Purpose: The Missing Link Between Characters’ Motives, and Depth
By Sharon Bially | May 28, 2018 |
Craft wisdom tells us that the characters we write must be motivated by a fundamental driving need–a powerful desire, ambition or goal. Powerful enough that it could drive them to lie, cheat, commit adultery or even murder.
But what if the concept of desire and drive were a bit too simple as a guidepost in character development? As a reader, I confess I often feel that a character’s drive is such a central focus that everything else about the character rings flat. After all, there’s a lot more to each human heart and mind than motive. Padding motive with moments of emotion such as joy at a birthday celebration or grief at the loss of a loved one can feel stiff and fabricated.
A few months back, I had just finished reading a novel that left me pondering all this yet again when a nonfiction book for business leaders came across my desk. At first blush the book, Leading From Purpose, had absolutely nothing to do with fiction or characters or craft. But cross-pollination can happen in the most surprising places, and as I read I could not help thinking that I’d stumbled across the missing link between characters’ motives and what gives them depth.
The concept is simple yet profound: There is this thing called PURPOSE. We all have it. But it’s not what you think. It’s not about a desire to dedicate ourselves to an external cause like saving the planet as people often think. Rather, as the book explains, purpose is the unique gift we each bring to the world and always have. Our purpose has been leading us through our whole lives, in every aspect of our lives, and never changes. It is the solid, internal ground that each of us can stand on while the world is spinning out of control.
Take Claudio, for example—one of the business leaders the book talks about. Growing up, the one thing Claudio loved to do was swim. After his son was diagnosed with challenging special needs, swimming became his place of tranquility. Claudio doesn’t like to just swim; instead, what he loves most is something that he experiences only rarely, the feeling of flying on water when he swims. In that moment, the water disappears, and he can swim lap after lap without stopping. The rest of the time is the daily discipline and commitment of swimming in the water. Without the experience of flying on water, all the effort would not be as meaningful and fulfilling for him.
When his colleagues heard this, they said, “There you are; that truly is what you bring to situations that no one else brings. You make the impossible possible and make it look effortless.” His response was, “Yes, that is how it looks and sometimes feels, but it is the daily practice done over years that makes it possible.”
The sentiment beneath this is core to who Claudio is. It is, perhaps, what underlies all his motives and desires.
If at this point you’re thinking, “interesting,” but wondering how the concept of purpose can help with character development,” consider this:
Claudio uses a metaphor to describe his purpose: To fly on water.
Like a key, this phrase helps him unlock access to the headspace he needs to be in so he can fly on water no matter what situation he is in, whether at home, at work, or elsewhere. The book calls that space the “room of purpose,” and calls the phrase to fly on water Claudio’s purpose statement. To help bring himself into the room of purpose—that place where he is standing on his most solid, internal ground—Claudio can use this phrase, thinking of it or saying it aloud.
To some of us, this concept is synonymous with being centered. While similar, purpose goes much farther and much deeper. Discovering one’s purpose is a journey that entails exploring magical moments we have lived in childhood and early adulthood; the most challenging experiences in our life—our crucibles; and a passion that has fueled us over time. Moreover, a metaphor that unlocks access to purpose is an incredibly practical, powerful tool.
This brief blog post can barely begin to scratch the surface of what discovering your purpose and articulating it in a statement entails. If you’re intrigued, I encourage you to read the book. Doing so has been a tremendous awakening for me personally. I’ve discovered how my own purpose, “Shape harmony through words and ideas,” runs through everything I do, in every aspect of my life—from family and work to passion pursuits like practicing singing and ballet. It pulls everything together for me—past, present and future—and gives me clarity in my actions and decisions.
it seems only natural that knowing your characters’ purpose would help you understand and develop them far beyond a set of motives and quirks.
And that asking “what’s my character’s purpose” is a logical precursor to asking, “What’s his or her motive?”
But before any of us can ask what our character’s purpose is, we have to ask ourselves:
“What’s mine?”
Does the concept of purpose as tool for character—and personal—development resonate? What’s your purpose?
Sharon Bially (@SharonBially) is the founder and president of BookSavvy PR, a public relations firm devoted to authors and books. Author of the novel Veronica’s Nap, she’s a member of the Director’s Circle at Grub Street, Inc., the nation’s largest independent writing center, and writes occasionally for the Grub Street Daily.
I’m about to teach a writing class on Deep POV and I’ll add this to the list of things we need to consider as we develop our characters. (And think about it for my own protagonist.) Thank you.
