Elliot Kessler

Everyone has needs, and everyone has wants. They aren’t always mutually exclusive, but often that is what they end up being. Our wants typically conflict with our needs, and the same is true for characters. One of the key aspects of a good character is for them to have wants and needs and for those wants and needs to oppose each other.

So, what’s the difference between wants and needs? The difference, my friends, is that wants are things you can live without, and needs are things that are necessary for you to develop or to survive. Everyone has wants. Maybe yours is as simple as that new video game. Or it’s more likes on Instagram. Or maybe it’s just one more drink or one more image. Wants can be very harmful. Then there are your needs. Maybe, for the one who wants the new game, you have to save money to get your first car. Or, for those looking for more attention, you need to be ok with who you are. Maybe you need to stop drinking and have a clear head. Maybe you need to stop looking at images or videos and find a real, intimate relationship in some form. These are the same kinds of things that you need to think about for your characters. Maybe your character is lonely, and they want a deep and personal connection with someone, but they need to be on their own and be ok with themselves.

Let’s take a look at some examples. In “The Batman,” Batman is working as hard as he can to become a symbol of fear, and it’s working. He is fear incarnate. When people do wrong, like vandalization, robbery, or theft, they look up at the sky and see the Bat-signal, and their attention turns to the shadows around them, and fear grips their hearts; the fear that he might be lurking in any corner, waiting to strike. Batman is terrifying in this film. But, when someone else comes along who is even more terrifying and is also willing to kill those who Batman fights against, Batman is challenged. This guy isn’t afraid of him. So, after getting what he wants, Batman finds what he needs. He can’t be a symbol of fear in Gotham. He has to be a symbol of hope. He must be Gotham’s hero, not its demon.

In my serial novel, “Liar’s Legacy,” the main focus of the story is on Sevdis Minare. He wants to continue living his life of luxury. He loves it. Everyone adores him, he’s rich, he can do anything he wants, and he can get away with anything he wants. Well, he can get away with anything until Tromita Raelian shows up, demanding that Sevdis face the consequences of his actions during the Polemonian Wars. Sevdis doesn’t like this because he simply wants to continue living his normal, selfish, greedy, dishonest life, and he doesn’t want to be bothered by the past. He doesn’t want to be bothered by his mistakes and the consequences of those errors. But he needs to face up to them. He needs to face the consequences. Because if he won’t, then who will? No one else can but Sevdis. It is his job alone, and that is his need.

Needs and wants are a very interesting topic to explore not only in our characters but in ourselves. We can use our own needs and wants to create interesting and personal characters that only we can create. But, the needs and wants must be conflicting. Who wants to read a story about someone who tries their hardest to be special because that’s what they want, and it turns out that they’ve been special all their life and it is their destiny to be special? (Looking at you, “Doctor Who.”) It is always much more interesting and dramatic when the needs and wants of a character conflict. They create personal conflict and cause a lot of trouble for the character, and they can play very well into your themes.

Thank you so much for reading! Have a fantastic day.