: Re: Does it really serve a main character to give them one driving want? I often feel that we fall into a trap of believing that we must provide a driving goal for a main character at the outset.

Although there are many excellent answers here, none takes it from the point of view of what, functionally, does this "driving want" do for you in terms of connecting to the reader: Without a driving want for the main character, the book will feel aimless and self-indulgent. Sometimes a very good writer can get away with this, and sometimes the driving want is very subtle or understated, but it's the difference between a narrative that feels taut and compelling, and one that feels flabby or that flails.
A main character can certainly have innumerable secondary wants, but if they don't connect up somehow to the main one, the story will feel episodic, like a series of isolated incidents. It's quite possible, however, that the secondary wants may conflict with the primary one. That's still a valid connection, it still illuminates the main goal. But if the main character becomes too distracted, the reader may grow frustrated.

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: No one cares, kid. This is a blessing and a curse. Memory fades. You can do things and very few people will remember unless you do something truly crazy or stupendous. (The public web, viz.

: Re: Does it really serve a main character to give them one driving want? I often feel that we fall into a trap of believing that we must provide a driving goal for a main character at the outset.

More posts by @Samaraweera193

: Can we save the name of a book we want to publish? I want to publish a book in India, with a particular name. Can I save the name for using it in future? Or if there is already one book

: How to write a scene in third person limited when the POV character is not in it? I am studying the third person POV for my novel. I read about the third person limited POV. I don't understand

: Some writers have a natural instinct for great storytelling. However, in my experience as a reader, even the best discovery writers tend to struggle with their endings. It's hard to bring together

: No one cares, kid. This is a blessing and a curse. Memory fades. You can do things and very few people will remember unless you do something truly crazy or stupendous. (The public web, viz.

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