If your story starts to slow down and lose momentum in the middle, don’t worry. It happens to the best of us. After introducing your world, character, and the conflict, it will feel like the middle is just there to fill the page until you reach the climax. Despite that feeling, the middle is the largest part of the story. It’s the story. That’s where character development and the plot happen. Without the middle, there isn’t much of a story.
However, even if the middle is important, it’s challenging to maintain momentum and keep the reader’s attention. One way to spice up the middle is to deepen the character’s motivation. Read this simple and beginner-friendly guide on how to master character motivation.
What Is Character Motivation?
If you came as far as the middle, then you most likely have written down your character’s motivation. But to clarify, the character’s motivation is the reason why your character does what they do. It’s the “why” behind every decision they make.
Character motivation drives the plot. It’s the reason behind the protagonist’s journey, the villain’s villainy, or the mentor’s guidance of the protagonist. Motivation provides reason; it’s supposed to explain the decisions the characters make.
Motivation comes in two main forms:
External motivation: A clear goal.
For example, Sara needs to save enough money for her dream study.
Internal motivation: Need for meaning.
For example, Sara needs to prove to herself that she deserves a good future.
Both are “inner” motivation, but external motivation is often what the other characters notice, while the internal motivation is what lies in the subtext. Ordinarily, you wouldn’t say that Sara wants to prove to herself that she is worthy of greatness. Sara would probably not even know it herself. Instead, it would be a journey of her trying and failing while she tries to reach her goals.
Why Motivation Weakens in the Middle of the Story
Writers sometimes lose momentum in the middle of the narrative because they have already introduced the conflict, but have yet to reach the climax. The same thing happens to characters: their goals are tested, but they haven’t fully transformed, so their confidence in achieving their goals weakens.
Examples of motivation weakening:
No new obstacles: The character continually faces the same kinds of challenges, making the story feel repetitive.
The “why” gets lost: The goal remains, but the character’s motivation for wanting it is no longer there.
The stakes feel flat: What’s at stake isn’t important enough for the characters to endure the hardships that they’ll face on the journey.
The character only reacts: They are only reacting to the plot instead of making decisions that drive the plot.
How to Deepen Character Motivation in the Middle
You understand that you need to strengthen your character’s motivation, but how will you do that? We can start by clarifying that you aren’t confusing motivation with goals and stakes.
Understanding Motivation, Goals, and Stakes
What is the difference?
Goals: What your characters want.
Motivation: Why they want it.
Stakes: It is what happens if they fail to get it.
Somewhere in the story, the character will realize that what they need is more important than what they want. Then they might feel like they have to protect what is at stake even more deeply than at the beginning of the story. This can be a method for making the character’s motivation matter more.
1. Raise the Stakes
Make the consequences of failure more personal or graver.
For example, Sara not only has to save up enough money for a good education so she can get a good job. She has to get a good education, so all her struggles were worth it.
2. Introduce a Psychological Setback
Challenge their beliefs. Force them to question themselves and their world; it helps them realize what they need.
For example, Sara doubts whether it’s worth it to work hard for something that she might not even achieve. The reason behind her desires resurfaces after nearly giving up.
3. Reveal a Deeper Truth
The middle is where revelation happens. The first part of the story should ask a question that gets answered, but prompt a relevant question that will eventually lead the character to transformation.
For instance, the first part of the story inquires whether Sara can save enough money to attend school. In the middle, we get that answer, but then it asks if Sara wants to go to that school.
4. Connect Motivation to Relationships
Your character’s relationships (friends, family, love interest, rivals, etc.) can show and test what truly matters to them. Furthermore, they can strengthen their motivation and remind themselves of why they wanted to do it in the first place.
For example, Sara sees her friend, whose parents pay for her education, skipping lectures and parties when she should be studying. This reminds her that she isn’t as fortunate, and she has to earn what she desires.
5. Show Motivation Through Action
Motivation is what happens in the subtext; it is subtly hinted at, not bluntly stated every other sentence. Readers will not like being spoon-fed information. Motivation will feel more believable if the audience can see the character doing it instead of feeling like the author is simply telling them.
To illustrate:
When telling
Sara wanted to prove she was worthy of a good life like her friends.
When showing
Sara ate half a bagel in the car on her way to her second job.
Connecting Motivation to the Midpoint Twist
If you have read this guide onthe midpoint twist, you will already know that the midpoint is a moment of clarity and redirection. It is where the protagonist either fully commits to their goal or realizes they have been walking in the wrong direction.
The midpoint twist often answers the question that everyone was wondering about in the first part of the story. Then answer it and prompt a new question.
Ask yourself:
What do my characters truly want, and what are they willing to sacrifice to get it?
Common Mistakes Writers Make with Character Motivation
Sometimes it’s easier to figure out what you shouldn’t do than what you should. Here are some pitfalls writers make that can harm their writing.
- Keeping motivation static.
- Forcing motivation to fit the plot.
- Explaining instead of showing.
- Ignoring the internal reason.
Character Motivation Checklist
Trying to learn how to write character motivation can feel confusing since it’s quite an abstract concept. Here’s a list of concrete points that can help you figure out how you can write a well-defined character’s motivation.
- Does my character have both external and internal motivation?
- Do their motivations continue to evolve throughout the story?
- Are the stakes personal?
- Do their actions reflect what they want?
- Is their motivation a believable reason for why they do what they do?
Strengthening Your Story’s Middle
Character motivation is an abstract concept that can feel difficult to write. However, it’s an essential part of creating dynamic characters that readers can understand and root for. A character’s motivation is an explanation for why they want what they want and a reason for how far they will go for it. A strong character’s motivation will keep the story from losing momentum and direction while writing.
Use the checklist above to see if you included everything. Although there are no rules for how to write a character’s motivation, a weak character’s motivation can do more harm than good. Therefore, go over your character’s motivation and whether it serves the story.
