Let Me Count the Ways I Motivate My Protagonist

I’ve been using the reference texts produced by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglise for longer than I can remember. Once they introduced One Stop for Writers, there was no going back to gazing out the window searching for inspiration. I may have the ‘writing gene’, like other members in my family, but inspiration does not always come easily. Or it’s stale and unimaginative. This double whammy of writer resources has solved almost all of my technical/craft-type problems. Unfortunately, they can’t get me into my seat with my fingers pressed to the keyboard, laying down pages of attention-grabbing words.

Instead, I sneak a chunk of time here and there and frantically try to capture a new scene, plot point or character study in between other things. But here’s where it gets even more interesting. Tools, tools and more tools!

Proving Someone Wrong, Pursuing Mastery and Surviving Loss are all related. Kenora is motivated to prove herself to herself, and to all the naysayers from her past who’d not believe her capable. Sticking with that motivation was difficult because at first, she failed as much as she succeeded. Standing up for what she wanted made her stronger, though. Kenora stopped being so fearful nd discovered she could make her own success, small step by small step.

The too-well-dressed owner of the industrial waste collection company she temped at made overtures, but when she shared how renovations for her newly purchased lakefront fixer-upper would drive her to the poorhouse, he overlooked her rejection and gave her a list of off-the-books contractors who owed him favours. Were his motives pure? Were the workers who only took cash legit? Getting her draughty windows and sagging roof replaced wasn’t the moral issue it might once have been, when Kenora had other choices. 

Wanting to succeed and having to succeed to survive are great motivators. During her third interview for a job as a trainee private investigator, Kenora doesn’t just pour on the charm, she markets her skills, experience and maturity. Why? She wants that job. And her skeptical future boss isn’t hard to look at, either. Yes, he hires her. And another cycle of challenges begins. But more on that in another post.

At the end of the novel, Kenora rescues herself (read the book to find out how). Sure, I wrote the story, but I relied on knowing my character well, in part because of the resources Angela and Becca have created. The depth of support available from One Stop for Writers helped keep me on track! 

The annual subscription has been a hugely valuable investment in my writing.

By the way, you can sign up for a free two-week trial. Go do that right now!