SKU: 8828325689

What Do Your Characters Want? Using Highly Motivated Characters to Drive Stronger Stories

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Description

What Do Your Characters Want? Using Highly Motivated Characters to Drive Stronger StoriesAll genres have traps, inherent weaknesses that writers can fall prey to if we arent careful. Maybe your literary fiction has beautifully dimensional characters, but not a lot going on. Or maybe your thriller has a high octane plot, but the characters seem too archetypal or forgettable. These might seem like opposite problems, but the solution is the same: Its time to stop thinking of plot and character as separate elements and start using your

All genres have traps, inherent weaknesses that writers can fall prey to if we aren’t careful. Maybe your literary fiction has beautifully dimensional characters, but not a lot going on. Or maybe your thriller has a high-octane plot, but the characters seem too archetypal or forgettable.

These might seem like opposite problems, but the solution is the same: It’s time to stop thinking of plot and character as separate elements and start using your protagonist’s motivations to fuel the engine of your story, driving the action and enhancing the theme.

In this OnDemand webinar, you'll learn how to leverage your characters' goals and desires from Page 1 to get readers to quickly invest in their journeys, eager to come along for the ride. With plenty of examples from bestsellers across genres, you’ll see how focusing on character motivations as a guiding principle can not only bring your story’s central players to life, but add propulsion to your plot, raise and complicate the stakes, and elevate the themes of your story. 

What will You Learn:

  • How your characters’ motivations compel readers to care about them
  • How to minimize backstory to just the right details to maximize impact
  • How your characters’ strengths and flaws should relate to their goals
  • How to juggle multiple points of view, each with their own driving motivations
  • How to use shortcuts to access the heart of a character
  • Why the most relatable characters want very specific things that still feel universal
  • How to build tension through characters' conflicting desires
  • How character motivations might look different with unreliable narrators
  • How to leverage your primary and secondary characters' relationships for enhanced authenticity, complexity, and staying power.

Who Is This Webinar For:

  • Fiction writers whose work-in-progress takes too long to gain momentum
  • Fiction writers working on an outline or story plan that feels disjointed or incomplete
  • Fiction writers who feel their characters are generally stronger than their plots, or vice versa
  • Fiction writers who are struggling with pacing and can’t identify why
  • Fiction writers who feel stuck in the “muddle in the middle” of their story
  • Fiction writers in the drafting stages of their novel, looking for direction
  • Fiction writers in the revision stages who need clarity on what isn’t working
  • Fiction writers who’ve been told the ending of their story isn’t satisfying the reader

Instructor:

Jessica Strawser

Jessica Strawser is editor-at-large & columnist for Writer’s Digest, where she previously served as editorial director. She is the USA Today bestselling author of seven popular book club novels, including Almost Missed You, Not That I Could Tell (a Book of the Month bestseller), Forget You Know Me, A Million Reasons Why, The Next Thing You Know (a People Magazine Pick), The Last Caretaker, an Amazon Editors’ First Reads selection, and Catch You Later, brand new in October 2024. She has written for The New York Times Modern Love, Publishers Weekly, and others, and is a popular speaker at writing conferences. She lives with her husband and two children in Cincinnati, where she received a 2024 Individual Excellence Award for her fiction from the Ohio Arts Council. Find her on Facebook and Instagram @jessicastrawserauthor.

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SKU: 8828325689

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Happy shopper 2012
Dallas, US
★★★★★ 1
Runs small.
Runs small, order a size bigger. Suits fabric is soft and comfortable. Color is great it doesn’t fade.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2025
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Amazon Customer
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 5
Nice formal European look suit for kids
Color: Dusty Blue, Size: 12
Very nice suit with a European look. Comes with a jacket, double breasted vest, pants, and tie. Does not have a shirt. The jacket is very well made and has sleeve buttons for a finished look. The vest is double breasted for the formal style of the suit. The pants are hemmed at the bottom, have an adjustable waistband, and belt loops. Very well made from quality materials. Fits as expected. Great style. Coloring is consistent between the jacket, pants, and vest. The buttons are durable. Highly recommend this suit for your kid.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2025
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J. Davis
Houston, US
★★★★★ 5
Sharp looking suit!!
Color: Beige, Size: 16
This suit was so sharp on my son! It was comfortable and just the look we wanted. Sizing was true to sizes and the color was just as pictured! Would definitely recommend!!!
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Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2026
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Tangela Scott
Waukegan, US
★★★★★ 2
Orange suit
Does not look like the pic. Color not the same
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Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2026
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Blue Elf
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 5
Great Quality.
Color: Beige, Size: 14, Color: Beige, Size: 14
Bought this for my son to attend a wedding on the beach. It looks very good, the color is beautiful and is true to size. He is 14 so I got size 14. He is 5’7” and weighs about 110 lbs. the pants length was perfect too. Just needs a little ironing.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2026

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