Suzanne – Really? Thanks! *blushes*. Who’d have thought burnt toast could be a teaching aid? 😉

XX

“They have a fear, they want to hide it, make themselves feel better about it. So they turn this into motivation. For my burned toast hero, his motivation is doing everything perfectly.”

I wonder if attempting to do everything perfectly is a flawed strategy for coping with the lack of the need rather than his core motivation/inner need?

I see the need as being something he must embrace to move past his fear and once he has this he’ll be able to be happy. (Maybe he needs self worth because he fears he’s not worth loving) and trying to be perfect is his misguided attempt to gain it.

Janet – yes!! That’s it exactly. They have a fear, they want to hide it, make themselves feel better about it. So they turn this into motivation. For my burned toast hero, his motivation is doing everything perfectly. For my unrequited love heroine, she tries to be the best friend she can be to him. In fact, I may need to explore this more, just thinking about it. Hmmmm…great point! I feel another craft post coming up…

Lacey – no, you cannot have the spidey suit. Though bribes…I’ll have to consult with Hoo. His needs are very specific. He likes blue wool obviously but only the very best is good enough. From Himalayan mountain goats collected at a full moon and spun by 100 yr old dwarves. Find any of that and you’re in.

Maisey – lol! No, he wouldn’t worry too much about the toast. It was just an example of how a little thing can be the starting point for an exploration of a character’s fears etc. And yep, if you put all that in one paragraph that would be making him too self aware. You’d take the whole book to get right down to the nub of it.
Bread crumbs. Like it!

Jane – so true! I just like to write too. I’ve got too much craft in my head at the moment. I need to forget it and just write. But I do think that knowing how it works is important. Especially if you’re writing category and need to write so many books a year. Knowing a bit of craft has certainly made the writing subsequent books easier and hopefully less subject to rejections! 🙂

Maybe that’s what my problem is. 😉

Each scene needs to move the central relationship forward…or back, as the case may be. And while, obviously, our alpha male wouldn’t really get bent out of shape over burnt toast, that’s a prime example of making the most of a moment.

nah, you wouldn’t put ALL of that in the paragraph where he burned the toast, but you’d show his horrible disappointment in himself over the hypothetical toast, and later it could be explored more thoroughly. Like leaving clues to his character. Bread crumbs…if you will.

Now I’ve lost the plot altogether…

If we can turn that fear around then it gives us a clear motivation/need she can pursue in other ways apart from her avoidance of rejection. What else is she doing in her life that shows her desire?