How to Use Char. Desires for Plot

Stories, at their core, are about change. And change, inevitably, is driven by desire. Not just any desire, but the profound, often contradictory, and deeply human longings of our characters. A character’s desires are the engine of your plot, the crucible in which conflict is forged, and the roadmap to their ultimate transformation. Without compelling desires, your characters stagnate, your plot meanders, and your readers disengage. This guide will meticulously dismantle the art of leveraging character desires to construct robust, emotionally resonant, and utterly gripping narratives. We will move beyond the superficial notion of a character wanting something and plunge into the strategic deployment of desire as the foundational architecture of your story.

The Triad of Desire: External, Internal, and Subconscious

Before we can effectively wield desire, we must understand its multifaceted nature. Desires aren’t monolithic; they operate on different levels, often in tension with each other. Recognizing and orchestrating the interplay of these three distinct types of desire is paramount to crafting dynamic plots and complex characters.

External Desire: The “Want” That Drives the A-Plot

The external desire is what your character consciously pursues in the tangible world. It’s the goal plainly stated, the prize to be won, the tangible problem to be solved. This is the desire that typically kickstarts your A-plot, providing the immediate stakes and direction. It’s the “MacGuffin,” the mission, the person to rescue, the empire to build.

Concrete Examples:

Fantasy Epic: A young farm boy wants to defeat the Dark Lord and restore peace to the realm. This is his stated quest, his external goal.
Detective Thriller: A grizzled detective wants to catch the elusive serial killer before more victims die. This is what he tells his superiors, the public, and himself.
Romantic Comedy: A cynical businesswoman wants to win a lucrative promotion to secure her financial independence. She’s focused on the career ladder.

Actionable Application:

Define it Clearly: What is the singular, measurable external goal your protagonist is striving for from the outset? Make it concrete and understandable to the reader.
Establish High Stakes: What are the negative consequences if your character fails to achieve this external desire? The higher the stakes, the more urgent and engaging the pursuit.
Create Obstacles: The path to achieving an external desire must be fraught with difficulty. These obstacles are the primary source of conflict in your A-plot. They should test your character’s resolve and force them to adapt. Consider internal obstacles (their own flaws), external obstacles (antagonists, natural disasters), and relational obstacles (disagreements with allies).
- Example: The farm boy wants to defeat the Dark Lord. Obstacles: trained assassins, ancient prophecies demanding sacrifices he’s reluctant to make, his own inexperience in combat.

Internal Desire: The “Need” That Fuels Character Arc

The internal desire is what your character truly needs to grow, to become whole, to heal, or to overcome a fundamental flaw. It’s often unconscious at the beginning of the story, hidden beneath layers of defense mechanisms, past trauma, or ingrained beliefs. This desire is the engine of your character’s emotional arc and is intrinsically linked to their transformation. It often contradicts or complicates the external desire.

Concrete Examples:

Fantasy Epic: While the farm boy wants to defeat the Dark Lord, he needs to overcome his deep-seated fear of responsibility and leadership, learning to trust himself and others.
Detective Thriller: The detective wants to catch the killer, but he needs to come to terms with the grief and guilt he carries from a past failed case, learning to forgive himself.
Romantic Comedy: The businesswoman wants the promotion, but she needs to learn to open herself up to vulnerability and genuine human connection, realizing true happiness isn’t solely derived from career success.

Actionable Application:

Identify the Core Flaw/Wound: What is the fundamental internal problem your character faces? Is it fear, insecurity, arrogance, cynicism, a lack of compassion, unresolved trauma? This flaw is directly tied to what they need to overcome.
Thematic Resonance: How does the internal desire connect to the overarching themes of your story? If your theme is “redemption,” the internal desire might be for self-forgiveness. If it’s “belonging,” the internal desire might be for acceptance.
The Turning Point: Design specific plot points where your character is forced to confront their internal desire, often through the failure of their external desire or through a moment of profound revelation. This is where their learning and growth truly begin.
- Example: The farm boy fails to protect a critical ally, hitting rock bottom and realizing his fear of leadership is costing lives. This forces him to confront his need to take charge.

Subconscious Desire: The Primal Urge and Hidden Motivator

The subconscious desire operates beneath the surface, often unknown to the character themselves, and sometimes even initially to the author. These are the primal urges: for safety, belonging, validation, love, acceptance, power, or revenge. They are the deep-seated motivations that can subtly or overtly influence a character’s actions, sometimes even sabotaging their conscious desires. This is where the true complexity and unpredictability of human behavior reside.

Concrete Examples:

Fantasy Epic: The farm boy, on a subconscious level, might desire the validation of his deceased parents, projecting that onto the quest to become a hero. He might also subconsciously desire to escape the mundane life he’s always known, even if the hero’s path scares him.
Detective Thriller: The detective, unbeknownst to him, might subconsciously desire punishment for his perceived past failings, leading him to take unnecessary risks. He might also subconsciously desire control in a world he feels is out of control.
Romantic Comedy: The businesswoman, while consciously seeking a promotion, might subconsciously desire the unconditional love she never received from her emotionally distant parents, projecting that yearning onto her career success or onto a potential romantic partner.

