. 🙂
Would solving a problem be in your list of characters’ motivations or is that in another category? Thanks for sharing.
We would want to be more specific…the problem could be many different things that would steer the character’s actions.