Sharon, this entire post resonates with me! First of all, I love that you use the term ‘cross-pollination’! I think it’s important to recognize when that happens, and it I believe it’s an ‘outside-the-box’ ability to cultivate. And I agree that purpose goes deeper than motivation. For me, it’s the unseen springboard. Certainly in my life, discovering my purpose has been like unearthing a buried lodestone. And if I look back on the stories that remain alive for me, the characters are driven by a deep and ingrained urge, one that they themselves don;t often understand, but that is made very clear to the reader. If I had to articulate my ‘purpose’, which is no easy thing, I’d say it was a need to reflect beauty back into the world and to recognize the magic that I see everywhere. Enough to keep a person busy for several lifetimes. Thank you so much for this today.
So glad this resonated, thanks Susan!
Is purpose connected to theme? I may be getting the two confused. I admit to having a bit of a problem with theme, but it does seem that the two are related or perhaps intertwined.
Hi Rebecca,
No, purpose is not connected to theme. It’s internal to each character whereas theme is overarching across all characters and the plot.
-Sharon
Great food for thought, Sharon! Purpose defines so much for us when we consider why we’re here on this earth, in this life. Figuring out the purpose for ourselves and our characters can only add to the richness. It reminds me a little of figuring out the slogan for my brand. It really took some brainstorming, and thanks to your post, I’m going to start using the same technique for my characters.
“Giving imagination wings,” is my slogan, btw. My purpose is encouraging imagination in everything I do, and others do.
I love the correlation you draw between brand / slogan and purpose! And what an inspiring one yours is: ““Giving imagination wings.” Thanks for sharing.
This really made sense to me. For myself and for my characters. My first thought is that my purpose is to “fearlessly tell my story,” through my art. Thanks, Sharon, for something to really think about.
Glad this resonated, Barbara, and thanks for sharing your thoughts on your purpose. Happy exploring.
So valuable. The driving purpose I had uncovered was “I create beauty.” During this current season of growth, and considering I write suspense, this purpose didn’t seem complete. The prompt you offered finished the sentence. “I create beauty from ashes.”
Thank you.
Wow, that’s beautiful, Cheryl: “I create beauty from ashes.” So glad this post helped. Thanks for sharing.
I find order.
I think we can invent purpose for characters even if we do not know our own purpose.
There’s a great point here, but I think calling it “purpose” makes it harder to discern.
To me, it looks like there’s three levels of character being discussed here:
1) objective, something that is situational and in a story drives the action,
2) modus operandi, the way someone chooses to accomplish the objective, and
3) the why of the modus operandi.
Of the three, the third seems to me the most immutable part of a character, and the most axiomatic for a character. It may also be the most hidden, but surely it expresses some deep judgement of what is right, proper, or beautiful in life: for example, certainly it’s enough to do something like swimming very well, but it’s more beautiful to make it look effortless, even though doing so requires an enormous investment in practice that another character might think of as a waste of time.
For example, say a character wishes to take possession of something another person has but lacks a lawful means to do so. They have a lot of choices in how they could do so: extortion, assault, burglary, a con, and so on. Which method they choose may be determined by circumstance, but when multiple options are available, the choice may be made based on which seems more enjoyable or more “right” (that is, aesthetics) and not necessarily to which is lowest risk, the most efficient, or the quickest.
We all have internal aesthetics that motivate us and make some outcomes more rewarding than others, even if by any objective criteria they should not be. Theses aesthetics are part of our values, perhaps an unconscious part, and can be dark or light, constructive or destructive. Perhaps I’m wrong, but “purpose” as the term is being used here seems to refer to these motivational aesthetics., the why of our choices of how to pursue our objectives.
Yes, there are various ways the same concept can be expressed and sometimes words simply don’t suffice. This is a very sophisticated analysis you’ve provided. Purpose probably aligns most closely with “the why of the modus operandi” you’ve mentioned here.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Wow, this is powerful food for thought! I will definitely have a look at that book soon. I the meantime I will try to find out what my purpose is… and my main character’s … That for sure will keep me busy for a while! :-) Thanks for triggering!
Hi J –
I hope you will take a look at the book. It’s pretty powerful. Meantime, good luck with your explorations!
-Sharon
Hi, Sharon:
I read the opening of your post to my class at the Wake Up And Write Writers Retreat yesterday. Your understanding of purpose very much dovetails with what I call the characters’ Yearning, and I hope to address that in my next post on June 14th. So thanks for this. So it proved not just insightful but useful for my students, but a fruitful prompt for a continuing conversation on this essential point about our natures. Thanks!
I read this article and even commented. I’m sorry I missed your class.
Hi David,
I am so honored that you shared this concept with your class! Thank you, and as time goes on I’d be interested in hearing how its impact on the continuing conversation plays out.
All my best,
-Sharon
I have no idea how that last sentence got so mangled — Ambien! — but thanks for struggling through it regardless.