Goal Motivation Conflict

Even a perfectly wonderful plot can result in a flat story if your characters aren’t well developed. If you can’t give a good reason for your characters to act the way they do, the story will feel contrived. So it is essential that you give your characters goals and motivations. Furthermore, if you want to make the story more interesting than the average cookbook, you’re going to need conflicts for your characters to overcome.

Goals are what your character wants.  Does he want a car?  Is he out to make it into the major leagues of his sport?  Does she need to solve a crime?  A character’s goals can be the focal point of the story, but it doesn’t have to be. Take, for example, the character Scarlet O’Hara. Her goal was to marry Ashley Wilkes. But while her goal makes her act like an idiot at times, it really isn’t the driving force behind the story. On the other hand, if you look at Rocky, his goal was to be the champ, and it’s that goal that the entire story is focused upon. Read the rest of this entry

Holiday Gifts

Do you have a writer in your life?  Is your holiday shopping done?  Looking for one last stocking stuffer?  Or are you a writer yourself and want to treat yourself to something special?  Here’s writerslikeme’s official list, in no particular order:

• Neck massager.  With heat.  Bent over a desktop computer or slumped on the sofa with a laptop, a writer’s posture is never perfect.  Surprise your writer with a touch of comfort.  An alternate less expensive version: A handmade gift certificate for a personal massage.
• Notebooks, pens, markers, basically anything found in a stationary store.  But cool.
• A mini recorder to catch the fleeting messages from the Muse.
• A reference book.  You can’t go wrong with Stephen King’s “On Writing” or Anne Lamont’s “Bird by Bird.”  “Eats, Shoots & Leaves” by Lynne Truss is another good bet.
• A laptop.  Admittedly, this is on the high end of the price range, but you’ll have a friend for life if you gift this.
• A markerboard and dry erase markers.  A great way to organize a plot or jot down ideas.
• Teas, coffees, and a new mug.
• A mug warmer.
• iPod or MP3 player.  Writers like to write by music.
• An iTunes gift certificate.
• Fingerless gloves so they can keep pushing through the plot in all kinds of weather
• And finally, Chocolate, near and dear to everyone’s heart, writer or not.  The darker the better.

From the staff of writerslikeme, have a safe and happy holiday season!

An early Christmas present for you!  Check out our new resource page. We’ve got lots of links to help you in find what you need when you’re researching your current W.I.P.

Let us know if you have a suggestion to add to the table.  We’ll reciprocate with a link to your blog or website.