Writing Talk, No. 2 - Sloths and Motivation

I've written six drafts of the same novel. None of them have the same plot, some of them don't even have the same characters, but all of them are at least 10,000 words long, and none of them survived past 30,000, just one third of their intended length. For one reason or another, they fell apart, and I was forced to abandon them. Many of these drafts were good; the characters (I thought) were working well, the setting was properly tuned, things were happening (that means there's a plot right?).

 Each one ended before or at 30,000 words for a reason; it was the limit to how far I could take a novel without a plot. Each one ended because I was reaching for threads of a story and coming up short, or else 'stalling' until I brought the plot into play. Each one ended with the feeling that something was missing, something vital, and horribly simple: motivation.

If characters aren't motivated to do anything, they won't. They will be perfectly content to sit around until the writer decides to do something with them, which will probably be never; there's no inspiration in bored characters. The writer could choose to throw events at the characters that they'd be forced to deal with, but that's only a temporary measure, and tends to lead towards a shallow story, particularly if the writer does it too often.

I've done it too often. I've let my characters sit around for tens of thousands of words. When characters try to commit suicide because they're so monumentally bored that they'd do anything to move the story along, you've got problems. Oh yeah, I've had a character try and commit suicide just to get out of the story, unfortunately another character talked them down and told them just to 'hold on a little longer' or something to that affect. Then 10,000 or so words went by and everyone ran into the woods, followed by the ever-looming third-person perspective. This isn't a guide on how to motivate your characters or figure out a plot, it's just a list of stupid mistakes I've made so nobody else has too: (though I'm sure they will, it's just the way it works)

• Don't make your protagonist a teenager, regardless of your audience. Teenagers are very similar to sloths, they're perfectly content to sit around for pages on end. If you insist on having a teenage protagonist, (I'm stuck with one) somebody has be killed or kidnapped without delay or hesitation.  
• Don't hesitate to kill or kidnap characters if you think it's the right decision. 
• Don't hesitate to start the plot. 
• Don't make your protagonist a sloth, for the exact same reasons you shouldn't make them a teenager.
• Bring in other characters; motivated characters; have their motivation drive your other characters. See what happens. 
• While I can't recommend throwing events and challenges against your characters, you don't have to let the characters drive the entire story, take it out of their hands occasionally. This doesn't pertain much to motivation, but it's useful nonetheless. 
• Give your character an 'aha' moment. Have them realize something that drives them to do something drastic. 
• Don't hesitate to let your characters do something drastic. 
• Love is your tool. Use it to drag your characters around in circles. 
• Nothing makes people want to move more than being crippled. (I've done this. It worked fantastic, but was really depressing.)
• Tell your characters to run. Actually, I've done that, two drafts died as result. Don't do that. 
• Make a character flat; give them a single trait based on a single motivation. 
• Be careful with complicated characters, they never know which way to run. 
• If your characters are too complicated, try cutting them apart. 
• Think about your characters, what do they want?

This is the important question. Before you figure out any more of their personality, make sure you know what your characters want. Revenge, love, boredom, anger, restlessness, or hunger. It doesn't really matter, as long as they want something. If they don't, change whatever you have to change until they do. Kill people, add characters, have them live somewhere else, pull apart whatever makes your character who they are, then give it back. I guarantee you won't see them the same way. 

You have to be drastic and pitiless. Cripple your character on the third page. Kill the person who means more to them than anyone else, start a nuclear war. Build the world as quickly and efficiently as possible, then tear it to pieces. The sooner you start the better. I've landed myself with hugely bloated failures because I was counting on having an event stir my characters to righteous action. But I had absolutely no idea what the event might be. I just kept saying, I'll have something happen, but I never did. You can choose to motivate your characters with blood and shock at some point during your introduction, or you can have them leap forward and onto the page, already bursting with dreams and ambitions. You can have your characters run towards something they want, or away from something they're afraid of. They can fight with something they hate, and try to protect something they love. 

Don't hesitate, forget about mercy, and never look back.