Character Goals

by **Rhy** on August 29th, 2012, 4:18 am

This is not so much a question-n-answer scenario than a plea for help, really.

See, this is my first ever RP site, and Rhy is my one and only character due to time restraints. I've grown really fond of her. But since this is my first time and my first character I left some massive holes in her development and made a few mistakes when starting her out. Most of these I've patched up with some time, IC writing, and some help from other players. But I've hit a wall:

I don't have a character goal.

And I don't have a clue what I should do about it.

I've made a few shallow long-term goals to try and dig her out but I'm lacking a driving force. I guess its suppose to be something like you see in a novels protagonist. And If I leave it too long I'm worried she's going to be stagnant and flat. Does anyone have some ideas about how to create some IC ambition for a lazy Kelvic? Any suggestions for where I should aim to get her moving? Maybe toss around something I can work her towards?

I would try some massive upheaval, but honestly she has nothing she's attached enough to to upheave. And I doubt a dog can start up a business. So any advice would be greatly appreciated!

by **Minerva Agatha Zipporah** on August 29th, 2012, 4:30 am

It's a hard question to answer, but I can offer some advice.

There's an interesting article I read on the subject. Take a look. There's a couple of key points it mentions that I think are definitely worth considering.

"No matter what the goal is, there is an emotional reason underlying it.

...

So you can see how the emotional underpinning of a goal is the driving force for a character's actions. Even if they don't consciously recognize this connection, it is still what spurs them on, even in the face of adversity. It's not a simple, "it would be nice if. . ." kind of thing. It's a yearning, a strong one. It motivates the character. In some cases, it defines them."

So based on this, before setting a goal as "this thing she wants to do," maybe you should consider what sort of emotions or motivation she has. If you figure out her driving emotion, a goal can build from that.

A simple example can be drawing on your own current issue... not knowing. Wanting to find herself/discover her purpose in life can BE the initial goal... It can lead her to self-reflection and discovery. Write out threads where SHE is trying to explore herself, trying to figure out what SHE wants out of life. Maybe such an exploration will help build ideas and character development.

Then, you can set a more 'tangible' goal based on what you discover from this exploration of self.

by **Rhy** on August 29th, 2012, 5:25 am

Huh, good point. I never thought of it that way.

One of her defining features in my mind is how rooted she is in the present and the material world. She's definably not the introspective type. Naturally her motivation is survival, companionship, and what I didn't see coming is that she is very wary of anything she doesn't understand to be "real". Including spiritualist, magi and ghosts.

Do you think (in your wise, veteran opinion) I could get away with fostering an uncertainty for anything otherworldly and blow it into a fear? Sadly it seems (in my green, naive opinion) very limited as a tangible goal unless some other factors from other players fall into place. But is that what you mean by driving emotion giving way to a goal, even if Im not sure how it will manifest itself?

Or does it have to be more set in order to have a better story? Say she is rattled enough by something that her survival instincts rear up to include another person. Suddenly a tangible goal arises to keep that person safe at all costs.

I guess its all a matter of opinion and how well you can write, not to mention some heavy creativity. But I don't want to be stuck with an unmovable brick, if you know what I mean.

by **Minerva Agatha Zipporah** on August 29th, 2012, 5:56 am

Well I don't think I'd call myself either wise, or veteran. I'm more of an immature fool :-P

I think ANY emotion can build up to a goal. You can start it off small, and develop it as you go along, once you get more of a 'feel' for it. That's something I commonly do in my writing. Rather than picking an 'end goal' at first, I start with the smaller, immediate motivation, and let some things develop. Usually, somewhere along the way, those developments will grow into something more concrete.

Fear can be a very powerful motivation for a character. Especially since the fear doesn't have to be rational. Your character could, for example, fear ghosts without ever meeting one. Come home and see something lying on the floor and think "I didn't leave that there... how did it get there...?" and her imagination would run off with her worst fears, even if there's a far more rational explanation. Plenty of times, what seems irrational to a logical person can still be very real to someone motivated by fear.

It'd also be something you can incorporate into multiple threads, which can be a good help. You might write half a dozen threads where the fear is there, but playing only a small part, because it doesn't come across strong enough to 'grab' you. But then one might come along where everything clicks into place, and that can be what develops into a bigger, longer term goal. Sometimes those goals can surprise even yourself... for example, with my character, her grief over her Granddad's death was her core emotion. I started with no 'goal' how to develop this. The emotion was just there, behind the scenes in my writing. Then, it started affecting her behavior, until eventually a whole series of threads came from it developing off the idea of trying to stop another loved one from dying.

