They wear high heeled boots. Why do they wear high-heeled boots? Because they think they're too short. A silly example but it gets the point across. Why do you wear what you do? Why did you make that choice to put on that shirt today? People do the things they do for reasons even if they don't consciously realize what those reasons are. These reasons are also called motivations. Characters have goals that drive these motivations. As the writer, you get to decide these goals.
Joe wants to rob a bank. Why? He needs money. Why doesn't he work for it? He's lazy.
You can work forward from the character or backward from the plot to determine the character you need that fits the role in the story. And all that about letting the character drive? That's great for some stories and writers, not for all stories and writers. You can write fantastic plot driven stories too.
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Je ne suis pas une Intelligence Artificielle Turing. Je suis Charlie.
Joe wants to rob a bank. Why? He needs money. Why doesn't he work for it? He's lazy.
You can work forward from the character or backward from the plot to determine the character you need that fits the role in the story. And all that about letting the character drive? That's great for some stories and writers, not for all stories and writers. You can write fantastic plot driven stories too.
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Je ne suis pas une Intelligence Artificielle Turing. Je suis Charlie.