Motivation

Your hero needs a good reason to achieve his/her aim, i.e. real motivation. Motivation is the personal reason that makes us want to achieve the aims we set ourselves. Your hero must feel personally committed to his/her story. If the hero isn’t interested in his/her own adventure, we won’t be either. Ideally, the hero should take the task personally!

Example Harry has to save the world (stake). A meteorite is going to crash into the Earth and he is the only person able to stop this from happening by blowing up the meteorite (aim). He can do it! But he will do so for only one reason: so his daughter can live a long and happy life (motivation).

EXERCISE 16 According to the previously defined aim, make a list of your hero’s potential motivations.

Choose the one that seems strongest. Then imagine a scene where your hero explains his/her motivation (though action, monologue or dialog). He/she must know why he/she decides to get involved in certain events and actions.

HELP Imagine you are your hero and think about what could make you get involved in a situation. Don’t cheat, be honest and don’t invent fake reasons to be done and move on.