Friday Catalyst: The Anatomy of Desire: Character in Motion Prompt

Friday Catalyst: The Anatomy of Desire: Character in Motion Prompt

The most compelling characters rarely transform. They expose the cost of their resistance so completely that the reader feels the change instead.

Exercise Overview

A powerful protagonist lives at the intersection of three forces: a flaw that distorts perception, a want that drives pursuit, and a need that reshapes the soul. Together they create friction, the engine of story. This exercise sharpens the craft of making that friction visible, felt, and inevitable.

Key Techniques

1. Character Triangulation: Set flaw, want, and need in tension so each exposes the limits of the others.

2. Desire Under Pressure: Let the pursuit of the want reveal the flaw through action rather than explanation.

3. Emotional Reversal: End with a shift in meaning, where the reader, not the character, perceives the deeper need.

Writing Prompt (500 words)

Write a single scene that begins in the middle of your protagonist’s pursuit of a specific goal such as a job, a confession, an apology, or a rescue. The goal should feel urgent and earned. Within the same moment, reveal a flaw that quietly sabotages their effort. End with a moment of consequence or recognition in which the reader senses what the protagonist truly needs beneath the surface action.

Keep the setting contained and time compressed: one room, one errand, one evening. Avoid exposition and summary. Show contradiction through gesture, tone, and subtext. Let the tension come from the collision between what your character wants and who they are.

Strong vs. Weak Examples

Strong: A woman pleads with her estranged father to co-sign her lease, hiding fear behind wit. Her sarcasm ruins her chance for help. The want (security) collides with the flaw (defensiveness) and exposes the need (to risk vulnerability).

Weak: A man asks for a raise while explaining in narration how unappreciated he feels. The flaw is told, not dramatized. The want lacks urgency. The need is too neatly resolved.

Evaluation Criteria

1. The conflict grows directly from the protagonist’s flaw.

2. The want drives the action while the need remains unspoken.

3. The ending delivers an emotional shift without moralizing.

4. The language reveals inner truth through action and restraint.

Follow-Up Questions for Workshopping

What false story does the protagonist tell themselves to justify their choices?

At what point do the reader’s sympathies shift, and why?

Does the protagonist’s blindness to their need feel believable or convenient?

What one action or line could reveal the flaw without explanation?

Recommended Reading

Excerpt: “Defender of the Faith” by Philip Roth. Sergeant Marx’s flaw (moral fatigue), want (to uphold fairness), and need (to confront complicity) converge in every decision, revealing how conviction weakens under pressure.

AI Disclosure Statement:

This writing prompt was created in collaboration with ChatGPT, an AI model by OpenAI, to support creative practice. ChatGPT assisted with idea generation and drafting; the final text was edited by the author. The illustration was created using Google Gemini.