What does your character want more than anything? And what do they need more than anything? These elements are referred to as the Want and the Need, and they’re both necessary in order to keep any plot moving. If you don’t have the above questions answered already, you will by the end of this post.

The MC’s Want is a very crucial part of any story. Without it, they have no direction and, therefore, no reason to continue with the conflict. Everyone has an agenda, and your MC is no exception.

In a Positive Change Arc, the Want can be in one of two categories:

1. Something bad that the protagonist will eventually reject along with the Lie

Or,

2. Something good that the protagonist will only gain after accepting the Truth and the Need

Whether or not the Want is initially good or bad, it needs to be plausible. Your character cannot just randomly decide they want to be a world dictator or something. (Unless, of course, they have a very good reason to do so.) We will be discussing the “why” of both Want and Lie in a coming post.

The Want also needs to be personal. It shouldn’t be something generic like the desire to defeat the bad guy just because he’s bad. (As was the case with our friend, Joe, from a couple of weeks ago.)

Let’s look at our two examples to further illustrate this:

Will Reynolds has a very plausible Want—redemption. In and of itself, his Want is in the right place. But his way of getting that Want—the Lie—is skewed. As we continue to analyze Will’s story, we’ll find that his Want is in category #2… something that can only be gained after he accepts the Truth and the Need.

Tad Griffin’s Want, as I mentioned last time, is to protect his sister. Like Will’s Want of redemption, this is not bad in and of itself. It’s only the way Tad tries to get protection for his sister—again, the Lie—that is wrong. So Tad’s Want is also in category #2.

Here are a few more Wants to consider:

1. Revenge (Judah ben-Hur, “Ben-Hur”)

2. To move his house to Paradise Falls (Carl Fredrickson, “Up”)

3. To leave Bedford Falls and make something of himself (George Bailey, “It’s a Wonderful Life”)

4. To disprove God’s existence and win his wife back (Lee Strobel, “The Case for Christ”)

5. For Riley to be happy (Joy, “Inside Out”)

Notice how directly some of these Wants tie into the Lie, such as Judah’s Want of revenge. These Wants will most likely go in category #1. The Wants that are generally good, such as Joy’s Want for Riley to be happy, will probably go in category #2. Stick around for the rest of this series, and we’ll find out how these two categories of Wants end up in different places.

Now, let’s move on to your character’s Need. In the case of a category #1 Want, the Need will be the complete opposite of the Want. In the case of a category #2 Want, the Need will be something that the protagonist must accept before getting his Want.

As we’ve already established, Will’s Want is redemption, and his Need is God’s forgiveness. So, since his Want is in category #2, Will can only get redemption once he accepts God’s forgiveness.

It’s the same with Tad. His Want is the safety of his sister, but he can only get that once he gains his Need—access to God’s throne through salvation.

Basically, your MC believes that the Lie is the way to get their Want. And they also think that, once they gain their Want, they’ll get rid of the Lie’s symptoms. But in the 3^rd Act, they will accept the Truth, thus gaining the Need, which turns out to be real the solution to the Lie’s symptoms.

(Don’t worry if all of that seemed a little complicated… it’ll get simpler later on in this series as you see it play out in real stories.)

So Will thinks that earning his own redemption will get rid of his guilt, but he really needs to accept redemption from God.

And, while Tad thinks that protecting his sister will get rid of his fear, he really must realize that true safety comes through trusting God.

The Want is going to come into play a lot during your story… the MC will pretty much be working towards it the entire time. And, as the Need continually pops up along next to the Truth, it irritates the MC because they believe that the Want will make everything right again. Once they have the Want, they think they can keep their Lie, get rid of the symptoms, reject the Truth, and go on their merry way.

However, at the Third Plot Point, your protagonist will fully realize their mistake. They will then reject the Lie, embrace the Truth and the Need, and, therefore, get rid of the symptoms. And, again, depending on which category their Want is in, they will either gain or lose the Want.

I hope that, by now, you’ve begun to see the connection between the Lie, the Truth, the Want, and the Need. These four elements are vital to your story, so make sure you understand them well.

You may be wondering why we haven’t touched on any of the actual plot points yet, but I have a very good reason. Without a comprehension of elements like the Want and the Need, plots and character arcs are going to make no sense. We will get to the plot points eventually, once I ensure that you have these other elements nailed down.

Comment below any questions or thoughts you have!