Writers in the Storm

by Stefan Emunds

This is the fourth article of the article series The Yin and Yang Relationship Between Psychology and Storytelling. The first article covers reader investment and reader engagement. The second article explains how to create story experiences that feel real to life. The third article shows how to tap your readers' subconsciousness and engage them in your story.

This article dives into characters’ goals, motivations, wants, needs, and objects of desires. It also touches on the difference between sympathy and empathy and why that matters for storytelling.

Why Do Writers Need to Know Psychology?

Writers need to know psychology for four main reasons:

• Know how readers think and feel and use that knowledge to engage them.
• Understand the psychology of experiencing so they can create story experiences that have a real-to-life feel.
• Design characters with plausible traits, flaws, talents, motivations, etc.
• Know themselves — why they write, what they really want to write about, and how to get out of their own way.

The Eight Crafts of Writing

This article is written with the eight writing crafts in mind. The eight writing crafts are:

• Big Idea (aka theme)
• Genre
• Narrative
• Story Outline (aka plotting)
• Characterization
• World Building
• Scene Structure
• Prose (aka line-by-line writing)

Note: To avoid confusing readers, the author of these articles avoided the alternation of she and her and he and him. Instead, he uses the nonexclusive she and her to mean writer and reader.

Objects of Desire, Goals, Motivations, and Needs

Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. — Kurt Vonnegut

I like Kurt’s advises on writing. They are simple and witty and go a long way. But if it comes to wants it’s a bit more complicated than that. Wants don’t exist in a vacuum. Characters also have needs, motivations, goals, and objects of desire.

Let’s have a look at what the difference between motivations, needs, goals, and objects of desire are and how they move stories forward.

Motivations

Motivations can be emotional, for example, a fear-flight response. Fear is the emotion and flight the motivation. Motivations can also be feely, like the motivation to find someone to love. If you want to know the difference between emotions and feelings, read this article.

You need to give your protagonist and antagonist strong motivations. If the protagonist just wants to get back onto her couch, she won’t embark on a life or sanity-threatening adventure. Strong motivations are love, hate, revenge, and the motivation to win and succeed.

The antagonist needs to have even stronger motivations because you need her to be mean and break rules.

Wounds

I’m sure you have heard this already: your protagonist needs a wound. Wounds boost empathy and empathy is the main story engager.

The protagonist’s wound gives rise to her motivation. Imagine a woman who was bullied by her mother as a child and suffers from an inferiority complex. The inferiority complex turned her into an approval seeker. Seeking approval is the motivation.

Objects of Desire

Desires give form to motivations. Hunger prompts the motivation to find food, which turns into the desire to buy a pizza or steal an apple. Looking for someone to love is a motivation, wanting a husband or a child is a desire.

Mind the difference between emotional and feely desires. Emotions want to eat pizza, but feelings want to have dinner at an Italian restaurant. Emotions want sex, feelings want a honeymoon.

It needs to be clear what characters want, because readers need to understand what drives the story. That’s where objects of desires come in.

Motivations are abstract and can’t trigger readers’ imaginations. The show, don’t tell rule applies: Don’t tell readers that a character is greedy, show how she is hoarding cash in the basement (cash is the object of desire).

Objects of desire move your story forward, but they may run out of steam after a chapter or two. To move your story from the inciting incident all the way to the climax, you need something more persistent. 

Goals

Most of our desires come and go, and we have little control over them. Goals are different. We pursue goals consciously and with intent.

Goals involve decision-making and planning. And we sacrifice for goals. To win a gold medal is a goal. Or to become an accomplished singer. Or to become the president of the United States.

The protagonist pursues the story goal from the inciting incident to the climax. On the way, she needs to overcome all kinds of adversity. To do that she needs an undying motivation and a clear goal.

Needs

Needs can be physical or mental, like the need to survive or the need to overcome a flaw.

Needs are usually subconscious. The needs of your story characters belong to your story’s subtext.

If you want to make your story characters more interesting, oppose their motivations with their needs.

Remember the woman who was bullied as a child? Let’s give her a name: Laura. Laura needs to become confident. But she ignores that need. Instead, she wants to make a career. She believes that this will allow her to gain her mother’s respect. And everybody else’s.

Laura’s Motivation, Objects of Desire, Goals, and Need

In real life, motivations, objects of desire, goals, and needs belong to people. But in stories, they should serve Story Outline and Genre. Let’s see how this plays out in Laura’s case.

