Creating Characters by Howard Lauther Page B

predictable and there is nothing about it that is surprising.
    There is little hope that he will ever be daring, that he will venture outside the boundaries of triteness.
    Does not march to the sound of a distant drummer.

3. What Does the Character Want, Not Want, or Need?
    The great American playwright Neil Simon once said that every fictional character should want something. Without analyzing this observation to the vanishing point, and assuming that he was not referring to the no-names who pass through the plot like a summer breeze, we can nevertheless conclude that in a great many cases Simon is quite right.
    However, while it may certainly be advantageous to determine what the character wants, it might be almost as important to determine what he or she does not want, and what he or she needs.
    Mind you, it is not written in stone somewhere that this triumvirate of possibilities should always be pondered before any character is created. However, if knowing the answers to just one of the questions would help the author define the character more sharply during the planning stage, then all three questions are worth considering.
    Of course, when a writer asks one question about a character, he or she is invariably led to ask even more. There is not, however, an established sequence of questions to be asked in every instance; the questions obviously depend upon the psychological nature of the fictional character, the situation into which the author places that character within the story, and the overall nature of the story itself. Every situation is different.
    But here, for example, are a just few of the questions that you may wish to consider:
    When does it become clear to the character what he wants, doesn't want, or needs?
    Or does it ever? Will it, for instance, remain a secret between the writer and reader, or does the character know as well? If the character does not know what he wants or needs, will it be one of the things that concerns him during the story? And if the character does know, is that knowledge available to him at the beginning of the story or later?
    Does the character always want or need the same thing, or will it change?
    The wants or needs of a major character often change during a story. Take the hilarious screenplay of Tootsie: the main character is an out-of-work actor who starts out by simply wanting a good acting job. But because his agent tells him that no one will hire him, a second "want" is added: he wants to prove that his agent is mistaken. He masquerades as a female, auditions for the part, and gets it. As new circumstances are introduced into the plot, new "wants" replace old ones, and some "don't wants" are added as well.
    Does the character need the same thing that he wants?
    If he doesn't, the writer is going to have to decide which one the character will get. If a character is given what he needs, the odds multiply in favor of a happy ending. But if a character is allowed to achieve what he wants—or thinks he wants—he may still be miserable because it is not compatible with what he actually needs. A character may get several things he or she wants, yet still be unhappy.
    If the character wants or needs something, why does he? And if he doesn't want something, why doesn't he?
    The answer to either of these questions may be important in determining the character's motive. If, for instance, Sally wants to marry Bob, is it because she loves him or because he represents a way out of her predicament? And if she doesn't want to be his wife, is it because she is in love with someone else or because she's afraid of something?
    Does the character want something impractical?
    This is a question that only the other characters in the story can answer. Suppose a girl in a Nebraska farm town wants to be a high-powered New York businesswoman, and the writer proceeds to make that wish come true. At the outset her family and friends may well believe she is being totally unrealistic. On the other