Happiest Help: Character Help !!
Part 1: Wants
So, your character is "stuck".
The first problem is probably not that you don't have plots for them. You likely don't have plots for them because you don't know what they actually WANT.
These can be small, short term goals, yes, like "I want a coffee" or "I want you out of my way". These are useful for the story of specific threads you have with other players. It's helpful to think in these cases what you want to get out of those threads (if they further their BIG want, or if it's to establish something).
Some examples:
Our characters meet in a coffee shop. I want to establish a negative connection with these characters.
Our characters have known each other for a long time, but aren't on speaking terms. I want to establish the awkwardness of their relationship in this thread, to see if they will start to open up to each other, or if they will push further away.
Our characters have unknowingly been sleeping with the same person. In this thread, I want my character to figure this out.
These are small term, thread specific wants - as in, what YOU want from the interaction.
How can you then make this about what the character wants?
Now, the above is all fine and good but I think where some of our writers are getting stuck is less in the little things and more about the overarching, life altering want of your character specifically.
What I mean in this case, is much bigger.
What do they want out of life?
What is their heart's greatest desire? The thing want they more than anything else in the world? Something that they don't have right now, for whatever reason, and there is something in their way, stopping them from getting it?
The important thing to note here is that this has to be connected to an emotion - something beyond the realms of physical life.
There is a hole in your character that needs to be filled.
As an example, Tina, at the beginning of her story, on the outside "wanted" Peter, which is the surface level, external part that we can see. The motivation behind that want is her true want. The thing that drives all of her actions.
What she really wanted was to be seen and understood by someone, not necessarily Peter. It just happened that Peter became the object of that want because the fact of the matter was that he DIDN'T give her that. (Her current arc STILL links back to this initial desire for love and understanding, even though that wanting Peter part of her story has passed. It's the WANT that defines her character).
Another example. Think of the Little Mermaid, when Ariel sings Part of Your World. She says she "wants" to walk on land, amongst the people, but what she's really saying is that she wants freedom. That's the point of her whole story. She wants freedom, because she doesn't have it, and we watch as she figures out how to get there.
Part of the what, also comes the why.
There's usually something in your character's life they're unhappy with. Social standing, emotional connections (good and bad), overbearing parents, unrecognised traumas.
Ariel was tired of her dad having control over her life, not seeing her wants and desires as valid, and of trying to be the perfect daughter and failing because of her "want".
Tina's why is because she really didn't get enough love and attention as a kid.
It should be noted here that your character's might not necessarily know these wants or why's as explicitly as we the writers can see. It's guttural, primal even - to be felt, rather than simply stated by your character.
(How many of us are good at saying how we're feeling about something honestly when asked, and not skirting the question? How many of us are good saying what we want? No one says "I'm lonely" but we can say it in 100 other ways.)
Some examples of wants
Freedom (from a repressive structure, from overbearing parents, from being stuck in a small town, from a contract they can't get out of, like a social contract or shitty business contract)
Connection (to people, to a specific person or family member, to feel part of a community)
Understanding (they're always misinterpreted, they make choices that those close to them don't understand)
Security (they have moved from place to place with no where to call home, security in their relationships because those around them always leave, financial security)
Answers (something happened to them that they never got a reason for and they want to know why it happened, like a parent giving them up for adoption, why they lost a high paying job, how all the people in their community ended up sick)
Forgiveness (from a specific person and/or eventually finding a way to forgive themself for their past)
Closure (something that has been hanging over them for a long time)
Ultimately, the "want" is what drives and motivates your character, and informs every interaction.
You may also want to play around with what that want might look like. Back to the Ariel example, her want for freedom looks like walking on land with people and legs. It's your character's end goal. The dream. The moodboard they make on pinterest.
I would suggest thinking in terms of "what does the character want" and less "what do I personally want for my character" because they may well be different things.
(E.g. "I" want a ship for my character. "Character" wants someone who understands them. "I" want them to get a job. "Character" wants to finally feel financially secure.)
Still having trouble figuring out what your character wants? Go back to the source material. What emotional want does your character have in their movie? How can you relate that to your character now.
Task Fifteen (pt 1) → The "I Want"
Answer the following questions:
What does your character want?
Why do they want it?
What would it look like (to them) if they got what they wanted?
I gently suggest thinking of this in terms of what the character wants for themself, and not what you as the writer want. (So think less "I want them to get a ship" and more "The character wants stability" and so on.)
This is not mandatory, but if you're stuck... please try it.
Coming Up: Obstacles, Tactics.