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Exercise #384: Craft
Posted 9/3/10
Welcome to another exercise from the #336 idea box. This one is from Bette Stafford. Bette says,
“I’ve tried to think about what I’ve had the majority of criticism on and the strongest, in story content, have been on showing the characters motivation for their actions.
It is a weak spot for me and hearing someone say, “I did not understand why your character did that,” has always reminded me that I often forget to realize that what I know in my head about the character, has not come out in the story.
I think if I were better at bringing out any particular characters motivation, my stories would be stronger.”
In creating an exercise from this, I found I had two very different ideas. Unwilling to let either one die, I present them both to you. Choose one, or do them both in the same SUB. Please do not post two SUBs for this exercise simply because you are answering both parts.
Part one: Tell us what your tips would be for strengthening character motivation. How do you help the reader understand why your character did what he or she did? Be as specific as you can; examples are allowed.
Part two: Show us the motivation behind one of these two characters. You may change gender.
- Character A stands on a multistory rooftop as a crowd and police gather on the street below her.
- Character B drives past his turn on the way home, a journey he’s made almost daily for years.
Critiquers, along with the usual grammar, spelling, etc, critique, was the SUB helpful to you as an author? Why or why not?
Word limit: 1000 for each part
Please use the subject line
SUB: Exercise #384/yourname
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