Actionable Application:

Explore the Character’s Past: Delve into their formative experiences, their upbringing, their past traumas, and their relationships. These are the fertile grounds where subconscious desires are sown.
Observe Contradictions: Where do your character’s actions contradict their stated external or internal desires? These contradictions are often pathways to their subconscious motivations. Why do they keep making the same mistake? Why do they sabotage themselves?
Subtlety is Key: Subconscious desires are rarely grand pronouncements. They manifest in quirks, irrational fears, obsessive behaviors, Freudian slips, or seemingly illogical choices that, upon deeper reflection, make perfect sense given their underlying yearning.
- Example: The farm boy often seeks advice from older, authoritative figures, even when he has the knowledge himself – a subtle manifestation of his subconscious desire for parental guidance/validation. Or he constantly puts himself in peril, unconsciously fueled by a desire to prove his worth.

Weaving the Web of Desire: Plotting with Purpose

Once you’ve defined these three layers of desire, the real work begins: using them as the scaffolding for your plot. Each desire should influence and interact with the others, creating a rich tapestry of conflict and character development.

Desire as Inciting Incident

The inciting incident is often a direct challenge or opportunity related to the external desire. Something happens that forces the character to pursue their goal.

Example: The Dark Lord’s forces burn the farm boy’s village (inciting incident), forcing him to take up the fight he externally desires.

Desire as Mid-Point Reversal

The midpoint of your story often involves a major shift in the character’s understanding of their desires. They might achieve their external desire only to find it unfulfilling, or they might suffer a devastating setback that forces them to confront their internal need.

Example: The detective finally corners the serial killer (external desire achieved), but the experience leaves him emotionally hollow, realizing catching the killer hasn’t alleviated his guilt – highlighting his internal need for self-forgiveness.

Desire as Climax

The climax of your story is where all three desires often converge in a final, decisive confrontation. The character must make a choice or take action that demonstrates their growth, satisfying their internal need while either achieving or consciously letting go of their external desire. The subconscious desires might also play a role in this ultimate choice.

Example: The farm boy confronts the Dark Lord (external desire). In this moment, he doesn’t just fight; he chooses to sacrifice something deeply personal (defeating his fear of loss, linked to his internal need for leadership) to secure victory, demonstrating that he has overcome his past flaws (the subconscious desire for validation is superseded by a mature understanding of responsibility).

The Obstacle Course: Desire Meets Conflict

Desire is meaningless without obstacles. Think of obstacles not as random annoyances, but as targeted tests designed to challenge each layer of your character’s desire.

Obstacles to External Desire: Plot Complications

These are the overt challenges your character faces in achieving their stated goal. They can be:

Antagonists: Opposing forces with their own desires that clash with the protagonist’s.
Environmental Obstacles: Natural disasters, dangerous landscapes, lack of resources.
Systemic Obstacles: Bureaucracy, corruption, societal norms, laws.

Actionable Application:

Escalate Difficulty: Ensure obstacles become progressively harder, forcing your character to innovate, learn new skills, or push past their comfort zone.
Direct Opposition: Design antagonists whose goals directly contradict your protagonist’s external desire. This creates immediate, high-stakes conflict.
- Example: The Dark Lord wants to conquer the realm, directly opposing the farm boy’s desire to defeat him.

Obstacles to Internal Desire: Character Growth Triggers

These obstacles specifically target your character’s flaws or wounds, forcing them to confront their internal need. They can be:

Moral Dilemmas: Situations where the protagonist must choose between conflicting values, often revealing their true character.
Failures and Setbacks: Moments where the protagonist’s usual coping mechanisms or faulty beliefs prove ineffective, leading to a crisis of self.
Relationship Challenges: Conflicts with allies or loved ones that expose the protagonist’s unaddressed internal issues.

Actionable Application:

Crucible Moments: Identify specific scenes designed to put pressure on your character’s internal flaw. A character who needs to learn vulnerability might be placed in a situation where their usual standoffishness isolates them at a critical moment.
Show Don’t Tell: Instead of telling us the character is insecure, show them constantly seeking validation or hesitating to take risks. Then, create an obstacle that forces them to act despite their insecurity, or to finally accept a compliment.
- Example: The farm boy’s fear of responsibility is challenged when his mentor is incapacitated, and he must lead, even if he feels woefully unprepared.

Obstacles to Subconscious Desire: Revelation and Choice

Obstacles to subconscious desires are often internal, manifesting as self-sabotage, irrational fears, or unhealthy patterns that prevent the character from achieving lasting happiness or success. The ultimate obstacle is often the character’s own resistance to truly knowing themselves.

Confronting the Past: Encounters with people or places that trigger deeply buried memories or unresolved issues.
Unwanted Success: Achieving an external goal, only to find it doesn’t fulfill the deeper, subconscious longing, leading to a sense of emptiness.
The Shadow Self: Confronting aspects of themselves they’ve denied or repressed.

