One of the most common points of feedback I give to my clients is about goals, motivations, and stakes: in every chapter and every scene, the reader has to know what they are. Let me show you why.
First, a quick definition of terms:
- Goal: What the character wants to accomplish or what they're trying to do
- Motivation: Why the character wants it
- Stakes: What happens if the character succeeds (or what happens if they fail)
These are the beating heart of fiction. Without them, you might have exciting things happening, but there will be no meaning behind it. The reader will be bored—possibly without even knowing why.
For example, let's take the trope in which we start a novel with the protagonist running through a dark forest (often used because so many of us are taught to begin our novels in the middle of the action):
Jann pushed through the trees, heart pounding, each breath burning in her lungs. A branch slapped her from the darkness, nearly knocking her down. She shoved it out of her way and kept running—always running.
Exciting? Maybe, but we don't know anything about Jann or why she's in the forest, let alone why she's running. We're starting in the middle of the action, but without these whys, it's difficult for the reader to care.
Compare that with this small change:
Jann pushed through the trees, heart pounding, each breath burning in her lungs. She had to find a way out, had to escape. A branch slapped her in the darkness, but it didn't matter. She had to keep running.
Now, we have a goal: escape. Even with this predictable change, there's a feeling of connection with this character that wasn't present in the first example. We know her a little more, and we want what she wants.
And we can take it further:
Jann pushed through the trees, heart pounding, each breath burning in her lungs. She had to find a way out, to escape whatever it was that chased her in the darkness. She'd only caught a glimpse of it, but that had been enough. Sheer terror did the rest. She could hear it breathing behind her, lurching through the trees in its search for her.
Here, we have added motivation. Why does she want to escape? Because something is chasing her. Because she's afraid. We're starting to paint the contours of what's going on, enabling the reader to immerse themselves in the action and to feel what she feels. The reader's beginning to lean in now, hoping she makes it.
Let's do one more...
Jann pushed through the trees, heart pounding, each breath burning in her lungs. She had to find a way out, to escape whatever it was that chased her in the darkness. She'd only caught a glimpse of it, but that had been enough. Sheer terror did the rest. She could hear it breathing behind her, lurching through the trees in its search for her.It wanted the vial she'd stolen.
But that vial was her son's only hope. If she didn't get to him in time, the disease would steal him from her forever. Jann wasn't about to let that happen—slavering forest monster or no.
Now, there are stakes. Jann isn't just running for her life; she's running to save her son, and if she doesn't succeed, she'll lose him forever. With this, the reader now has a reason to root for her and to find out what happens next—will she make it in time? Will her son be okay?
These three elements are absolutely vital to draw your reader in. The reader has to understand what they are.
They'll change from scene to scene, of course. For example, maybe Jann does escape the forest, but now she has to sneak into a hospital (because she's a fugitive or something, I dunno). Or maybe she gets the vial to her son but then learns that it has unexpected side effects or that the slavering forest monster is after him now instead of her.
Characters' goals, motivations, and stakes will change over time, but it is critical that the reader knows what they are in every scene. What is the POV character trying to accomplish? Why? What happens if they don't?
However you can, convey the answers to these three questions. Even if nothing else is changed, you'll suddenly have a much more compelling story.