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About the author and blogger ...

Anne Goodwin’s drive to understand what makes people tick led to a career in clinical psychology. That same curiosity now powers her fiction.
A prize-winning short-story writer, she has published three novels and a short story collection with small independent press, Inspired Quill. Her debut novel, Sugar and Snails, was shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize.
Away from her desk, Anne guides book-loving walkers through the Derbyshire landscape that inspired Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.
Subscribers to her newsletter can download a free e-book of award-winning short stories.

TELL ME MORE

What Drives Your Characters: Fear or Desire?

11/4/2016

12 Comments

 
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The coincidence of Charli Mills’s latest post on the loss of a secure base with the buzz about the bicentenary of Charlotte Brontë’s birth later this month (more on both later in this post) reminded me of this piece on fear as a motivator that has languished in my drafts folder for well over a year.

I’m a great fan of Emma Darwin’s posts on writing because, while they’re stuffed with useful advice, she never pretends there’s a simple formula (or two or three or two hundred and three) to make our novels novel and our sentences sing. That’s not the case in some other corners of the creative writing industry. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m particularly hacked off by an implicit assumption that the classic quest underlies each and every story structure: we just have to decide what our hero wants and thwart him in his journey to find it. While I can see how that works for some fiction, lots of the novels I read and love don’t go down that route. On top of that, human motivation is a complex construct: some people genuinely don’t know what they want and some are far too passive to follow their dreams. Some are constrained by circumstances or demons from the past and some characters sabotage their own desires.

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Rather foolishly, I tried raising my concerns with writing gurus. I thought I’d found my answer in a post on the parallels between character motivation and mathematics but the response to my comment suggested I was still missing the point. Others suggested I reframe an absence of motivation as motivation to avoid. So, for example, with the central dilemma of my debut novel, Sugar and Snails:

Diana is terrified of anyone discovering her past

becomes

Diana is driven to obscure her past

Voila! But I’m still not satisfied. My character’s motivation to avoid seems qualitatively different to another character’s motivation to possess or share or celebrate.

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To take a simpler example, suppose I’m out in Jane Eyre country, wanting to walk from Carr Rocks to Brookfield Manor down in the valley. I might be frustrated by the fact that there’s no direct path but, while I’m taking the three-mile detour, I’ve always got my final destination in mind. But what if I’m walking away from a place? What if the mad woman has escaped from the attic at Thornfield and is running after me with a blazing torch? I’m not going to be so bothered about where I get to, so long as she doesn’t follow. In my panic, I might well run full circle and land back without realising it as the exact place I started.

(If you’d like to know more about the area in which Charlotte Brontë was thought to have set Jane Eyre, North Lees Hall is open to the public later this month, and I’m leading a guided walk at the beginning of July.)

Many of my readers also visit Charli Mills over at Carrot Ranch Communications. If you’ve followed her excellent posts for a while, you’ll probably be aware of how keen she is on the quest or hero’s journey. So it might come as a surprise that I discovered (what I’m hoping might be) the solution to my motivation dilemma in one of her posts. When she challenged us to poke a pencil at fear in a 99-word flash, it occurred to me that fear (even when it’s paralysing) can be as strong a spur to action as desire.

The experience of fear is universal and our characters might be driven by fear at one moment and desire at another. But there might also be enduring personality traits that make us more prone to one type of motivator than the other. I’m particularly interested in characters who are driven by this fundamental fear than those who are primarily driven by want.

From my reading of attachment theory (worth revisiting this post on attachment and self-compassion for the illuminating video), it seems that those who grow up with a secure foundation would be more likely to be motivated by desire, while those with insecure attachment patterns would be more motivated by fear. If you can’t trust that the world is generally safe and you can get help when you need it, you’re going to be more heavily invested in minimising threats than in seeking out rewards.

That’s certainly how I perceive Diana in Sugar and Snails, as well as Steve, the antihero of my next novel, Underneath. I think the same applies to Tess Lohan, the main character in Mary Costello’s deeply moving novel, Academy Street (p158-9):

She had been too afraid. She had always been waiting for something to take, for the veils of abstraction to lift and reveal the life that was meant for her.

