If you think about it, motivation is responsible for everything. From the shows we watch, or don't, to the books we read, or don't...right back to the classic myths.
Hercules was motivated to complete his tasks out of desire to prove himself.
Crime fighters want to see justice done, heroes want to protect the innocent.
So it is, or should be, with good fiction.
Readers want to see a character reach their needs, get whatever it is they want. Writers use motivation to help shape characters, to help drive the story forward, to build tension and conflict.
(I think a lot of writers block could be resolved with a look at motivation, but that's just my opinion and doesn't apply if the block is caused by too much 'real-life')
It's interesting that for me, as a writer, character's motivation isn't always clear to me on the first draft. So I slog through the first draft, only having a vague idea where I want my folks to end up, and then sometime during the second draft, I get this A HA! moment where I suddenly see what they want or need. After that comes the fine mince-step of re-writing, editing and making sure it all comes together properly.
This does not all come together in harmony. More often than not, it requires multiple drafts. This is the stage that I either stick with a story or let it drift away in the wind.
Once or twice, I've had a story idea come back to me months after I let it go. Stories like this, it's clear I need to write them for one reason or another. I look at what part(s) of the story are still flapping around, begging for attention. I look at why that needs to be written. Is it a character? A concept? The theme of the piece?
Sometimes I'm motivated to pick it apart and start over, like a piece of my knitting that's been let languish in the basket for weeks on end.
Motivation to work with those characters or concept either moves me to write, or waste time on Goodreads.
See? Motivation makes the world go 'round.