As mentioned, Laura suffers from an inferiority complex. In this context, Laura’s mother is the antagonist.

Laura's Needs

Laura needs to get rid of her inferiority complex. She should do that by going to therapy and developing self-confidence.

Instead, Laura wants to enforce her mother’s respect by becoming a successful television writer. This is Laura’s original goal before the inciting incident. Turns out, Laura’s mother doesn’t think highly of television writers. Laura is frustrated.

One day, a TV host quits her job without warning. Laura replaces the TV host for one show. She does a good job, and the producer offers her the vacant position. This is the inciting incident.

Laura's Goals

Laura reacts to the inciting incident by formulating the story goal: to become a celebrity TV host. Her mother admires TV hosts, and Laura believes that now she has a real shot at her mother’s approval.

In this case, the inciting incident tempts Laura to go on an adventure. Protagonistic forces dominate and the overall mood is excitement. If antagonistic forces dominated, the inciting incident would disrupt Laura’s life. For instance, she could have lost her job and the story goal would be to find a new one.

Advanced Writer Tip: The protagonist’s motivation and story goal need to be on par. Weak motivations make stories melodramatic. If characters are over-motivated, the story becomes comical. It would be comical if Laura tried to overcome her inferiority complex by becoming a successful babysitter. And it would be melodramatic if Laura got an inferiority complex because she was bullied just once by a stranger.

Her heart set on the story goal, Laura climbs the hierarchy of the TV network and squashes collegial intrigues. But she hits a roadblock on the road to fame. The producer defies her illustrious TV host jobs because she lacks charisma. Her inferiority complex smothers her confidence, which smothers her charisma.

Laura's Goal at Midpoint

At the story’s midpoint, Laura retreats and faces her inner demon. She realizes that she needs to develop genuine self-confidence. Confidence is the key ability.

The story’s midpoint is an auspicious moment for revealing the protagonist’s wound. It makes the midpoint scene memorable and boosts empathy, which is the root story engager. You can read about all nine story engagers here. 

After acquiring the key ability, Laura modifies the story goal. She wants to confront her mother about the childhood bullying and tell her about her success as a TV host.

Laura visits her mother and demands her respect, but her mother just laughs at Laura and lists all of her failures and flaws. Laura realizes that her mother has never loved her and will never respect her, even if she would become a celebrity TV host. This throws Laura into an emotional pit of despair — the all-is-lost moment. Laura considers dropping out.

Laura's Goal at All-is-lost moment:

The all-is-lost moment is a dramatic device. For purely dramatic reasons, the protagonist should fail to vanquish the antagonist with the key ability and experience an all-is-lost moment. This serves as a contrast to the climax. After the all-is-lost moment, the protagonist should take on the antagonist in the climax against all odds.

Laura realizes that her mother has an even deeper inferiority complex than herself and made up for that by bullying Laura as a child. Laura rebounds. She goes through an internal transformation and gains genuine self-confidence.

The climax: She visits her mother a second time, cuts her down to size, drives to work, stomps into the producer’s office, and demands a prime-time TV host job with a charismatic speech.

Here is a picture of Laura’s motivations, objects of desire, goals, and needs:

Laura changed her goal three times. She abandoned her original goal for the story goal and adapted the story goal twice: after the midpoint and after the all-is-lost moment. This does not introduce inconsistency. We can reach a mountain top by taking the road, by climbing or by flying a helicopter.

On a side note, if a story goal is too lofty, you can break down the story goal into sub-goals. The sub-goals become scene and act goals.

A Word on the Antagonist’s Motivation, Objects of Desire, Goal, and Need

Ideally, the protagonist and antagonist mirror each other and offer complimentary answers to the story’s big idea or theme.

The protagonist’s and the antagonist’s motivations can be the same, e.g. to find someone to love. They can even have the same story goal, like seducing the same man.

The protagonist and antagonist may even have identical needs, e.g. to love unconditionally. While the protagonist will look inside and learn how to love unconditionally, the antagonist will look for other means to secure her love interest.

The protagonist and antagonist differ in the means they use. For the antagonist, the end justifies the means, the protagonist has principles. Protagonists arc, antagonists refuse to arc and take the easy way. The protagonist tells a prescriptive tale, the antagonist tells a cautionary tale.

