Character Motivation Entry: Escaping a Dangerous Life One Doesn’t Want

What does your character want? This is an important question to answer because it determines what your protagonist hopes to achieve by the story’s end. If the goal, or outer motivation, is written well, readers will identify fairly quickly what the overall story goal’s going to be and they’ll know what to root for. But how do you know what outer motivation to choose?

[image error]If you read enough books, you’ll see the same goals being used for different characters in new scenarios. Through this thesaurus, we’d like to explore these common outer motivations so you can see your options and what those goals might look like on a deeper level.

Character’s Goal (Outer Motivation):  Escaping a Dangerous Life One Doesn’t Want 

Forms This Might Take:

Extracting oneself from a criminal group one works for
Retiring as an assassin
Leaving a deep cover role as a detective
Extracting oneself as an advisor to a powerful, corrupt company or organization
Escaping a marriage to a violent spouse
Leaving an environment that is lawless and violent
Leaving a prominent yet highly classified government group
Escaping a guardian who is abusive
Ending one’s association with a powerful group of people who are untouchable by law (cartels, etc.)
Entering into protective custody in exchange for testifying against a high profile criminal
Leaving a location that is overrun with crime and corruption
Escaping slavery
Escaping incarceration
Leaving employment that is high risk (toxic waste disposal, working in a coal mine, etc.)
Leaving a war-torn country or unstable political climate

Human Need Driving the Goal (Inner Motivation): safety and security

How the Character May Prepare for This Goal: 

Doing extra jobs for money that one can stockpile
Stealing money or items that can be sold or traded
Sketching out plans, making maps or lists as needed
Hiding one’s plans or maps so they will not be discovered
Gathering supplies and resources one will need
Asking key people for help
Stashing a bug-out bag that has everything one needs to make a quick escape
Observing the patterns and behaviors of those who will try to prevent one from escaping
Planning how to neutralize any threats (through violence, drugging, distractions, etc.)
Cashing stocks or mutual funds slowly as to not attract notice
Siphoning cash from one’s accounts slowly over time
Setting up new bank accounts in another name
Researching a suitable place to live where one can become invisible
Make plans as normal to ally suspicions
Obtain documents (a new passport, driver’s license, social security, etc.)
Paying for a digital history wipe, erasing one’s information online
Paying for a new history to be written so one can integrate quickly to a new life
Arrange transport out of the area or country
Secure bribes as needed
Coach family members who will join one in the escape
Behaving upbeat or emotionally stable to protect family and friends remaining behind if they are questioned
Faking one’s own death if required

Possible Sacrifices or Costs Associated With This Goal:

Leaving behind family and friends


Leaving behind property and assets one can’t take along


Being forced to let go of mementos and special items


Giving up what’s known for what is not


Burning bridges with people who gave one protection in the past


Bearing the weight of guilt for one’s choices (especially if leaving has put others in danger)


Sacrificing justice for safety (rather than staying and ensuring one’s enemies pay for their crimes)


Having to leave behind a loved one because they are unable to make the journey (due to age, illness, fragility, etc.)


Making powerful enemies by leaving

Roadblocks Which Could Prevent This Goal from Being Achieved: 

A powerful enemy who has the resources to track one down
An injury or illness that hits as one is trying to escape
Being victimized by others as one escapes (extortion for safe passage, trading one dangerous associate for another, etc.)
A breakdown in transport
Documents that don’t pass inspection
Running across someone who can’t be bribed
Having a conscience or a line one won’t cross
Meeting up with others who need help escaping also but who also slow one down
Having one’s resources stolen (bank accounts, equiptment, etc.)
Discovering one is being tracked in some way (an unknown implant, facial recognition, drones, etc.)
A natural disaster on one’s route to safety (a mudslide, a forest fire, a war breaking out, etc.)
Being unable to access one’s bank accounts or resources
Discovering someone back home has been captured by one’s enemies to flush one out
Escaping initially but not fully and therefore being forced to live on the run (never fully achieving safety and security)

Talents & Skills That Will Help the Character Achieve This Goal

A Knack for Languages
Basic First Aid
Blending In
Gaining the Trust of Others
ESP (Clairvoyance)
Enhanced Hearing
Foraging

Haggling
Charm
Hot-Wiring a Car
High Pain Tolerance
Knife Throwing
Knowledge of Explosives
Lip-Reading
Lying
Making People Laugh
Mechanically Inclined
Mentalism
A Knack for Making Money
Multitasking
Organization
Parkour
Photographic Memory
Psychokinesis
Reading People
Predicting the Weather
Regeneration
Repurposing
Self-Defense
Sharpshooting
Sleight-of-Hand
Strategic Thinking
Super Strength
Survival Skills
Swift-footedness
Throwing One’s Voice
Wilderness Navigation
Wrestling

Possible Fallout For the Protagonist if This Goal Is Not Met:

Being captured and enslaved
Being forced to continue doing what one did before under threat of death
Having family members be hurt or killed for crossing one’s employer
Being tortured or disfigured
Being killed


Click here for a list of our current entries for this thesaurus, along with a master post containing information on the individual fields.

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