So don't worry at first about what will arise from it later. My suggestion is just focus on developing that emotion. Bring it out, and see where the natural flow takes you. The more the emotion is developed, the more you'll come to understand the character. Then, opportunities should arise where the emotion leads to one thing, then another, and the ideas start clicking into place. It takes time, often, before everything starts to fit. But once it DOES fit, I've found you'll end up with some very strong ideas coming out of it.

And the best part is, you could wind up influenced by other writers in unexpected ways. This happens to me a lot... since I start off having this core emotion developed, it makes me see things in other people's writing that draws out unexpected reactions. For example, Montaine (who I thread with regularly) plays a character with frequent health problems. Since I already knew Tock had issues dealing with the loss of a loved one, she got VERY emotional and angry with Monty in one thread, when his health issues worsened and she took it personally, thinking he wasn't taking good enough care of himself. It was unexpected (the thread took a complete left turn, going in a direction neither one of us expected). But some great developments came out of it, all because another player brought something into the story, and it made me think how my 'core emotion' would have Tock react to that.

So, if this fear, or uncertainty about the unknown, becomes a 'core emotion' for you, and you think on that frequently, you might find yourself seeing things in other people's writing that make you go, "Oh wait, she'd react this way" etc etc. You could surprise yourself with the sudden inspiration.

by **Sira** on August 29th, 2012, 10:39 pm

So, I didn't have a goal when I first started Sira. I was just like: O.O Wind Eagles! Sexy Red-Headed Inartas! Flying around the sky!!! And Sira was born.

...so then I was like, "Well, Inarta are racist, so they are going to dislike Sira because she's not actually an eagle, and not actually an endal. Which means she will have a tough life."

It didn't work that way at all. Over the past.. however long it's been since I created her, Sira has continued to surprise me. Eventually I did come up with a goal. I want Sira to be awesome. That is always my goal. To make her into an awesome character. Sira herself doesn't need a goal, my goal is enough to keep her moving on. Sira just wants to live her life in peace, but I am constantly throwing stuff at her that screws that up.

For me, the key to a successful character is not picking out a specific goal, but being flexible, and most importantly, being open to drama. Drama of all kinds, no matter what it is. Sira and Aidara (her lover/bondmate/endal) are constantly getting into romantic drama. Those make for awesome threads. A couple that is always happy is boring to read and write about. Sira getting knocked up was a big drama-factory for the two of them, and it made for some awesome threads.

I'm always signing Sira up for the next adventure. IC, she doesn't want to do it, she just gets thrown into it. Storytellers are always offering adventures for us to play in (I should know, I'm one of them) and it's up to us to jump at the chance to put our characters at risk. So, once again, I am just chucking drama at Sira and there isn't a damn thing she can do about it. Because of that, she has been to space, she has battled a fiery monster under a mountain, she has battle wizards and other kelvics, and nearly been killed more times than I can count.

Drama doesn't have to be romance or action, either. I did a thread where Sira tried to find a book for a kid, and the ordeal of trying to understand the complex library system was quite dramatic for Sira.

...so.. that's my secret to a successful character. Drama. Sure, a goal is nice.. but that goal is boring if you aren't open to drama. To list a few of my other characters as an example. Massacre, my Zith. Most of the threads I've done with him are flashbacks, but he did have a goal. To lead a powerful Zith tribe.. but I just kept making dramatic things happen to him. His mate was murdered, his tribe was slaughtered, and in the end he failed at his goal miserably.

Seek out drama wherever you can. Even if you don't have a particular goal in mind right now, the drama will lead you to one. Sira still doesn't have a goal for herself, other than to live her life, but my current goal for her is to get her a gnosis mark from Priskil. To do that, I am putting her in situations where she has to uphold Priksils values, and hopefully get the attention of the goddess.

...anyway, I hope my rambling nonsense was at least somewhat helpful. That is all from me now... bye!

by **Rhy** on August 31st, 2012, 9:46 pm

Armed with these wonderful posts full of good advice, I will make Rhy a truly awesome character. She will be full of deep meaning, emotion, direction and badassery. Maybe sprinkled with a bit of drama, too. Thanks for all your help! That cleared up a lot of what I was thinking about.