From the course: Crafting Dynamic Characters

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Foundation 4: Motivations

Foundation 4: Motivations

- Let's once again come back to the most important question readers ask, "Why?" A character's motivation is all about the why. Why is the character pursuing the things they're pursuing? Why do they want the objective they want? Now, if you're thinking, "It's because of their need!" First of all, more bonus points to you for paying attention. And secondly, although that's technically true, on a deeper level, their need is fueling their objective, it's not the whole, well, story. Sorry, I couldn't resist another bad publishing pun. Our attention-loving character may be trying to win the talent show because they need attention, but, remember, they may not necessarily connect the dots themselves because that feels a little too self-aware to be realistic. So what do they think is the reason they want to win the talent show? The answer to that question is the character's motivation. They might think that their reason for wanting…

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