Post #2469995
2026-05-08 08:40 UTC
#WritersCoffeeClub 7: Do readers need to understand a character's motivations to understand the story?
Understanding (even if not agreeing or approving) makes a huge difference to enjoyment, at least. You can absolutely tell a story where a character's motivations are inscrutable, but if you never discover why, even at the end, that can easily be unsatisfying.
I think a reader can still understand the story without understanding every character's motivation, but it would likely lack depth.
Replies (1)
-
@vicorva@mastodon.art 2026-05-08 08:48
#WritersCoffeeClub 8: What experience can you identify as having made you the writer you are today? I've been writing stories since I discovered that people actually made the awesome books I was reading. So long ago I don't remember it. A big turning point in my writing journey was when, exhausted and short on ideas, I begged Joh to give me something to write about. A bit fed up with me (I was being very dramatic), Joh suggested I write about necromancers.