What motivates you, can also motivate your characters. Of course, just as one man’s meat is another man’s poison, what motivates you might just freeze up your characters, or send them into a spiral of negative actions.
So often, when asked what motivates us, we name the outcome we desire. Then we write our characters the same way. Then we wonder why they don’t turn out quite as dynamic in the eyes of our audience as they are to us.
Goals and outcomes are great. Characters definitely need them. They’re like a destination pin on a map. Without it, they might end up wandering aimlessly through a plot that makes little to no sense.
But what mindset is the fuel that’s driving them toward that destination goal?
Before you throw out pat answers like romance, revenge, thirst for adventure, saving the village from monsters, or pleasing God, we’re not talking about desires and emotions. We’re talking about mindsets, the way the brain is wired to function and operate.
According to Chris Behnke’s Human NEXUS profiles, there are four main mindsets for our motivations: forward progress, relationships, problem solving, and fair stability.
Each of these four is like a kind of vehicle, and each one needs its own kind of fuel. Forward progress needs grit and determination. Relationships need common connections. Problem solving needs understanding. And fair stability needs information and details.
The more I learn about this Human NEXUS system, the more I can see its influence in fiction. More often than not, I can read a book or watch a show and figure out which of these four motivators is the main strength of the writer. Because all of the characters will exhibit traits of that motivator.
Let’s look at some examples.
In the movie Star Wars A New Hope, each goal the characters face is a step toward a larger goal they want to read. Darth Vader wants the stolen Death Star plans as a step toward crushing the Rebellion. Luke wants to go to the academy as a step toward becoming a fighter pilot. Ben Kenobi wants to teach Luke the Force as a step toward redeeming the Jedi. Han wants the mission to succeed as a step toward paying Jabba. Leia shoots a hole into the garbage compactor as a step toward escaping. They’re all drivers, all of them continually moving forward on sheer grit and determination.
In contrast, you have the Anime The Apothecary Diaries. Maomao is always solving riddles and puzzling out the remedies for problems. She processes huge amounts of information in the process. So does Jinshi, the character who is her counterpart in the archetype role of ‘object of interest’. She was taught all of her analyzing and problem solving skills by her adopted father Luomen. There is so much intrigue going on in every episode, with every character trying to understand things enough to solve the riddle, they’re all solutionaries.
So what happens when you get fiction with cast of characters that fit more of the motivational profiles than just one or two? You get something more like Peter Jackson’s cinematic version of The Lord of the Rings. There are clear examples of every one of the four motivators represented in the various characters. Samwise and Legolas are influencers. Frodo and Gimli are both drivers. Merry and Pippen are both solutionaries. Aragorn and Boromir are stabilizers. And Gandalf is a balanced mixture of all four.
JK Rowling’s work is another example. Hogwarts has all four motivators represented through the different houses. Griffyndors are drivers. Hufflepuffs are influencers. Ravenclaws are stabilizers. Slytherins are solutionaries.
What a fascinating thing. Even though most people have never heard of the Human NEXUS or the four motivation types the Chris Behnke describes, we know them so intuitively that the stories where the characters align with them are the ones we love the most in our society.
By learning what motivates each of the Nexus types, you empower yourself to write characters that have a greater depth and stronger personality. You create characters that audiences fall in love with, even if they’re villains. Why? Because we seem more real, and we understand them better.
We can relate to them.
Most of motivation is in the mindset.
One of the fastest ways you can learn what mindset best motivates you is a simple, free test created by Chris Behnke using the Human Nexus. Drivers need momentum. Influencers need connection. Solutionaries need riddles, puzzles, and problems to solve. Stabilizers need the stability that creates fairness.
Which one are you? How does aligning with it affect your writing process?
Find out your strongest motivator by clicking the link and taking the Human NEXUS test. Take the free version for a short synopsis, or enter code ROlson10off for a discount on the paid version for all the information. Tell us if it reinforces that your writing process is perfect for you, or if it needs readjusted. https://thehumannexus.com/ref/271/
For even more information, or assistance in using this system for character creation, join the newsletter at https://rebekaholsonventures.com/subscribe-to-my-newsletter/.
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