Character's motivations list

 

Hello, friends!

One thing that really adds more depth and relatability to a character is the motivation for their actions and decisions they make. What good is a character who does things but doesn't know why?

In today's post I'll mention some examples of what motivations a character can have. I need to highlight that the division into positive, negative and neutral is simply for easier orientation in the list, of course it could be debatable, if certain item is noted under the right category. 

Let's get into it!

 

POSITIVE MOTIVATIONS 

…to save someone (fe a loved one)

…to recover something lost 

…to be free from others’ control over them

…to improve the world

…to find something or someone

…to find a place / a group to belong

…to understand oneself and/or life itself

…for redemption 

…to get some confidence and self-esteem 

…to get some rest

…to get better at something 

...to become more independent

...to repay someone for something

NEGATIVE MOTIVATIONS

…to kill someone (fe an important political figure)

…for revenge

…because some people just want to see the world in flames

…to control someone

…to own something that's not yours

…to rise above others

NEUTRAL MOTIVATIONS 

…to gain respect / fame / experience

…to get stronger/smarter (in order to achieve something)

…because of fear

…because of desperation

…for money

…escape/achieve destiny

…because that's the only thing they can do to survive

…because of loss / grief

…to find their purpose 

…to escape their past

…because it's their duty

…to prove someone wrong

…to revolve against something

…because they want to be remembered

Got any more ideas? Feel free to share them with us, so we update the list!