(Originally posted on January 11, 2016.)
In The Mercenary Prince, Delvin Cunningham goes on his adventure to prove to himself that he has what it takes to be a champion. Luke Callindor starts his adventure to prove he deserves his famous surname. Nyx has been raised to save the world while Fizzle is more interested in protecting his friends. Sari has become a hero out of fear of being left behind by her remaining loved ones, Timoran Wrath is honor bound to stand by the others, and Dariana knows no other path. All of these characters hold the role of protagonist in Legends of Windemere, but the all have different reasons. Many times these reasons change as a story progresses.
Looking over the reasoning, I think there’s always a level of selfishness within a hero’s inspiration. He or she either do it for themselves or do it because they feel like they can’t trust anyone else to do it. This might not be as bad as it sounds since things are never as black and white as we’d like to think. Yes, it’d be easier if a hero was truly good and that was the end of it. That tends to be boring too. As much as people want the boy scout in real life, it seems we don’t really like them in fiction. We also tend to distrust them in real life because ‘nobody can be THAT good’. Supposedly.
So an author has to really think about what to do as far as why the character is a hero . . . or not. To be honest, some characters simply fall into their role as you write. For example, Luke and Nyx were planned. Timoran and Delvin kind of just happened as I outlined along. The point still stands that there are different reasons for different heroes, which one should consider in the case of an ensemble cast. It has to be natural too and not forced because that can simply ruin a character.
So, what drives your heroes?
Legends of Windemere 
Good question. In one book, my heroes are assigned a task by their dad. They are teens who don’t get along. So, one is motivated by trying to prove himself to his dad. But he takes it out on his brother. In other, a middle-school aged girl is driven to correct a horrible mistake she made that could result in the death of someone.
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Do you think motivation greatly differs between teens and adults?
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In some ways, maybe because kids (particularly) might not understand all of the nuances of relationshps that adults understand. But in some ways, no. They still seek revenge and stuff like in adult books. They are still motivated by love. Some of John Green’s YA books involve a guy doing something to impress a girl.
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Makes sense. I feel like adults are always written with perfect maturity too. At least main characters. This cuts off several motivations that would be deemed as immature. Teens can pull from both baskets.
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I think my protagonists are driven by a sense of fair play and the desire to help others. I know money or rewards are not the motivator. I think they react to circumstances that they did not create but want to conclude the challenge in a win win way.
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That sounds rather relatable.
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I thought you would think so.
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I’ve used a variety of things. No one else can do it, save a loved one, save yourself, even swept along and it becomes evolve or die.
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Swept along always sounds like a fun one.
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