CHARACTER MOTIVATION THESAURUS

BEATING A DIAGNOSIS OR CONDITION



Never struggle with Show-and-Tell again. Activate your free trial or subscribe to view the Character Motivation Thesaurus in its entirety, or visit the Table of Contents to explore unlocked entries.

CHOOSE MY PLAN

HELPFUL TIP:

To understand why your character is driven toward a certain goal, get to know their positive and negative traits, as well as any significant emotional wounds that might be motivating them. Then you can explore the various kinds of conflict that could block them as they move toward their goal.
FORMS THIS MIGHT TAKE:
Determining to overcome an illness that can be deadly, like cancer or HIV
Learning to live with a chronic illness, such as fibromyalgia, diabetes, lupus, or an STD
Learning to live with decreased physical mobility (due to paralysis, loss of a limb, a disease like polio or cerebral palsy, a stroke, etc.)
Coming to grips with a diagnosis of mental illness

HUMAN NEED DRIVING THE GOAL (INNER MOTIVATION):
There are five basic human needs that, when missing from a character's life, could motivate them to pursue this goal. The following needs are all possibilities, but only one of them should be the primary driver for any given character. For more information on the relationship between human needs and outer motivations, please see​ this ​Character Motivation tutorial.

Self-Actualization: Being deeply motivated to achieve a dream, give back to others, or pursue education could motivate a character to fight for a healthier tomorrow.
Esteem and Recognition: If the condition is one that will sabotage the character's feelings of self-worth and esteem because of how others value them (say, a model or actor), they will be driven to fight as hard as possible to reverse or minimize the impact of the diagnosis. 
Love and Belonging: A character who is seeking to repair a broken relationship (e.g., with an estranged child) may use this desire to fuel their fight to overcome the health issue.
Safety and Security: If this illness will impact the character's ability to provide for others and themselves (especially financially), their determination to keep everyone safe will make beating it paramount.
Physiological Needs: A character who loves life will not relinquish it easily. They will fight to minimize the damage of the disease or eradicate it if it is in their power to do so.

HOW THE CHARACTER MAY PREPARE FOR THIS GOAL:
...

POSSIBLE SACRIFICES OR COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GOAL:
...

ROADBLOCKS WHICH COULD PREVENT THIS GOAL FROM BEING ACHIEVED:
...

TALENTS & SKILLS THAT WILL HELP THE CHARACTER ACHIEVE THIS GOAL:
...

WHAT'S AT STAKE IF THIS GOAL ISN'T MET?
...

CLICHÉS TO AVOID:
...