Lesson 6

Welcome back to the class.

Today I’m sharing a recap of what we’ve covered.

Building Blocks for Character Development

Backstory – what has made them the person they are today

Goal – what they want

Motivation – why they want it

Conflict – what obstacles must they overcome to reach their goal

Romantic conflict – what obstacles must they overcome to be in a fulfilling relationship (if your story is not a romance, then perhaps their romantic goals may be different).

Goal: What the character wants.

Every story begins with a protagonist who desires something—a goal. This goal acts as the driving force behind the narrative, moving the characters forward and shaping the story arc.

The emotional significance of the goal creates a strong connection between the character and the reader.

Motivation: Why the character wants it.

Behind every goal lies a deeper driving force—motivation. Motivation pushes characters to pursue their goals despite obstacles and setbacks. It reveals their inner desires, fears, and values, adding layers to their personalities and driving their actions throughout the story.

Backstory, their values and emotional wounds can have a major impact on character motivations.

Conflict: Obstacles that challenge the character as they attempt to reach their goals.

No story is complete without conflict—it’s created by the obstacles and challenges that stand in the way of the protagonist's goals. Conflict creates tension, raises stakes, and drives the plot forward by presenting characters with obstacles to overcome and decisions to make.

When introducing conflict into your story, consider both internal and external sources. Internal conflict arises from the protagonist's inner struggles, doubts, and fears, while external conflict manifests in the form of antagonistic forces, obstacles, or opposing characters.

Keep raising the stakes

The idea is to always make things difficult for the character to achieve their goals. Keep raising the stakes on them. That's why it's important to know what they really want. What they fear. What they have to lose.

All of those things will help you to decide what conflicts to add to your story.

Adding romantic conflict

For example, if you're writing mystery or sci-fi/fantasy, the main characters can work together on crime solving, going on quests or going on adventures in outer space.

The goal might not be that the main characters want to fall in love (though they might) but they're open to romance (or a relationship) during the course of the story.

If you do it that way, you can have the main characters in conflict concerning their relationship while they’re working towards their goals. Even if the main goal isn't a HEA or HFN, the obstacles to their romance can be part of the overall story.

Backstory & Emotional Wounds

What backstory and emotional wounds (if any) have led them to be the person they are when the story begins?

Emotional wounds are important too. They might not be as major as traumas (depending on how you define them) but they are there. What is the wound your character has and how can you use that to put obstacles in their way?

Connect goals, motivation, conflict and backstory to show how your character is influenced by past events. And how they must resolve those feelings so they can be fulfilled in the present (and at the end of your story).

Here are a few books I've read that might be helpful for you too:

The Emotional Wound Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Psychological Trauma by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
(This book is part of the Writers Helping Writers Series, which includes other books about character emotions.)

The Emotional Craft of Fiction: How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface by Donald Maass

Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot, and Character Development by K.M. Weiland

Questions?

If you have any questions that haven't been answered, please be sure to ask them!

This is the last class! I've really enjoyed it, and I hope you have too.

Good luck on your writing journey!

Building Blocks for GMC with Deb Bailey