Characterization

Once you decided on your character’s motivations, desires, goals, and needs, you still need to make them believable. You do that with Characterization. For Characterization you need to know psychology too. The next article of this series will dive into that.

I hope you enjoyed this article, and it helped you to fine-tune your protagonist’s motivations, objects of desire, goals, and needs.

Why don’t you share the motivation, object of desire, goal, and need of your WIP’s protagonist in the comments?

About Stefan

Stefan Emunds is the author of The Eight Crafts of Writing. He writes inspirational non-fiction and visionary fiction stories and runs an online inspiration and enlightenment workshop. Stefan was born in Germany and enjoyed two years backpacking in Australia, New Zealand, and South-East Asia in his early twenties. Prior to becoming a writer, he worked as a business development manager in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. At the moment, he lives with his son in the Philippines.

by Sandy Vaile

Too often I see authors enthusiastically start writing a novel, only to run out of steam part way through. In fact, only 30% of people who start writing a novel will actually finish it. It’s heartbreaking when a fantastic concept languishes in the bottom drawer forever.

Why does this happen?

You could be writing a shiny, exciting idea that doesn’t have the substance to support an entire book. A lot of this hinges on the main character (and it doesn’t matter if you prefer to plot or discover your way into a story).

A story’s rock-solid foundation comes from knowing who the main character is and what their journey through the story looks like, especially their motivations and “why” everything happens, which provides readers with a deeper understanding of the story as a whole.

This clarity is what turns your awesome idea into something tangible and purposeful.

Today, I want to explore the very inception of a story and how we can shape those initial ideas into a tale we are passionate to tell.

Why Writing a “Shiny Idea” Can Lead to Disappointment  

Any author who has ever attempted to write a novel knows it’s no easy feat to get to “the end.” It’s even harder to shape those words into a compelling read.

When we jump into writing with nothing more than a brilliant idea, it can result in:

• Characters that aren’t well developed
• Fragmented situations that lead you down dead-end rabbit holes and
• Surface level conflict that doesn’t really disrupt the plot

The good news is, by following a few key steps, you can ensure your story has a solid foundation that will drive it through purposeful scenes, all the way to a satisfying conclusion.

There are a few things we need in order to go from an idea to a solid outline (or first draft): 

• Explore potential directions to take an idea.
• Give the idea wings by focusing all of those great ideas in one direction. 
• Build a structure durable enough to support an entire novel.  

The Inception of an “Idea”

The first kernel of an idea can come in many forms:

• An observation about society of a situation
• Current events that pique your curiosity
• A fascinating character who is keeping you awake at night
• A question you want answered
• A clever conflict or twist that intrigues you 
• An unforgettable personal experience
• Mythology, fairy tales or urban legends you’ve heard about
• Inspiring dreams
• Recurring themes in your life or
• An injustice you want to see resolved

To turn the potential of any of those kernels of ideas into a brilliant story, there are a few key aspects that create a solid structure from which to build the whole story around.

4 Must-Haves for a Successful Story

Figuring out the core elements below at some stage, could make it a stronger manuscript, and hopefully prevent a big messy pile of I don’t know what the heck they should do next. 😊

• A compelling main character who wants/needs something desperately enough to fight through thick and thin to get it.
• Something that makes the concept distinctive from all the other stories like it (and there will be many).
• Conflicts that will make the character’s journey difficult (both external and internal struggles).
• A central purpose to provide direction and purpose to every scene. (For a deeper exploration of what a story’s central purpose is, see Write a Better Fiction Story by Finding its Beating Heart.)

A story that lacks these basic elements may be difficult to sustain and less likely to keep readers engaged.

Example

My first book, “Inheriting Fear” started with this vague idea and story question:

• A woman has to figure out who wants to kill her and why.
• What if a woman who didn’t trust police was forced to work with a cop to save herself and people she cares for?

Ways to Turn an “Idea” Into a Compelling Story  

When we are caught up in the exhilaration of creation and opportunity, it buzzes about our imagination like the butterfly-inducing thrill of a first kiss. While jumping straight into writing the story is exciting, it can lead to a burst of activity followed by collapsing into a pile of Where do I go next?

Giving some thought to the main character’s journey and what is driving them, is a great way to transform a vague idea and into a tangible concept. There are countless directions their journey could take, but knowing what’s important to the story makes it so much easier to focus on the ones that both excite you and align with the story’s central purpose.

Now is the time to take a breath and savor the thrill of creation.

