No, this is not about the motivation to write. If you're here, it's rather likely that you've already found that motivation in your own life. This refers to your characters.
In every scene, every character should want something, even if it's just a glass of water. That is what will help keep your story moving, rather than getting mired in the murk and muck of small talk. Characters could make small talk, but have them genuinely want to know something. For example, to actually know how the other character is doing, or have them start the conversation as a discussion.
The idea of opposing wants can also help to act as a catalyst for conflict. If two characters want things that can be considered opposite (person A wants to prove that person C is guilty and person B wants to prove them innocent) the clashing of these wants will make the conversation interesting and can help to move the story along, revealing things about the characters.
Of course, you shouldn't reveal these motives right out. That's too easy. Make your readers work for it, but not too hard.
Body language is a really useful tool for this. For example, if a person wants to leave a conversation, or just doesn't want to be there, they will be more closed off. Arms folded, squared shoulders, clipped replies. And whoever they're speaking to will be the opposite. with more of an open posture. They'll be relaxed, friendly, almost bubbly.
Also, certain wants will be easy, at first glance. Another example would be a character who wants a drink of water. Make it hard. Make them fight for it. You could have them struggle with anxiety, waiting until someone else asked for a drink. Have your character be the kind of person who waits until someone else hands in a test before they do. Have them be too proud to ask for it, Drop them in the middle of the desert and have them literally die for it.
Wants can help to make your characters human. Even someone who claims to not want anything will want something, deep inside. They'll help to take a flat character and make them rounded. And whenever your character is 3D, that's a good thing.
A character that would especially benefit from well-thought out motivations would be your villain. True, they could be the kind of person who just wants to watch the world burn for the sake of the fire, but that's rather cliché. Give them a failed character arc, some kind of tragedy in the past. Better, make them believe that they are doing the right thing. Make them stop at nothing to save someone's life. They can be the kind of person who cares so much about their own that they'll kill anyone who messes with them. Your villain's motivations can almost be more interesting than the hero's, because the villain can do anything to get what they want.
Yeah. Motivations. Make them dark, make them edgy, make them epic. But actually give your characters something to fight for, beyond just 'good' and just 'evil'. A good motivation can be the difference between a hero and an anti-hero. Or the difference between a villain and a father who will stop at nothing to keep his son out of prison.
What word processor do you use? I've had people suggest Ilys, and Campfire Blaze but I don't really like the formatting. Currently I'm using Word, but if I could find a better one...
ReplyDeleteI do actually use Word as well. However, for the initial writing, I have a e-ink tablet. This tablet is amazing and I love it so much, and it will probably feature in some sort of post about technology for writers. The thing about this tablet is that when I'm done writing I can email the story to my computer and the tablet will convert it to text, which is actually very accurate.
DeleteAs far as the writing program goes, I've heard good things about Scrivener. Realistically, the formatting doesn't really matter until you're ready to publish. At that point, many self-publishing websites do have their own formatting tool which can be really useful.
Ha! me again. Forgot something. As long as you can write your story, the formatting doesn't matter. Get words on the page and worry about making them pretty later. I honestly have my default Word font to Comic Sans (painful, yes) because it honestly helps with word flow. If your stories look professional from the get go, it's actually harder to write and edit (something about your brain not wanting to find mistakes in something that looks perfect).
DeleteOh yeah, I heard that comic sans helps but have never tried it. Thanks for the thorough reply though!
DeleteHey me again! I was thinking of getting a reMarkable to write my novel on, because I've heard many good reveiws, but I was just wondering if you have any experience with them [do they work well?], or alternative suggestions. Thanks in advance!
ReplyDeleteHey! Jack here. Alice asked me to reply because I’m the tech addict in the group, and I’m the one who owns a writing tablet.
DeleteThe e-ink tablet that I have is in fact the Remarkable 2. I love it a lot, but as it is quite a large investment, there are a few things to consider.
First of all, will you use it? This is a bit of a no-brainer, but having a fancy tablet that you aren’t going to use doesn’t make any sense at all.
Next, is it right for you? By this I mean several things. Do you prefer writing in notebooks? Do you want just a writing tablet (fewer distractions) or do you want one that you can do everything from? Hint, if you want one that has a lot of functionality, an iPad and Apple Pencil would be a better fit.
If you prefer to write in notebooks (rather than with a laptop) then it’s actually quite a product. I purchased it after making the argument that I would spend less on it in a moment than I do on notebooks for a year, and after some math, factoring in my notebook preferences (let’s be honest, everyone likes a certain kind of notebook) it was actually a rather good investment.
I’m aware of other e-ink options, but none have as glowing reviews as the Remarkable does. The Remarkable is a tablet that really has no competition, in its niche, at least.
Again, if you’re looking for functionality, an e-ink tablet is not for you. Get a regular tablet.
Like I said, I have the Remarkable 2 and it is fantastic, for what I want it to do, exclusively writing. I can edit and draw as well, but that’s very limited in functionality. And I can honestly say that it feels like writing on paper.
Hope that helps!
Thanks so much!
DeleteHi! It's me again. I'm not sure if this blog is still active, as there haven't been a lot of posts lately but on the topic of the reMarkable 2, again. Recently, they came out with the type folio... do you have any experience with that and whether it's a good investment?? Most of the reviews I've read have said so, but I'm hesitant about it mostly because of the price.
DeleteThanks in advance!
Hey! I just wrote a post on that for you, if you wanna check it out
Delete