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):
Escaping a Dangerous, Unwanted Life
Forms This Might Take:
- The character getting out of a criminal group they work for
- Retiring as an assassin
- Leaving a job that’s high risk (toxic waste disposal, working in a coal mine, etc.)
- Leaving a war-torn country or unstable political climate…
Human Need Driving the Goal (Inner Motivation): Safety and Security
How the Character May Prepare for This Goal:
- Doing extra jobs for money that can be stockpiled
- Stealing money or items that can be sold or traded
- Sketching out plans, making maps or lists as needed
- Acting normal to protect family and friends who are staying behind if they’re questioned…
Possible Sacrifices or Costs Associated With This Goal:
- Leaving behind family and friends
- Leaving behind property and assets the character can’t take along
- Being forced to let go of mementos and special items
- Giving up what’s known for what’s unknown…
Roadblocks Which Could Prevent This Goal from Being Achieved:
- A powerful enemy who has the resources to track down the character
- An injury or illness occurring as they’re trying to escape
- Being victimized by others in the escape attempt (extortion for safe passage, trading one dangerous associate for another, etc.)
- Escaping but having to live on the run, never fully achieving safety and security…
Talents & Skills That Will Help the Character Achieve This Goal: A Knack for Languages, Basic First Aid, Blending In, Gaining the Trust of Others…
Possible Fallout For the Protagonist if This Goal Is Not Met:
- Being captured and enslaved
- Being forced to continue (under threat of death) their previous acts or lifestyle…
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.
That’s a question I have struggled with sometimes. But I think I have the hang of it now. I hope I do anyway! 😉