Hang onto your hats, this may get deep.
Hopefully as writers we know the importance of our main character having a goal, something that they are motivated to achieve. This might be to return the magical ring, to find love, to survive a zombie apocalypse, or to solve a mystery. Determining if the character will, or won’t, get the goal is what keeps readers turning pages.
One problem that I see is that writers express the goal as a negative. For clarity: by positive I don’t mean that the character wants to do something nice and kind. I can also get behind murder as a “positive” goal in the way that I’m using the term. When I say positive goal what I mean is that the character wants to DO something.
A negative goal is that they DON’T WANT TO DO SOMETHING. There is something that they are avoiding.
Confused? Let’s have some examples of negative goals:
- My character doesn’t want to stay in their loveless marriage anymore.
- My character doesn’t want to be in the space rebellion troops.
The problem with not wanting something is that anything but that thing would be an acceptable outcome. If you get out a loveless marriage that doesn’t necessarily make your life any better. You might be miserable single. You might end up in prison–that could get you out of your marriage, but it wouldn’t be a great way to spend your life. Or you marry someone else who loves you like crazy, but in a controlling stalker way.
You want out of the space rebellion. Fair. I’m betting the food is lousy and the uniform isn’t flattering. But just wanting out of the troop isn’t a positive goal. By framing it as a negative thing–I just don’t want to be here, you leave open a wide range of outcomes that aren’t good. Negative goals make it difficult for the reader to get behind the character and really cheer, because they aren’t sure what they are cheering for–only what they are cheering against.
Most negative goals can be reframed as positive. What is it that your character wants–that the negative goal is in the way of achieving? If they want to feel love and joy, then they need to get out of their loveless marriage to achieve that. They may also need to buy a run-down property in Tuscany and renovate it while being wooed by a hot Italian guy.
If they want to go back to where they grew up and farm for space weevils, then they need to get out of the rebellion troops to achieve it.
If they want to save Middle Earth, then they need to take the ring back even if they don’t want to.
Think about what your character wants and ensure you’re framing it in terms of a positive goal that they want to reach-not just the absence of something.
Now here’s the deep part. (I did warn you this was coming.) This applies to us as real people. If you frame your goals in terms of what you don’t want, it lacks clarity for you to cheer yourself forward. If your goal is: I just don’t want to be unpublished forever, change it to: I want to be published. Or I want to see my story on the shelves or in the hands of readers. It isn’t that you just don’t want something- you should WANT something. Because it is the want that leads to DOING. Doing drives action. Action drives change.