I stumbled on this article—“Understand Character Wounds: A List of Common Themes” at Writers Helping Writers—a few months ago, and I just love the way the writer drills down to character motivation.

The protagonist’s path is much like yours or mine–one that will (hopefully) bring him closer to lifelong happiness and fulfillment.

In real life, people strive to become something more, to be something better. But the wounds of the past never quite leave us. Old hurts, betrayals, and injustices stay in our memory. Worry that a bad experience could happen again causes us to hesitate, and sometimes readjust what we want, and what we’re willing to risk. In other words, fear gets in the way.

Just like you or I, a hero has wounds, a trunk full of scars he lugs with him wherever he goes. And like us, his determination to not repeat a painful emotional experience carries the high cost of lessening his feelings of satisfaction and fulfillment.

Because wounds influence a protagonist’s behavior so deeply (to the point he will do almost anything to avoid feeling such pain again), it’s important to have a good grasp on what emotional trauma from his past is now shaping his present.

This is only the beginning. From here we learn that …

Wounds change everything
Every wound contains a lie
Wounds cause character flaws
Use backstory to identify the wound

… and that common wound themes can be identified. Oh, it’s all very, very interesting!

Tweet: The past affects your protagonist’s future.
Tweet: Do you know your character’s psychic baggage?

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