Navigating internal vs. external goals for authentic writing

There is a lot that goes into crafting characters. There's even more work for character-driven stories over plot-driven stories. But in either circumstance, one thing remains true: A character needs both an internal goal and an external goal in order to feel relatable and to drive the story forward.

These motivations are going to be the main factors determining every decision your characters make. So, understanding the difference and utilizing them well are crucial to a well written story.

Let's dive in!

Understanding internal goals

An internal goal is just as it sounds: inside. It's often emotionally charged in nature. This is the goal a character has that is driven from their own wants and desires. It's often built off of their backstory (read: trauma), and there's usually some internal conflict between what the character wants (or what they think will solve all their problems) and what they need (or what will actually solve all their problems.

If we use Katniss Everdeen as an example, we can see this progression. Katniss starts The Hunger Games novel with the internal goal to keep her sister safe by any means necessary. This is an internal goal in this context because it comes from a sense of responsibility for Katniss—because she never had anyone to look out for her that way. It's the reason she ends up volunteering for the Games when Primrose Everdeen's name is called.

No one outside of Katniss fully understands her reasoning for volunteering, but we, as the reader, get a full view of all that internal dialogue. Here, Katniss believes that keeping her sister safe will provide her with a fulfilled life—even in the midst of all the turmoil they live in.

Throughout the story, we see this internal goal shift as Katniss realizes the true terror of Panem and President Snow. While she still feels the need to win and get home to keep protecting her sister, she also starts to believe that the only way to keep Prim truly safe is to destroy the system—because no amount of acting on Katniss' part will stop the uprisings from happening.

This motivation affects her relationship with every character she meets throughout the novel.

A well-developed internal goal creates an arc, taking us on a journey of self-discovery and actualization. This is often what readers connect with on a personal level. It's also why we can enjoy reading about characters even if we don't agree with their choices, because we can understand why they make the choices they do.

Some examples of internal goals

Achieving notoriety
Finding love
Belonging
Self-acceptance
Protecting innocence
Forgiveness (of self or someone else)
Revenge
Gaining wealth
Becoming healthy
Gaining approval

The role of external goals

By contrast, external goals are visible and tangible. These are items other characters can see, and there's a level of measurability to them. For Katniss, an external goal looks like winning the Hunger Games. Everyone can understand why she would want that, there are actionable steps she can take to achieve it, and there's a definitive end.

External goals operate outside the characters, and they push the plot forward. These goals work together with internal goals to provide the most conflict, tension, and satisfaction throughout a story.

Some examples of external goals

Defeating evil
Finding treasure
Winning a tournament
Getting a specific job or position
Solving a crime
Making a certain amount of money
Appease a deity
Become the strongest fighter/superhero/personality/etc.
Steal something
Survive the zombie apocalypse

Blending internal and external goals

As mentioned above, it's this combination of goals that provide a rich story, so it's important that they work together.

Using the example of The Hunger Games, Katniss being thrust into the Games themselves provides both internal and external goals: to protect her sister (internal) and to win the games (external).

This can cause even more tension if the internal and external goals end up in conflict. Here, Katniss winning the Games actually puts her sister in more danger than if Katniss had just let herself be killed.

This blend of goals creates intrigue for readers, especially if we know why a character is making a choice when the other characters don't. (Just don't hit me with a miscommunication trope. If the problem could be solved with a thirty-second conversation, I don't want to read 100 pages of discontent. But maybe that's my hot take!)

Crafting authentic goals

So how to we create goals that are interesting, challenging, and conflicting? Well, we have a few things to consider:

Know your characters: Understanding our own characters is the first step. If we don't understand why our characters are making certain choices, the reader definitely isn't going to get it. Spend some time on their backstory. Create character sheets and exercises if that's helpful for you. Write scenes you'll never use in the book to learn how your character will react. These are the puzzle pieces that will build the foundations.

Decide where you want your characters to end up: Both internally and externally. Knowing where a character starts their arc and where they end will paint a picture of what they need to experience to get there. If your character starts off distant, hurt, and moody due to an accident they experienced, and they end up lighter, free, and more willing to explore, then we know they need to experience things that will confront that accident. Maybe they make a friend who can guide them through it (Chemical Hearts), maybe they get a really good therapist, maybe they need to confront the fear they have around that accident. Whatever the case may be, now we have some scenes to build on their external goals of actionable items. It's a road map, if you will.

Reveal gradually: What we don't want to do is state all these things up front. Tease the reader. Leave hints at where we're going and what we need to do to achieve our goals, but don't just state them in the opening chapter and call it a day. The arc is one of the most interesting pieces of story because it's just that—an arc, not an info dump.
Embrace conflict: Conflict is essential for character development. Introduce challenges that hinder both internal and external goals, driving character growth and plot momentum. While they can be difficult scenes to write, this is where those character motivations really shine through.

Final thoughts

Well-crafted goals evoke empathy and keep readers invested in the characters' journeys.

Consider Katniss. If she didn't care about her sister and had no interest in winning the Games, there wouldn't be much of a book. It's the conflict of having to win but not wanting to hurt anyone that really drives the story home.

Embrace your characters' complexity. Let the conflict shine.

Happy writing,

Erin