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You often hear the public say ‘it’s the money’ when an actor asks the director what their motivation is for the scene they’re about to perform.

That motivation has already been provided by the writer of the screenplay. If the writer has constructed correctly, the actor will know the character arc of their performance and will understand what the character has to do to travel their journey through the film making process.

It’s the motivation for the actor to do something to get them from this scene to the next that sets the tone for the movie. The writer needs to show what the character ‘wants’ and what they ‘need’ as they’re potentially two very different plans of action.

What they want may take them down various roads with dead ends awaiting them. What they need may not be revealed until close to the movie’s end, but will eventually be so clear cut, they’ll wonder why they didn’t see it all along.

The conflict between your hero and your antagonist will set the motivation for both teams to win their goals. The theatre ticket purchaser will know that there can only be one winner, but do you have to win at all costs?

The motivation must ramp up as the film progresses. The obstacles must get harder and harder to overcome. The motivation must increase as the end comes into sight. The obstacles must appear almost impossible as your lead becomes embroiled in harder and tougher opponents.

When writing your screenplay you must look at all of the elements that have brought the character to where they are today. What makes them tick? What makes them get through from day to day? You need to assess where their final targets are. This will provide the motivation that you’ll need to write into your character’s actions and dialogue as they meet each challenge knowing that they’re motivated by the need to achieve a set target to move along.

If you want to study motivation; read stories about people who became millionaires or billionaires by working hard at building their business up from scratch. Read how Olympic swimmers devote hours every day in training just for the opportunity of shaving a tenth of a second off their previous best time. They’re motivated to get that gold medal, but it’s also the small steps they must take on the way that push on their targets to the biggest objective of all.

A lack of motivation will slow down your script and help your reader place it in the nearest trash can. If you don’t need to root for your stars, then why are you reading? You certainly won’t want to watch an actor who meanders along with no real intention in life.

You need to remember that motivation is relative to where the person started from. An overweight child may strive to play for the school football team, while a school star footballer will expect to go on to play for their national team. We all have our targets, we all have our motivation and luckily, we’re all different, as are your characters.

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