One thing I try to figure out before starting a new book is my main character’s felt need.
What do I mean by felt need? Some people might call it the character’s motivation, but I think it goes deeper than that. For instance, a character may be motivated to do his father’s bidding because if he doesn’t he’ll get a beating. He obeys to prevent something harsh from happening. He’s motivated to please his father to preserve himself. His felt need goes beyond motivation: his felt need in this situation may be to be accepted by his father. What he really wants is unconditional love. This felt need drives the character not only in how he acts and reacts but in how he feels.
For instance in my book CLOCKWISE, my main character’s felt need is to be normal. She will never be normal according to the world’s definition, but by the end of the book she has defined her own normal and accepts it.
In another manuscript my character’s felt need is to belong.
Felt need doesn’t eliminate character motivation—it enhances it. Motivation drives a character’s action, felt need drives action and emotion.
Felt needs are pretty basic to humanity and you’ll find that there’s a short list of needs that really drive people. The need for acceptance, to be normal, to belong, to be loved unconditionally, to prove oneself, the desire for justice, to be safe.
In THE CAY by Theodore Taylor, Philip's felt need is to be safe. He wants to reunite with his family, get away from Timothy and he wants his vision back. A lot of his drive—his actions, reactions and emotions are the result of not feeling safe.
In the movie Napoleon Dynamite, to use the same illustration as last week, Napoleon’s felt need is to be taken seriously. He’s belittled or ignored by everyone except his new friend Pedro and this drives him to help Pedro win student council president.
How about you? Do you know you’re main character’s felt need?
I attended a workshop in the 90s when I was writing romance called "Goal Motivation and Conflict." She differentiated between "external and internal" and said we needed to come up with a goal, motivation, and conflict (what each character wants, why he/she wants it, and what's standing in his/her way) that is both internal and external. Internal was the "felt" part of it, I'm thinking. I always had a hard time differentiating between external and internal!
ReplyDeleteStephanie - yes, Felt Need is probably my way of defining and understanding the inner conflict. I know writers and teachers of writing have their own way of making sense of all the different types of conflict and motivation issues experienced by their characters.I find felt need just works best for me.
ReplyDeleteThis is integral to understanding your character and making their thoughts and actions believable and consistent. Great post!
ReplyDeleteGreat point that "felt need drives action and emotion." Your examples made it crystal clear too. I have a tendency to create overly elaborate plots and I think it's because I'm not tapping into this well enough and creating drama for the sake of drama. But when felt need drives everything...well, the emotional "pulse" (or throughline or desire or goal or whatever you want to call it) stays in its place of prominence.
ReplyDeleteExcuse me, I have some mud to go clean up... :-)
My main character wants to be free from oppression.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your post has helped me to see that!
I've never heard it put this way, but this is perfect--it is deeper than surface motivation. Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteAngela @ the Bookshelf Muse
Sara - yeah, sometimes keeping characters consistent is tough...
ReplyDeleteLaurel - Well said!
Ibdiamond - You're welcome!
Angela - I'm glad you found it helpful!
This was a fantastically clear explanation, Elle. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great question to ask yourself as a writer! Now that you mention it, I had to think about it for a while. Deep down what my character's felt need is to feel safe. Thank you for this great insight!
ReplyDeleteFelt need...I like it. A much more clear term than internal conflict, and a deeper concept than the character's main goal.
ReplyDelete