Motion, Emotion, Motivation

Motion, emotion, and motivation will keep your story moving. It’s no coincidence these three words share the Latin root for move. Whether you’re writing fiction, biography, or an informational article, be sure to include each of these. Let’s look at how each one enriches your story.

Motion

Plot is the motion in your story. It moves the story forward and compels your reader to keep turning the pages. What will happen next? Plot is the logical progression of events. It’s a series of cause and effect that leads the reader to an endpoint. The motion must be focused and directed toward the end goal to avoid aimless wandering, and risk losing the reader’s interest.

Emotion

Good writing makes your reader feel something. Happiness, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, and surprise are the six basic human emotions. I know what you’re thinking. There are way more human emotions than these six. You’re probably ticking them off in your head at this very moment. It’s true, humans are emotional creatures. But additional emotions such as shame and regret are culture-dependent, so I want to stick to the basic six. When you elicit these in your reader, you know you’ve done your job.

Motivation

Plot and emotion enhance your character’s motivation. Let’s look at plot’s impact first. In every story, the character wants something. That desire prompts the character to action. Each action has a consequence. Each consequence triggers a new action. And so it goes until the character achieves their goal. Throughout, the goal remains just out of reach. The plot moves forward with new obstacles designed to thwart the character which cause them to work harder to achieve their goal.

Emotion is often at the root of a character’s motivation. Sure, they want something. But why? Will it bring them wealth, romance, power? Ultimately your hero or heroine probably wants happiness. The trick is to make them work for it! Throw obstacles in their way that provoke fear, anger, disgust. Place them in situations where they, and your readers, feel the depths of sadness. In the end, surprise them with an unexpected yet inevitable conclusion.