Well, *I* have motivation. I love to write, and wouldn’t want to stop for the world.
No, srsly. If it comes down to me not writing to save you people, you’re screwed. NO ONE should depend on writers to save the REAL world. We’re barely checked in to begin with. How do you think we’re able to MAKE UP the stuff we do?
No, I was talking about my latest Work In Progress. See, the plot has been morphing and morphing to something SO TOTALLY DIFFERENT from what it started as. Now, that isn’t a bad thing in itself, but I was still having a problem figuring it all out. I’d get a little bit into writing the first few scenes or outlining the plot, then lose steam.
I didn’t get it. I had an amazing premise, a well-developed mythos, and a deep desire to write. But it was like pulling teeth (I even dreamt I lost two back teeth. I could actually feel it – freaky). The want didn’t translate to the flow of words I’ve come to expect.
Really, it was getting painful.
I thought I’d have to *gulp* put Dragonpunk away for a bit. Maybe *gasp* forever.
BUT THEN.
My awesome writerly friend from Twitter whom I LURV, Jessica, pulled me onto a chat so I could talk out my WIP. I started getting my head wrapped around the story a bit, but I still had problems with the last half of it all.
She kept on saying things like “Why?” and, in a very nice way, “So What?”
Really. Annoying.
Also?
OMG SO HELPFUL.
Jessica asked me what they were most afraid of and what they wanted the most. And had a constant stream of “Why”s and “So What”s going. I couldn’t really answer those questions (and didn’t want to admit it, so it took me awhile).
Turns out? My characters didn’t really have much in the way of motivation. So they were sort of boring. And also easy to put in any plot. Thereby destroying said plot.
What little motivation I had thought to give them wasn’t strong enough, or contradictory to the plot I put them in. And, truthfully, plot-based in and of themselves more often than not. I was dragging them in circles without figuring them out.
So, I know what the problem with my WIP is. My characters aren’t realistic.
YET.
Looking back, I can see this is sort of my MO. There are holes in character arcs of some of my older work. It’s clear now I have to do in-depth character sketches to make sure I have strong characters. BEFORE diving too deep into a story. Then, maybe, I can put them in a situation and know the outcome. WITHOUT guessing.
How about you? Do you ever find yourself with underdeveloped characters? Do you do character sketches before writing anything, or do you let the characters develop as you write?
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tambo 
Glad you ironed it all out – after all, I want to read this story! *g*
Thanks! Yeah, it’s slow going at the moment, but at least it’s going in the right direction now! LOL
A lot of my first characters were old roleplay characters, so they were highly developed. My current WIP, Life of a Suburban Unicorn, is shaping up to be like that though. Three of the characters are essentially the same person. I’ve only just started to notice (and capitalize) on little differences that make them unique.
Wonderful that you have such a great friend keeping you writing!
A.M. Kuska´s last [type] ..Pardon me- is that an adverb in your best-seller
I had that problem too, overly similar characters. My biggest problem is having only one trait to define the MC, and it sort of ruins the hope of a plot, lol (here, she was timid to a desperate fault
).
It’s a lifesaver, having someone there to point out things you DO NOT WANT TO SEE. I could’ve saved a LOT of time if I’d gone to her first >.<