Just realized my main character's whole motivation fell apart in chapter four

I was about 8,000 words into a fantasy story when I saw my hero's reason for leaving home was just because his mom told him to, which felt super weak. So I spent last weekend rewriting his backstory to include a specific debt to a spice merchant that forces him out, which actually made the plot click. Anyone have a good trick for spotting when a character's drive isn't strong enough before you write too far?

3 comments

3 Comments

betty_price141mo agoProlific Poster

Good catch on that weak motivation. I had a similar thing happen with a mystery novel draft. My detective was just poking around out of vague curiosity until I realized, around chapter seven, she needed a personal link to the victim. Adding that her missing sister used to work at the crime scene gave every action real weight. Now I try to ask myself "what's the worst thing that happens if they just go home and forget it?" before I get too deep.

taylor_hayes251mo ago

Honestly that "what's the worst thing" question is brutal... my last character would have just stayed in bed and ordered pizza. The whole plot was solved by a delivery guy.

charlienelson1mo ago

My first book had a detective who quit halfway through because I forgot to give him a reason to care. He just decided the case was too much trouble and went fishing. Took me three rewrites to figure out he needed a dog kidnapped or something. That "what's the worst thing" question saves so much time, wish I'd thought of it before writing a hundred pages of a guy just shrugging and leaving.