The following tips on goal, motivation, and conflict were inspired by Deb Dixon's presentation at Dragon*Con 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. Ms. Dixon has a book on the market that covers the concept and exercises in much more detail.

Tips on Creating Goal, Motivation, and Conflict, or GMC-


1) Why Do I Need GMC?
Characters need emotional- and plot-related GMCs. The journey towards resolving those GMCs will develop your character.

2) What is a Goal?
A goal is what your character hopes to achieve. Goals can be short-term or long-term, small or large, but they all must be actionable. Some goals are structure so that your character has to act against their own self-interests to achieve their dream. A goal should be something they don't have yet, and important enough for them to endure some hardship or at least discomfort to get it. Without a goal, your character will become passive. All characters, even those that are secondary, should have some form of goal or they're simply taking up space in scenes. The best goals also have a sense of urgency. If you find your character losing inspiration for obtaining that goal, put them around a character or setting that embodies it, as a little reminder. Force them to see why it's important (ex. In Star Wars, Luke needed to find confidence in himself. The writer teamed him up with Han Solo, who was the epitome of confidence). Lastly, make the reader care about your character's goals as soon as possible.

3) What is Motivation?
Motivation provides the 'why' for the goal. It should be strong enough to make your character occasionally act against their own best interests. It's the fuel in your character's tank, and it will take you (the writer) through the middle of your plot arc, which can be the hardest part. The motivation provides a believable reason why the character keeps going, when all signs say that they should stop. Just because you (the writer) want them to keep going isn't enough for the reader to believe it. Think of all the horror movies you've ever seen where the dumb blonde goes into the basement, even though the audience is screaming, "Nooo!" Those scenes work best when she's got a powerful motivation for going into the dark basement... like hearing a crying child. But remember this... Characters needs to be responsible for the hard decisions they have to make. Don't blame the crying child. Ultimately, it was the dumb blonde's choice to go down those stairs. If the motivation begins to wane, construct scenes that test the character's motivation. If they're lying to themselves, open their eyes.

4) What is Conflict?
All story arises from conflict. It's the 'who, what, why or why not?' Conflict is an obstacle. It can be provided by another character, the environment, the passage of time, or even lie within your character. The conflict pushes your character where they don't want to go. A conflict presents your character with choices on how to act in a certain situation... and those choices are often 'sucky' and 'suckier'; in other words, the devil and the deep blue sea. Conflicts should vary between subtle and obvious, and between external and internal (the latter provides your characters' BIG BLACK MOMENT). In any conflict, there must be losses, but strong movitation will keep your character resolute. It's best to escalate the conflict (ex. In the Wizard of Oz, one of Dorothy's conficts is the Wicked Witch. First she warns Dorothy, then she hides behind the tree and shows she's sneaky, then she throws fireballs, then we see her power with the poppy field and terrifying Emerald City on her broom, then we see she has a castle, henchmen, and flying monkeys, and ultimately Dorothy has to go to the castle to get the broom.)

So how do you demonstrate conflict? You have to use scenes to open a character's baggage. It's not enough to have them pondering their baggage. Just remember that if you bring up the baggage, you must later address it.

5) How do the G, M, and C relate?
A character has to triumph over conflict to obtain their goal. Their motivation must be so strong that the conflict doesn't dissuade them. What do they want? (goal) Why do they want it? (motivation) Why can't they have it? (conflict) What do they have to do to get it? (conflict) Who/what will stop them? (conflict) A famous example can be found in the Princess Bride. "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

6) What happens to my character as a result of GMC?
They develop! They progress. They learn a life lesson (ex. 'There's no place like home!'). The resolution of GMC leads to maturation, and ultimately that inspires the reader to keep going, because there is hope for continued change. If the character goes through all that GMC and learns nothing? The reader is going to stop bothering. The character must own and sustain the change.

7) Anything else?
Yes. Your GMCs should lend themselves to scenes. If they don't, brainstorm a list of everything that could possibly happen, and put those events in order (try flash cards). Pick the ones you want and start writing.

When brainstorming your GMC, draw a table.

	External (plot)	Internal (emotional)
Goal
Motivation
Conflict

Example of a Famous GMC-

Let's look at the Wizard of Oz.

SAMPLE: Dorothy, part 1

	External (plot)	Internal (emo)
Goal	To run away from home	To find a place with no troubles, and to save her dog
Motivation	A woman wants to kill her dog	She's unhappy, troubled, and lonely
Conflict	She must hurry to escape before the woman gets back	She doesn't know what she really wants

SAMPLE: Dorothy, part 2

	External (plot)	Internal (emo)
Goal	To get home	She wants to take back her choice to leave
Motivation	The fortune teller told her that Auntie Em is sick	She loves her Auntie Em
Conflict	Tornado is coming	She's still unhappy at home

SAMPLE: Dorothy, part 3

	External (plot)	Internal (emo)
Goal	To get back to Kansas	To get back to her family
Motivation	Auntie Em is worried about her. Also, a witch wants to hurt her and her little dog, too	She's realized there's no place like home, with her family
Conflict	The witch kidnaps her. Later, the air balloon lifts off without her