Are You Thinking About Your Characters' Motivations?

What is really driving your characters to do what they are doing? Is it all external? Is it internal? Is it even rational? Honestly, I am rejecting a lot of authors simply because the characters are doing things that, in the real life, no human being would ever do. The authors did it simply to advance the plot. 

When we start talking about motivation, we always focus in on that infamous concept of GMC, or Goal, Motivation and Conflict. What is the goal of the character, or what is it that they want to achieve. What is it that is motivating them to get there? And more importantly, what is it that is standing in the way of getting there? That is the conflict!

Now that motivation also involves not just the plot level, but the things that happen at the scene level. I had a director in a play I was in who openly told us he would rather all of us just stand still on the stage than randomly move around. The problem we were all having is that we were moving with no purpose. Here is how he described it. You don't just go to the front door and go and see who is there UNLESS there was a knock on the door or something that signaled someone was on the other side. You don't go and answer your phone UNLESS the phone rang. Get it? 

But there is another twist to this. Characters WILL NOT do things that would seem totally stupid. For example. Let's use the door example. There is a bad guy (or woman) on the other side of the door screaming "I have a gun and I demand to be let in so I can kill your spouse!" You are terrified! Would your character go to the door and think, "Hey, maybe it is a bluff. I'll let the person in and scare them or maybe hit them on the head with a frying pan. Heck, Rapunzel did it, right?" No way! You would be calling the police and running the other way. 

Here is another twist. I see this all of the time with romantic suspense. Forgive me if this is repetitive but I use this all of the time as an example. A rape victim is running from their abuser. They take shelter with the detective. Oh, but now they suddenly find it attractive to have a sexual encounter. Sorry to say this but I think romance is the furthest from their mind. 

I was talking with one of my authors a week ago and she was at this pivotal moment in her book and was struggling. I asked her what was happening. Her comment was simple. "I know what needs to happen next but I can't figure out a reason for them to get into bed." In other words, the motivation was not there yet. She couldn't just insert a phrase, "He do you wanna?" That simply would not work.

The problem is, most authors do just that. They are thinking only about THEIR story and not THE CHARACTERS' STORIES. You have to focus on their motivations. Not your motivations.