The Driving Forces of Action

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire." Aristotle

I sooo hate becoming debilitated with writer's block. Shhh, don't tell my muse. She'll shoot me a horrified look then whisper, "What are you talking about, Robin? I NEVER get writer's block."

Unfortunately, we've all experienced WB in some size, shape, form or fashion. If you find yourself stuck and can't move forward, can't find something for your characters to do, why not use some or all of Aristotle's "forces" of action to move your plot, events, and characters along?

Chance - Ah, I love this one. Not only is chance wide open, it can offer meaning and reason behind an otherwise lost idea, or scene. Chance gives you freedom, opening the door to a broad array of possibilities. A chance encounter with another person, or the finding of a lucky magical coin while digging in the backyard, can lead to various types of action. Remember Jumanji? Two kids found a board game...

Nature - Here's another favorite of mine. The unpredictable-ness of nature coupled with its vast seemingly unlimited possibilities lends itself an excellent choice in action/adventure flicks, shorts, novels. Blizzards, tornados, lightening, sandstorms, or drought provide excellent stages to act upon. A horrible storm causes a plane crash. The only survivor is a Fed Ex employee -Cast Away...Nature ignites scenes, fast and furious, or lulls them into rhythmic movement.

Compulsion - Here's a great facilitator of action. Any compulsive behavior will do. Stretch beyond the common ones like cheating, stealing, lying, gambling or alcohol -although these work... Compulsive behavior describes Richard Dreyfuss's mountain sculpting while mash potato eating during suppertime in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Habit - More than just character shaping, habits can kick start action. If a character is a stickler for routine, and he's responsible (inadvertently or outright) for the pain and suffering of another, then he leaves himself open for revenge in the form of kidnap, or murder.

Reason - I know, I can hear you now. "What? If I had reason, I wouldn't be sitting here in front of my computer with writer's block!" FYI, I scrunched up my brow at reason, too. Even though it's tried and true, it is definitely an action originator. It stands to reason...if... then...

Passion - A never ending canvas upon which to paint. Passion for one's job, hobby, family, country. All are wonderful springboards for action.

Desire - to get the girl, the job, the career advancement, to make it to Walley World Theme Park no matter what!

I'm going to add impulse to Aristotle's list. Few things can spur your characters into action like impulse. A quest to get some hamburgers at White Castle is delayed when the main character impulsively stops his car to pick up a hitchhiker...

With eight driving forces to choose from, your stories, plot, characters should have enough to do keep them busy, um, well, until next time.