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Charli’s latest flash fiction prompt is about the acute form of this kind of fear, the immobilising panic when all the things that ground us are swept away. This is so much a theme of my writing that, as has happened before, it almost wasn’t constraining enough, until, driving at the speed limit yesterday to my voluntary job near Jane Eyre country, a car overtook mine on the bend, sparking this little fantasy:

First aid

They say, in an emergency, the training kicks in. But I’d hoped I’d never need to put it to the test. Yet I pulled over promptly, running through the ABCs in my head.

Fortunately they were conscious, and breathing, and there wasn’t much blood. After making the 999 call, I was calm enough to let work know I’d be late.

Wall-to-wall meetings, the usual stuff. I looked forward to cocktails, scented candles and a warm bath. But, back in the driving seat, I can’t start the car. It’s not the engine that’s stalled but trust the world is safe.

Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what you think. If you've enjoyed this post, you might like to sign up via the sidebar for regular email updates and/or my quarterly Newsletter.
12 Comments
Geoff link
11/4/2016 10:36:53 pm

Fascinating post (and nifty flash). I love the discourse in journey and the motivation/absence issue. I agree turning Diana's wish to avoid into a desire to obscure over simplifies. She is essential passive but prepared to act to protect herself rather than seek out solutions. Or that's the way I read it. Frankly something is lacking if you try and cram people into thesis/antithesis boxes - you end up with Marvel comics. Hope the tour goes well. I'd love to join in but I suspect it's a bit far just for the day.

Reply
Annecdotist
15/4/2016 09:32:36 am

Thanks, Geoff, and I agree with your reading of Sugar and Snails. But I think it is harder to make a passive character engaging, which is perhaps why the path of desire is so promoted.

Reply
Lisa Reiter link
12/4/2016 09:31:10 am

I totally agree with you on both the complexity of characters and real 'story' - If I think of this in the context of writing my memoir, I am STILL analysing and trying to understand some elements of myself and others behaviour. What is more, this changes on a whim or new experience. I can understand for a readers to have a really flaky, indecisive, inconsistent protagonist is a difficulty. This may have led to the teaching of 'what works best' being the opposite but real human beings are a bit less predictable - even to themselves.
We sometimes make very conscious and considered choices and think we are in full control of our behaviour - although the psychologists studying decision making will provide all the evidence to show we don't do much with a logical, robotic a->z pathway.
I really enjoyed this post and one of your best ever flashes! Sorry my cortex is constrained by viral inflammation otherwise I would have stayed to chat longer (and probably made more sense!) Lisa x

Reply
Annecdotist
15/4/2016 09:38:01 am

Thanks, Lisa, and your comment makes perfect sense (in fact, it might be that reading this earlier has shaped my reply to Geoff). And an important reminder that even when we THINK we're choosing freely we might not be. I wonder how to convey that in fiction?
Interesting also about the question of motivation in memoir – I hadn't thought of that, but it's still about constructing / constraining life into a story, which might be even harder when it isn't made up?
I'm glad you liked the flash – I struggled a bit with the last line and perhaps needed more words to convey the sentiment about the loss of a safe place in the world.

Reply
Paula link
12/4/2016 06:33:10 pm

I'm going to be even briefer than Lisa, because I am on lunch break. But essential agree with Geoff. Also filing away in my memory (I hope) that in the UK, I dial 999 in an emergency, not 911. ;-)

Reply
Annecdotist
15/4/2016 09:40:48 am

Thanks for taking time out, Paula, and hope it didn't interfere with digesting your sandwich! You've got me wondering whether dialling 911 in the UK would automatically convert to 999 – would make sense if it did, but I'm sure you'll agree 3 times the same digit is a lot more straightforward ;)

Reply
Charli Mills
13/4/2016 03:37:31 am

Terrific post! In the US, when we daydream we say, "When I hit the lotto..." Well, when I win the lottery, I'm going to go to the UK to go on your guided tour in July. How amazing that would be! I'm fascinated by different characters, motivations and situations and how they can fit into the hero's journey. I somehow think that you will be exploring the human psyche in all its contradictory manifestation until your last word. And I like that about your writing and reviews, that pushing against what is accepted or known. Great flash! I became a First Responder at age 16, but didn't experience my first major accident until age 40. That training held and I saved a dog. His owner died. In the moment I was focused and knew what to do. Even today, I can feel sad, though not fearful, of the car accident I came upon.