Exercise

Remember, during the early stages of a creative project (before writing and after the first draft), we are just throwing ideas at the wall and seeing which ones stick. As we write and edit, we can choose the ones that align best.

Jot down all the ideas that come to mind in relation to the kernel of an idea.

Here are some prompts to guide you. (I’m a huge fan of “What if?” questions when brainstorming.)

• Who are the main characters and what do each of them want?
• Why are they driven to want this goal?
• What internal belief/wound would make getting that goal difficult?
• What kinds of past events could show how the characters developed their internal belief/wound?
• What characteristics (positive and negative) do the main characters have?
• What situations could you put them in to organically show those characteristics?
• What things (events, situations, people) would make it difficult for them to reach their goal?
• How will these events support the underlying themes surrounding the story concept?
• Where might the story take place?

All of these things will help you gauge the potential of a story idea, by making sure it has the substance to become a fully-fledged book.

Give Your Story Idea Wings

After doing all of that groundwork, you should have a better feel for who your main character is, what they want, and why they want it. This is what provides a stable base to build a story on.

Check that your story premise aligns with that character’s journey and if not, tweak it.

Example

Building on the previous example of a vague idea, this is the story premise that came from it: 

• A reclusive motorbike-riding chef is stalked by an enemy from her past and forced to rely on a cocky detective to avoid becoming the next victim.

Now it’s time to give that “shiny idea” a chance to succeed by focusing all of the stuff from the brainstorming exercise in a single direction. The direct of the main character’s journey: from where they start to the goal they seek at the end.

Sort through all of your ideas and determine if they are aligned with the story premise and the main character’s goal. Any that aren’t aligned, don’t resonate with you or you simply don’t like, put aside. 

This should leave you with heaps of potential for when you outline or start writing.

Remember to...

...take your time and be patient when coming up with possibilities that fit with your vision for the story. You may even find its direction has nothing to do with the initial kernel of an idea, but this doesn’t matter because it will have morphed into a solid concept you can wrap your mind around and see endless possibilities for. 

You can be sure you have transformed a shiny idea into a solid story concept when you know who the main character is, what they want, and why they want it. The specifics of what’s going to make their journey difficult can evolve as you write, but those key details will keep the narrative on track.

Happy writing. 😊

What are your go-to tricks for turning your shiny ideas into solid story concepts? Are you a plotter or a pantser? What exercises or habits help you when you get stuck? Please share with us down in the comments!

Note: If you are stuck in a rut of writing novels you never finish, never submit or aren’t sure how to fix, then it’s your lucky day. I’m offering WITS readers a FREE masterclass, which reveals the real reasons few aspiring authors finish their novels (and how to avoid them).

Grab the Quit Procrastinating and Write a Publishable Novel masterclass here.

About  Sandy

Sandy Vaile is a motorbike-riding daredevil who isn’t content with a story unless there’s a courageous heroine and a dead body. She is an internationally published author, writing romantic-suspense for Simon & Schuster US, and experienced fiction coach, supporting aspiring authors to write novels they are proud to share with the world (and which get noticed by agents, publishers and readers), through coaching, courses and developmental editing.

Having a writing coach is like having an industry expert in your back pocket, to hold your hand through the writing process and act as a voice of reason when you’re standing on a ledge. Sandy’s exclusive Active Storytelling Method helps authors find the hidden gems in their manuscripts and make them shine.

Connect with Sandy Vaile on her website or social media.

by Diana Stout, MFA, PhD

Have you ever asked for a beta read or critique and got back so many comments on the manuscript that you wanted to quit writing? Or maybe you cried, or became angry at the critiquer, then vented to anyone who would listen?

As hard as they are to receive, critiques are a necessary element to your growth as a writer.

Finding great critique partners is like looking for a marriage partner. Not everyone is going to be a good fit. Nor do they have the same level of expertise.

What is your intent in asking someone to read your work?

When you're ready to have someone read your work, which by the way should never be a first draft, ask yourself: What is my intent? What is my end goal?

• Do I just want someone to like it?
• Do I want to become published?
• Am I entering a contest, wanting to place or win?

Other questions to ask yourself:

• Am I ready to receive criticism?
• Do I internalize criticism as personal?
• Do I view criticism as constructive?

If your sole goal is to have someone like your book and your feelings are easily hurt, then let a relative or best friend read it. They'll love anything you write, provided their jobs weren't as an English teacher or editor.

