Character Motivation Entry: Entering a Competition and Winning It

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): 

Forms This Might Take:

A difficult business goal within a competitive firm (who has the most sales, the most clients, makes the most profit, etc.)
A sporting event (diving, a triathlon, a soccer championship, etc.)
A bid to beat a bizarre world record (in hot-dog eating, longest hair, glass-eating, etc.)
A bid to beat a sporting record (in shot-put, most championship wins, longest drive in golf, etc.)
A school science fair, robotics competition, spelling championship, etc.
A chess tournament
Winning a special scholarship
Being chosen for an elite program or school
Winning a position of office (mayor, councilor, senator, etc.)
A championship event (Indy 500, etc.)
A neighborhood bake off, smoked meat competition, best chili, etc.
A “Best in Show” designation on the dog (or cat) circuit
Being chosen for a highly competitive intern position
The top prize in an art show
A talent competition
An award for acting, singing, musical score, etc. in Hollywood
Meeting a fundraising goal before someone else

Human Need Driving the Goal (Inner Motivation): esteem and recognition

How the Character May Prepare for This Goal: 

Making a detailed plan of what must be done to win
Monitoring one’s health and eating habits
Studying a particular discipline with rigor
Working out (strength training, endurance, cardio) if it applies
Buying optimal equipment
Raising money (kickstarter, fundraising, etc,) to purchase what one needs
Seeking out a mentor or trainer
Observing one’s competition and studying their processes and strengths
Researching one’s discipline and competitions from years’ past
Adhering to a specific routine
Challenging oneself to always do better
Meditate
Pull all-nighters to study or make sleep a priority
Examine one’s life for time wasters and cut these out
Hire coaches or experts to help round out one’s knowledge or to enhance a skill set
Take classes and attend talks
Practice obsessively
Adopt a positive mindset and use visualization techniques that incorporate positive results
Pit oneself against competitors to warm up and test ones skills

Possible Sacrifices or Costs Associated With This Goal: 

Losing out on family time, which could cause relationships to suffer
Having no time for interests and hobbies
Broken relationships with people who do not understand or support one’s goal
Friction as family members sacrifice for one’s passion (having to move frequently, having to give up a school or job, needing to work everything around a set routine, etc.
Children feeling unimportant or sidelined because of one’s focus on the goal
Financial strain caused by extra expenses tied to whatever is need to win the competition

Roadblocks Which Could Prevent This Goal from Being Achieved: 

A health crisis
New technology or resources that one cannot afford but one’s competition can
An accident that causes hardship (a car fender bender that takes away one’s transport, one’s facility moving far away, causing lost time in commutes)
A rocky marriage that requires tending to survive
Running out of money reserves
A new competitor entering the field who is very good at what they do
Having a sponsor back out at a critical time
Discovering someone on one’s team is unstable (has been using drugs, is being indited for fraud, etc.)
Discovering someone has been sharing secrets or strategies with the competition
Having an enemy who is purposefully impeding one’s progress
An embarrassing public mistake that damages one’s reputation with clients

Talents & Skills That Will Help the Character Achieve This Goal:

A Knack for Languages
Good Listening Skills
Gaining the Trust of Others
ESP (Clairvoyance)
Enhanced Hearing
Enhanced Sense of Smell
Enhanced Taste Buds
Gaming
Charm
High Pain Tolerance
Lip-Reading
Mechanically Inclined
Mentalism
A Knack for Making Money
Multitasking
Organization
Photographic Memory
Promotion
Reading People
Strategic Thinking
Super Strength
Swift-footedness

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

Shame and guilt for letting one’s supporters down
Struggling with self-esteem issues
Anger and disappointment leading to rash behavior that may have far-reaching consequences (getting revenge by doing something illegal and getting caught, for example)
Feeling lesser in some way
Refusing to go after a satisfying goal again if it is a challenge
Underachieving to avoid being hurt again
Giving up on one’s dream or a career due to the loss


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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