Reply
Annecdotist
15/4/2016 09:47:49 am

Oh, Charli, if you make it over here I'll take you on that walk at any time of the year – but you'll need proper boots. Hopefully we can have tea halfway through at North Lees Hall.
You're very heroic putting your first aid into practice – similarly, I trained with the Red Cross in my teens and now have 3- yearly updates with the National Park, but I still worry that I'd panic if it came to put into practice.
The novel I'm currently reading is set in the Second World War, and interesting to read about debutants have been brought up to achieve nothing more than marrying into money driving makeshift ambulances thru a bombed-out London.

Reply
Norah Colvin link
14/4/2016 12:15:17 pm

Having just responded to you on my post about my title, I have to say that I love yours. It fits perfectly with your post and your flash.
There are a few things in this post I'd like to comment on.
After giving your wonderfully positive comment to that "anonymous" writer, I can't believe he responded to you as he did. I think he must have feared your writerly value, and preferred the gushing of lessers to a valuable thought-provoking comment such as yours.
I agree with what you are saying about the complexity of characters and their motivations. Fear is definitely a strong motivator, forcing choices that protect physically, emotionally or mentally. Or is that desire wearing its shirt inside out - desire for protection? Complex.
How I'd love to join you on that walk in Bronte country. (The sentence beginning tells the most important part.)
I've forgotten anything else I may have wanted to comment on, so I'll skip straight to your flash, which is brilliant as always.
The driver's response at not being able to start the car reminds me of me years ago when I hit a pedestrian who ran out onto the road in front of me and bounced off the bonnet of my car. Fortunately I was going slow having just pulled away from traffic lights and she wasn't hurt, physically at least. The nice policeman moved my car off the road. I had simply stopped, in shock, in the centre of the road. I don't know how many years the girl may have suffered and been cautious crossing roads (still cautious, I hope) but I still view any pedestrians on the roads warily. They can be so unpredictable.
And what is it with these people who don't like to sit "in queue" behind anyone travelling at the speed limit. Gosh. I often expect to come across a scene as you described. Fortunately I haven't. I, too, would hate to have to put my (now fading) knowledge of first aid to the test. Again years ago, but not as many as the pedestrian incident, a friend and I both did first aid training together. She was excited and said she couldn't wait to use it. I, on the other hand, dreaded having to do so. I am no nurse. Sadly, five months later she was involved in a car accident herself and very seriously injured and in need of first aid. Fortunately she survived and our strong friendship lives on.
But your flash is brilliant as usual of course. As my comments above show, every bit of it speaks very clearly to me.

Reply
Annecdotist
15/4/2016 11:56:17 am

Thanks, Norah. What a fabulous stream of comments! Well I think some people who have set themselves up as advisers on creative writing can have difficulty thinking beyond their core message – they certainly aren’t as open to new ideas as you are.
Sorry you’re able to identify with my flash! I certainly feel for you having hit someone as a driver. It’s a different issue but I’m always concerned for train drivers who hit someone who has jumped onto the tracks and an attempted suicide. Fortunately I’ve never hit anyone when driving, but I was once knocked off my bike (and did that bounce on the car bonnet) – it was the driver’s fault but again really fortunate he was moving extremely slowly on a turn through queueing traffic. As a young driver, I hope he learnt something from the experience.

Reply
Norah Colvin link
17/4/2016 11:57:14 am

Sorry to hear you were hit by a car, Anne. That must have been a frightening experience. I know you survived, and am pleased about that, but I hope you weren't badly injured. It doesn't take much for a serious injury to be sustained.

Annecdotist
17/4/2016 05:50:28 pm

It was pretty scary but I wasn’t injured much although did require a couple of stitches in my lip. It happened at the weekend and I went back to work on the Monday but a colleague sent me home because my face looked so dreadful – she was right, it wasn’t that it was ugly just disturbing for people who are already feeling fragile themselves.




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