If your intent is to become published or to enter a contest, then you want an honest, direct critique where your writing flaws are highlighted.

Who should be reading your work, then?

Ideally, you want someone with experience in your genre. They could be:

• a reader who reads a lot of books in your genre.
• a writer who is published in your genre
• an editor who edits in your genre
• an agent who has clients in your genre
• a publisher who publishes in your genre
• a teacher of writing in that field and who ideally is published

Are you seeing a pattern here? The secret to finding a good critiquer is choosing someone who works or reads heavily in your genre.

Be wise about who you ask. For example: having a poet critique a psychological thriller isn't a good fit, not on that merit of writing experience alone. Each genre has it owns must-have elements that you want your critiquer to be familiar with—having experience in that genre is even better.

Another consideration: Are your writing styles comparable rather than contrasting?

Where can you find critique partners/beta readers?

• Join social media groups of your genre. Become involved. Ask questions, comment on others' posts.
• Ask other writers if they'd read a chapter of your book. If they like the chapter, maybe they'll ask to read the entire book.
• Join a national or regional writing group.
• Do a Google search.
• Ask your local librarian if they know of any local writers or avid readers of your genre who might be interested in reading your manuscript.
• Check Meetup.com and do a search there.
• If you live in a college town, contact the professors of writing classes.
• In those college towns, visit coffee shops and bookstores and look for groups of writers who will meet there frequently. Approach them.
• Form your own critique group.

Another way to get feedback is by entering contests and pay the added fee for the judges' feedback.

How should critiques be received and viewed?

Criticism always accompanies a critique. Criticism isn't negative; it's helpful. And, if two or more are saying the same thing, pay attention!

A harsh critique is one where the critiquer is attacking the writer, providing mean, nasty, comments. A harsh critique will be destructive throughout, offering little-to-no positive feedback. Don't give them a second thought; trash them.

A constructive critique is one that offers direct language when pointing out flaws and areas that need work. A constructive critique will tell you why it doesn't work and offer an alternative. A constructive critique addresses only the writing, never the writer. They give you a critique sandwich: the bread is the positive, the filling is the negative—the listing of flaws. They start with the positive, discuss the negative, and end with the positive. These critiquers are treasurers; keep them!

A helpful critiquer will answer questions and wants to see you succeed, by not getting scammed, or going down a path that could be troublesome.

When you receive the critique...

• Read it.
• Step away from it for several days. No venting or talking about it. Just think about it.
• Return and read it again. Only this time, evaluate it as you were an editor with a mind to purchase. Would you buy it as is?
• Try to remember that the critiquer's intentions were good. They were trying to help you.
• Never defend what you have written. Critiquers can only judge what's on the page. They can't see what's not on the page.

Do know that you don't have to accept every suggestion made. Keeping in mind the critiquers' expertise, you get to determine what to accept and what to reject.

Can you have several critique partners?

Yes! I have several and rarely do they comment on the same things. Why? Because they have different backgrounds and specialties.

What is the proper post-critique etiquette?

• Always send the critiquer a thank you.
• If they are critiquing without a fee, send them a signed copy of the book.
• Never allow a third-party to talk to the critiquer on your behalf.

What reactions do editors, agents, and publishers want to see?

They want to see you accepting critiques with gratitude, not attitude. Having an attitude is viewed as unprofessional, and the writer with an attitude probably won't be working with that editor, agent, or publisher for long.

Conclusion

The first critique I received was the hardest. Yes, I cried, but when I went back to it, this wonderful mentor was correct in her advice. Later, we became critique partners.

Over time, receiving criticism got easier. Today, I welcome critiques, knowing these experienced people will only make my writing stronger, and I celebrate those times when the comments are few, revealing that I have gotten better.

Do you have a critique experience or a something you learned about yourself as a result of a critique that you'd like to share?

About Diana

Dr. Diana Stout is an award-winning writer in multiple genres, a screenwriter, author, blogger, writing coach, presenter, and former English professor. She recently published her screenplay, Charlie's Christmas Carole, as a book and is publishing, Tangled Passions: A Laurel Ridge Novella (Book #5), a romance.  Her short story, "Bread Pudding" is a semi-finalist, one of the top ten in the Adult category in the Write Michigan Short Story Contest, with winners to be announced early February.

You can find Dr. Stout at her website, Sharpened Pencils Productions.