Questions

I was talking with a friend last night, and we started discussing motivation. The Who, What, When, Where, Why questions so familiar to journalists are equally useful to a writer in the predawn hours of writing.

Asking Who your characters are is a no brainer. But the next question to ask is What does that character want? Our literary traditions are based around conflict, and conflict arises when something is sought and met with resistance. What does the protagonist want? What does the antagonist want? Where do they have to go to get what they want? Why do they want it? Some questions to stir the pot.