In a post on Writer Unboxed, Therese Walsh discusses how we can identify and portray the hidden motivations behind our characters’ choices and actions.
People – and our characters – often use shallow excuses to hide their real fears. Those excuses are hiding the real hurt, which no one wants put on display, Walsh notes. Sometimes, even your characters withhold information until you dive deeper.
“As with real people, the way you’ll get to know the character you’ve built–the way to excavate those bones–is to spend lots of time with them,” Walsh says. “Nurture that safe space between you, and make space for those important truths to come out.” She suggests some exercises that can help you get to the root of the problem:
- Invite them to talk. Try a free-writing exercise in your character’s voice. What topics do they want to discuss? What do they avoid? You can also write this as a Q&A. When you suggest a solution to one of their problems, which do they like and which do they avoid? Can you figure out why?
- Ask “what if.” Write a few scenes that won’t appear in your story. Put your character in extremely uncomfortable positions, if not complete chaos. What happens if their home burns to the ground? Create a drastic situation and see how they react.
- Go deeper. If you find yourself at loggerheads with your protagonist, it’s possible you haven’t developed their backstory sufficiently. Walsh suggests picking one clear external goal. Identify the people involved, what success or failure means to each of them, and keep going until you discover new information. Then go further. If you can’t imagine your character’s response or actions, that might be a clue to what they’re hiding.
- Go inward. Sometimes we get in our own way. Does your topic hit too close to home? Does your character’s weakness look too much like your own? To the extent possible, consider your own backstory, what hurt you, and what you’ve lost. How have you healed around that wound and what habits have you developed to prevent it happening again?