Actionable Application:

Symbolic Challenges: Use symbolic elements, recurring motifs, or dream sequences to hint at and provoke the subconscious.
The “False Victory”: Allow the character to achieve a smaller, less significant victory that highlights the emptiness of satisfying only surface-level desires. This can push them towards uncovering their deeper needs.
- Example: The businesswoman gets a promotion, but feels utterly alone and unfulfilled, realizing it hasn’t given her the unconditional love or connection she unconsciously craves. This drives her to re-evaluate her priorities.

The Dance of Contradiction: The Engine of Complexity

The most compelling characters and plots arise from the tension and contradiction between these layers of desire.

External vs. Internal: Your character wants the promotion, but needs to be vulnerable. The plot should force them into situations where these two desires clash. Do they lie to get ahead, jeopardizing a budding relationship built on honesty? Or do they prioritize connection, risking the promotion?
Conscious vs. Subconscious: Your character consciously wants a quiet life, but subconsciously desires adventure and recognition. This could manifest as them constantly finding themselves in extraordinary circumstances despite their stated preference for normalcy.
Conflicting Subconscious Desires: A character might subconsciously desire both safety and revenge. This internal tug-of-war can lead to unpredictable, yet understandable, actions.

Actionable Application:

Design Dilemmas: Actively craft plot points where fulfilling one desire directly hinders or sabotages another. This is where rich, authentic character choices emerge.
Character Blind Spots: Allow characters to be genuinely unaware of their internal or subconscious desires at key moments. Their actions, driven by these hidden desires, then reveal themselves to the reader (and eventually, to the character).
The “Cost” of Desire: Show the tangible cost of pursuing one desire over another. What does the character sacrifice? This adds weight and consequence to their choices.
- Example: The detective’s relentless pursuit of the killer (external desire driven by an internal need for atonement) causes him to alienate his family (cost), forcing him to confront whether the pursuit is truly serving his deeper needs, or simply exacerbating his isolation (subconscious desire for control).

Transformation: The Payoff of Desire

A story where the character ends exactly where they began, unchanged by their journey through desire and conflict, is a stagnant story. Transformation is the ultimate payoff for a well-orchestrated narrative built on desire.

The Arc of Internal Desire

The resolution of the internal desire is the core of the character arc. By the end of the story, the character should have either embraced their true need, shed their guiding flaw, or integrated conflicting desires into a healthier whole.

Example: The farm boy, having confronted his fear of leadership and taken decisive action, is no longer the insecure youth. He has embraced his internal need for responsibility.

The Resolution of External Desire

The external desire may or may not be achieved. What matters is why it is achieved or foregone. Often, the external desire is achieved because the character has fulfilled their internal need, making them capable of the necessary action. Or, they might realize the external desire was never what they truly wanted, letting it go to pursue something more fulfilling, driven by their now-conscious internal need.

Example: The farm boy defeats the Dark Lord. This victory is meaningful because he achieved it as his “new self,” having transformed.
Example: The businesswoman might turn down the promotion for a lesser position that allows her more time for personal connection, having realized her true professional and personal fulfillment lies elsewhere.

The Understanding of Subconscious Desire

While subconscious desires may not be “resolved” in the same way, the character (and the reader) should gain a deeper understanding of these underlying motivations. This understanding leads to more conscious, healthier choices moving forward.

Example: The detective doesn’t suddenly become completely free of his need for control, but he understands its roots, allowing him to manage it rather than be driven by it. He learns to let go of some control, accepting that he cannot save everyone, finding a measure of peace.

Practical Steps to Implement Desire-Driven Plotting

Character Dossier: For each central character, create a concise document outlining their external want, internal need, and potential subconscious desires. Be specific.
The Spine of Desire: Map out your major plot points (inciting incident, rising action, midpoint, climax, resolution) and explicitly link them to the challenges and revelations of your character’s desires.
“Why” Questions: Constantly ask “why?” Why does your character want that? Why do they act that way? Why do they make that choice? Dig deeper and deeper until you uncover the underlying desires.
Desire-Driven Dialogue: Ensure your character’s dialogue reflects their desires, sometimes explicitly stating their wants, other times hinting at their deeper needs or subconscious motivations. Their actions should always be consistent with some layer of desire, even if it contradicts a stated desire.
Reverse Engineering: If you have a plot that feels flat, work backward. What does your character do? What must they want or need to do that? What underlying desires would make that action compelling?
The Antagonist’s Desires: Remember that your antagonist also has desires – external, internal, and subconscious. Their desires should deeply conflict with your protagonist’s, creating the core dynamic of your story. A well-rounded antagonist isn’t just evil; they desire something, and their pursuit of it creates the primary obstacle for your hero.

A story is a journey, and character desires are the fuel, the compass, and the destination. By meticulously defining, orchestrating, and challenging the multifaceted desires of your characters, you will not only craft plots that are compelling and unpredictable, but also characters who are richly human, deeply flawed, and ultimately transformative. This isn’t just a technique; it’s the very soul of storytelling. Go forth and imbue your narratives with the powerful magnetism of desire.