EXISTENCE

To stay alive and survive.

ACTIVITY

We are active animals and need to have physical and mental stimulus.

CURIOSITY

We need to know about things, and take in all sorts of information.

SOCIALISING

We are social creatures and need to be with others otherwise we feel lonely and bored.

IDENTITY

We need to find some unique aspect of ourselves that distinguishes us from the crowd.

OBSESSION

We are sometimes compelled to do things even against our own better judgement.

SOCIAL PRESSURE

We sometimes do things that we might not like to do, but prefer to the consequences of not doing them.

CIRCUMSTANCES

Events happen that we have no control over. What we do may have no direction at all. Crisis situations that overwhelm us to the point where we just react to the situation rather than do anything with a clear cut intent.

LOVE

The search for love and fulfilment in all its variations.

POSSESSIONS

People want things for all sorts of reasons. They collect things for hobbies. They collect things for profit. They collect things for identity. They collect things to show wealth. They collect things as a social activity.

FEAR

The two things people fear most are loneliness and failure. We fear anything that contributes to those. Being ill, being ostracised, being cut off from those we know, being unable to cope. We often live in fear of fear, in that we worry about things that haven't happened, and may not happen. Many of our actions and attitudes are derived from fear. We may fear people who are not like us. We may fear how we will react in certain situations that we are not sure about. In all, we fear the unknown. Many stories are about people conquering the unknown, and in turn, conquering their own fears.

EXISTENCE

Robinson Crusoe. Once he is shipwrecked then the story is about how he survives.

ACTIVITY

Winnie the Pooh's adventures are mainly about doing things for the sake of them, as are most stories for young children. His invention of 'Pooh sticks' (dropping sticks over a bridge and seeing which one floats the other side first) is an activity that has no purpose other than social bonding.

CURIOSITY

Many stories of adventure, travel, science, and crime are based on this. Star Trek seeks out the unknown, as did Sinbad the Sailor and Gulliver. Curiosity is not just looking for something new, we can also be curious about how we would react in certain circumstances. We like new experiences that help us find out about ourselves.

SOCIALISING

Much of our life is spent socialising. It is the process of mixing with other people we choose to be with because we have a common interest, or because we like the social environment and activities.

IDENTITY

Finding ones identity is a key point in life. The man who is 'top gun' has the most respect. The woman who is most beautiful gets the most attention. It takes on various aspects of being stronger, cleverer, more beautiful, richer, faster, better connected, and in general, being more able or higher ranking in the group you associate with.

Respect brings power, admiration, and the rewards that go with them, so identity is avidly sought by most of us. It does not always require one being best. It is most commonly found in the various qualifications of rank, education, and social recognition. Passing exams, earning medals, gaining awards, and being accepted within the group we choose to be identified with. This is the basis of 'The Wizard of Oz'. Fame and fortune are often presumed to go together, and finding one brings the other. It is the Rags to Riches story again. Cinderella, the Little Tailor, Jack and the Beanstalk, are typical of stories based on this theme. The wicked Witch of Snow White, wanted to be 'the most beautiful of all' because her position of power depended on it.

OBSESSION

This is most often seen in stories of those who want power, money, fame, and even love, at all costs, even to the point of destroying it. It is not always bad. Giuseppe's quest for his son Pinocchio was an obsession. Scott's attempts to be the first to reach the South Pole, or Sherlock Holmes obsession to catch Moriarty, the super-criminal, were obsessions. obsession is often linked to identity.

SOCIAL PRESSURE

People do all sorts of things they don't want to do because of it is expected of them. Men who would rather be poor artists, take on respectable jobs. Women who would rather be free to do their own thing are pressured into getting married. Men who become heroes because they are afraid to be cowards. Some people take exams in subjects they have no interest in to please their parents.

Stories about such people usually involve attempts to break away from the pattern of life they have been forced into. Again the Rags to Riches theme comes in, only this time the character is looking for, or chances on an escape route from their way of life.

In fairy stories, magic usually solves the problem of being poor, finding love, or not able to fulfil your dreams. In real life, we depend on luck, chance, and skill.

CIRCUMSTANCES

Our world can change in an instant. One minute all is calm
and organised, and the next it is chaos. War, acts of God, moments of impulse, and chance factors can affect us in unimaginable ways. The daily papers are full of such events. How does a character react in such circumstances? It is at such moments that heroes and heroines are created, cowards also.

In Disney's Jungle Book, Baloo the bear, regarded by all as a bad example to Mowgli, rescues him by fighting Shere Khan the tiger at the risk of his own life. Cinderella's world is changed in the instant the prince recognises her. There seems no reason why she should not have volunteered the information about who she was, but that would have spoilt the story.

LOVE

Of course, love changes everything. Many stories have this as an underlying theme even if not stated. We take it for granted that we all need to be loved. To satisfy that need we may do all sorts of things that otherwise might seem odd. Boys will do crazy things to impress girls. Girls will wear crazy things to impress boys. Both will do things simply to be noticed, and both will act in strange ways when not noticed or rejected in love. Love takes on many forms. Loving a person may be substituted for loving a pet, an object, or a belief.

In its deepest form, we are prepared to die for those things we love. Love is also a great deceiver, and we may think we are in love or that we are loved until circumstances prove different. Much of advertising implicitly states that if you make yourself better in some way then others will love you more. A character's 'love potential' depends to some extent on their beauty, wealth, health, connections, talent, cleverness, and availability. For girls, the Prince Charming aspect is always there. He will have the means to offer her all she needs, and the manner to do it in an acceptable way. All she needs do is be beautiful enough to catch his eye. For boys, the girl just has to be desirable, and possibly unavailable so that attracting her attention gives him a competitive edge.

Needless to say, the chances of two perfectly matched people meeting without problems are so small that stories about seeking love, and the problems it involves are the commonest of all.

POSSESSIONS

People want things. Possessions represent rank, wealth, identity, security, interests, and an overall lifestyle. What sort of possessions people have, and how they relate to them is part of their personality. Creating a character requires creating the sort of possessions they are likely to have as well. Analyse your own possessions and divide them into those you need, those you don't need but like, those that you don't need and don't like, but just happen to have, and can't get round to getting rid of.

MOTIVATION

People have motives for doing whatever they do. With Tom and Jerry, the mouse simply wants food, warmth and shelter. Basic survival needs. On the other hand Tom's survival depends on keeping the house clear of mice for his master.

There is also the fact that Tom likes to chase mice, so duty, power, and pleasure also come into it. He is highly motivated to do this job, and that makes him suitable for it. It is important that the motives of each are clear as it would be easy to think that Tom and Jerry fight simply because they are cat and mouse.

Many stories go adrift because the motives of the characters are not clear in the minds of the authors. Tom could easily be depicted as a policeman, soldier, security officer, etc. while Jerry could easily be depicted as a waif, a burglar, and a tramp, any form of outcast who is persecuted. We recognise the underlying theme, so are sympathetic to Jerry, even though we would not be if he were stealing from us.

The bully against the underdog theme is reinforced in various ways. Tom swaggers around and shows righteous indignation at Jerry's intrusion. He makes menacing gestures. He delights in Jerry's failures. All his attention is directed towards Jerry. On the other hand, Jerry's attentions are directed towards attaining food, he only diverts from this to survive Tom's attacks. Once these objectives are clear then designing stories for the characters becomes straightforward.