01 March 2022

The Importance of Emotional Motivation in Fiction


Writers know their characters should be real, distinct, and engaging, but that's easy to say. How do you go about doing it? Focusing on voicewhat and how a character speaks and thinksis an important part of the process of making your characters come alive off the page. Another is understanding what drives the characters. This latter element played a key role when I wrote my newest story, "Beauty and the Beyotch," which was published last month in issue 29 of Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine. Here's the teaser:
"Beauty and the Beyotch" is a story about three high school girls told from two perspectives about one thing: their struggle to make their deepest desires come true. What happens when those dreams collide?
These girls' motivations drive all the action in the story and make them who they are. So, who are they deep down?
 
Elaine is an insecure spoiled girl who yearns for acclaim and fame. She is afraid that Joni (her best friend, Meryl's, new pal) will get the starring role in their school's upcoming musical, Beauty and the Beasta part Elaine not only craves but believes is her due. Elaine is desperate to avoid such humiliation, which she fears would undermine her long-term goals.
Joni is shy, an introvert. The idea of auditioning for the show scares her. But she also badly wants to please her mother, who starred in her own high school productions and who keeps encouraging Joni to spread her wings and make some friends. So, despite her anxiety, Joni decides to try out for the spring musical.
Meryl is caught in the middle of her friends. More than anything, she wants to be a menscha good, kind person. It's what prompts her to befriend Joni, even after she learns Elaine doesn't like her, because she can see Joni needs a friend. Because of incidents from Meryl's past, being good and honest means more to her than anything else. But when Elaine's and Joni's goals collide, Meryl is forced to make heart-wrenching choices that strike at the essence of who she wants to be.
So, we have three distinct characters, each driven by something different. But are their goals substantial enough to justify their actions? To make them believable and to make readers care about what happens in the story?
 
The answer for Elaine is an easy yes. Her dream of becoming an actress is something people can understand, if not relate to. The longing for celebrity is well known in our culture, and Elaine believes getting the starring role in the school musical is a key part in her path to fame. In contrast, Joni's and Elaine's deepest desires are quieter. Joni wants to please her mother. Meryl wants to be a good person. I wonder if readers might be skeptical about these goals. Are they important enough to warrant being described as the girls' deepest desires? Are they strong enough to drive Joni's and Meryl's stories?
Thinking about crime fiction brings these questions and their answer into stark relief. When crimes are committed, we know that there can be a superficial reason driving the perpetrator as well as a more meaningful reason. For example, Bob Smith robs a bank because he needs to pay for his mom's nursing home. His reason is practical, but deep down, it's also very personal. He cannot allow himself to be the son who lets his mom down again, and he will risk anything to be a better person for her, even if it means being a bad person in the eyes of the law. What's driving Bob is personal, all about how he sees himself and wants to be seen in his mother's eyes. Yet I'm sure readers would think these needs are meaningful enough to believably drive his actions and could lead readers to become invested in what happens to Bob, even if they think his actions are wrong. 
 
With that in mind, let's return to Joni and Meryl. Just like Bob is driven by a personal reason, so are Joni and Meryl (and Elaine, for that matter). Each girl's past has turned her into the person she is as the story begins, be it a fame-seeker, a mother-pleaser, or a mensch. They're all desperate to get what they need emotionally, and those needs, those passions, those deepest desires, are believable, even if they aren't what many would think of as big dreams. They've set these three girls on a collision course, and the result is a story that I hope readers will find compelling.
So, when you are crafting your stories, think about what drives your characters deep down. It doesn't matter if their needs involve careers or more personal desires. It only matters that you make the characters feel real. Basing their actions on their emotional motivations will hopefully enable you to bring the characters to life in complex, compelling, and engaging ways.
 
Want to read "Beauty and the Beyotch"? You can buy issue 29 of Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine by clicking here. It's available in ebook form and trade paperback. 
 
The magazine is now edited by Carla Kaessinger Coupe, following the death last year of longtime editor Marvin Kaye. This issue also has a story by fellow SleuthSayer Janice Law as well as stories by Keith Brooke, Peter DiChellis, Hal Charles, Rebecca K. Jones, V.P. Kava, Rafe McGregor, Mike McHone, and Jacqueline Seewald; a reprint by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; and features by Martha Hudson, Kim Newman, and Darrell Schweitzer.

16 comments:

  1. Great timing, Barb. I read the story yesterday and enjoyed it thoroughly. This blog post describes how you achieved this reader's enjoyment of "Beauty and the Beyotch." Thanks!

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    1. Thanks, Anne! I'm delighted you enjoyed the story. (And you're welcome.)

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  2. After reading this setup, I'm looking forward to reading your story. This is a good examination of how complex a simple short story can be below the surface.

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    1. Thank you, Susan. I hope you enjoy the story.

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  3. Barb, you've done a great job of distilling something that I always appreciate about your stories -- the way the characters seem to have inner lives. Looking forward to reading "Beauty and the Beyotch," it sounds excellent.

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    1. Thank you, Adam. You're always so kind to me. I hope you enjoy the story.

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  4. Thanks for the shout-out, Barb! "Beauty and the Beyotch" is a wonderful story, and I was delighted when you offered it to SHMM. A gem in our collection!

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    1. Thank you, Carla. And you're welcome. I was thrilled that you accepted the story. And your editorial input really did help make it shine, so thanks for that too.

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  5. Great post, Barb. The hardest part of a short story is showing the character's inner lives quickly without too much telling, and you consistently make it look easy. Out of curiosity, when did you submit this story? Every time I look at SHMM's site, they're closed for submissions, as they have been since Marvin Kaye passed away, or maybe even before that.

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  6. Absolutely, Barb - emotional motivation has to be there in order to make us empathize, care, or hate and despise. Something to keep the reader going. Thanks for the post! And congratulations on the publication!

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  7. Thanks for the reminder. It's so easy to focus on some poison idea or action in a scene, like seeing the new shiny. You're right, it's the emotion -- the yearning -- that is the key! And your reminder comes as I'm opening a new book manuscript. Thanks!

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    1. Happy to help, Susan. Good luck with the new book!

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  8. Thanks for your always helpful advice. When will you publish a book on crafting short stories? Sign me up for two copies. Maybe more.

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    1. I'm smiling, Diane. That is food for thought. Thank you for your support, and you're welcome.

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