Finding the right motivation for a character can be difficult. It’s often easier to think of actions that you character must take than reasons why the character is doing those things. Lucky for us writers that we have shortcuts available to help us determine a character’s motivation.

Today’s tip is to use Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to motivate your character. Abraham Maslow proposed a theory about a human’s needs–that each person starts with the primitive needs and as each one is satisfied, moves up the hierarchy to the top. But if an event happens that moves a person down a level, they stay there until they have satisfied that need again. Sound confusing? It’s not. Take a look.

Level 5 – Self-Actualization
morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts

Level 4 – Esteem
self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, respect by others

Level 3 – Love/Belonging
friendship, family, sexual intimacy

Level 2 – Safety
security of body, of employment, of resources, of morality, of the family, of health, of property

Level 1 – Physiological
breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, excretion

For example, let’s suppose that Jane, our main character, has a decent job, an apartment to live in and enough money to treat herself to a movie once a month. Jane has satisified the needs in Level 1 – Physiological and Level 2 – Safety. That leaves her at Level 3 – Love/Belonging and needing to satisfy those needs next. She’s probably hanging out with friends, dating on occasion, looking for Mr. Right so she can get married and start her own family. That’s her motivation at this stage in her life.

Now, imagine that Jane’s employer isn’t doing well financially and decides to lay off 100 people, Jane included. Jane’s motivation and priority now isn’t dating. It’s finding a job so she can keep her apartment and continue to eat. So she’s back at Level 2, making sure her Safety needs are met.

Next, let’s suppose that a careless neighbor in Jane’s apartment building starts a fire and Jane is trapped in her apartment, choking on smoke. Breathing is now her immediate priority. A boyfriend and a job mean nothing compared to the need for clean air to breathe. Her basic physiological needs, Level 1, are her utmost priority.

After the firemen have rescued her from the burning building (all Physiological neds met), and she’s received a large settlement from the neighbor after suing him over the mental trauma of the fire, she uses the money to buy a house (Safety needs met). And she’s begun dating the fireman who carried her out of the building, so she’s squarely back to meeting her Love and Belonging needs.

See how easy this is? To use it for a character, simply determine where your character falls on Maslow’s Hierarchy. The level that the character is at will provide the underlying motivation for your character’s actions.

For more info on Maslow’s Hierarchy, check out the entry at Wikipedia.

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