Character motivation: CARING FOR AN AGING PARENT

CARING FOR AN AGING PARENT

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.

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.

Esteem and Recognition: A character who is attempting to make amends after rejecting their parent earlier in life may choose this goal to correct past mistakes and reclaim their self-worth.

Love and Belonging: Someone yearning to be loved by a parent who rejected them, loved them conditionally, or showed preferences for a sibling may try to prove their love and worthiness through elderly care when the parent needs it.

Safety and Security: When a parent's deteriorating condition presents a risk to their own safety, a character may step in and care for them to keep them from harm.

CARING FOR AN AGING PARENT

HELPFUL TIP:

FORMS THIS MIGHT TAKE:

HUMAN NEED DRIVING THE GOAL (INNER MOTIVATION):

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: