Run, do
not walk! Run to get your hands on this book! No other book has made such a
huge impression on me as a writer as Debra Dixon’s Goal, Motivation & Conflict: The Building Blocks of GoodFiction. What I learned from this book turned my writing from
unpublishable to being seriously considered by editors and agents.
You can read
the book or Google “goal, motivation, conflict” to find in-depth analysis and
even worksheets on how to apply these concepts to your story. But here are the basics.
What
does your main character want? That’s his/her goal.
Why does
the character want these things? That’s his/her motivation.
What stands
in the character’s way of achieving what she wants? That’s the story conflict.
If you’re
writing a romance, the hero and heroine should each have their own goals and
motivations, which should bring them into direct conflict with each other.
Put it all
together and you have a compelling, believable story.
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