Simple Motivation--What Would YOU Do?:
Sometimes to get a plot to work we sell out our
characters. We've all done it and it's the quickest way to
lose a reader. We coax a character into performing some
act that helps the plot but shatters, even momentarily,
his character. How can we avoid this error? Give every
character common sense. Think about what you would you do
if you were in her position?
Usually the root cause of this problem is in the
development of the story. We probably developed the
character and the story simultaneously. Believe it or not,
that's a mistake.
Story first
Many professional writers come up with an idea and develop
a full story and plot BEFORE tackling character. When the
story's finished, they'll develop a character with the
right motivation, background, past and current trauma to
motivate him to perform every action he needs to perform
in the story to make it believable. This technique works
better for idea-driven concepts.
Character first
Many more professional writers come up with an idea and
develop a character to help explore the idea. In this
case, the character should be clearly drawn and allowed to
take the reader through the story without a writer trying
to impose plot points on her. Create a great character and
let him go. This works very well for character-driven
pieces. One word of caution: if the character isn't fully
drawn and well-rounded heading into the creation of the
story, you'll have problems, as well. It's a good idea to
use a program like Typing Chimp Character to
help you explore your character from every angle so you
know exactly how they'll react to the story and what
decisions they would make before hand.
Either route you decide to go, the most important element
for both is to apply common sense. The audience would
never question why your character would perform some
action when under those circumstance. As a reader, I can
put myself in her place and see that every decision,
however difficult, makes sense.