Master the art of creating vivid character hopes and dreams. Learn why specific aspirations reveal motivation better than psychological analysis and how Disney’s “I Want” songs work.
The Motivation Mystery Writers Overcomplicate
You’ve probably tried this:
“My protagonist wants freedom. Their unconscious motivation is fear of control stemming from childhood trauma with their authoritarian father, manifesting as rebellion against all authority figures, while their conscious goal is escaping their hometown, but deep down they’re really seeking self-actualization and…”
Three pages of psychological analysis later:
“Wait, what does this character actually WANT? Like, specifically?”
The reader finishing your opening chapters:
“I don’t understand what this character is trying to achieve or why I should care.”
What went wrong?
You got lost in the psychology of motivation instead of the specificity of hopes and dreams.
Here’s the paradox:
Complex psychological motivation frameworks often make characters feel less real, not more. But vivid, specific hopes and dreams make them feel immediately alive.
Why?
Because readers don’t need to understand your Freudian analysis of unconscious motivations. They need to see what your character imagines when they picture success—in concrete, tangible, specific detail.
This guide reveals why hopes and dreams are the most powerful (and underutilized) characterization tool, how specificity creates instant understanding, and exactly how to craft aspirations so vivid readers adopt them as their own.
Understanding Hopes and Dreams vs. Motivation
The Traditional Framework (That Doesn’t Always Work)
Standard advice:
“Characters have conscious motivations (surface wants) and unconscious motivations (deeper psychological drivers).”
Example:
Conscious: Character wants to win the competition Unconscious: Character seeks validation from absent father figure
The problem with this approach:
It’s analytical rather than experiential. Readers don’t experience your character’s unconscious mind—they experience what the character does and dreams about.
The Hopes and Dreams Alternative
Instead of mapping unconscious psychology:
Show what character envisions when they imagine achieving their goal—with extreme specificity.
Example:
Vague want: “Character wants to win the competition”
Specific hope/dream: “Character imagines standing on the podium, medal heavy around their neck, seeing their father in the crowd for the first time in five years, watching his face transform from skepticism to pride, hearing him say ‘I was wrong about you’ as cameras flash and the national anthem plays. Then using the prize money to open the training facility they’ve sketched obsessively in notebooks—the one with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the mountains, where kids who couldn’t afford lessons could train for free.”
The second version tells us EVERYTHING:
- Values (family reconciliation, helping others)
- Personality (detailed planner, sketches notebooks)
- Wounds (father’s skepticism, lack of money for training)
- Deeper motivations (validation + altruism)
- What success actually looks like
All through showing the dream, not analyzing the psychology.
Why This Approach Works
Hopes and dreams are:
1. Visual and concrete Readers can picture them clearly
2. Emotionally resonant We feel the yearning in the specifics
3. Immediately revealing Values and personality shine through
4. Easy to root for Specific dreams are more compelling than abstract wants
5. Built-in stakes Clear vision of success = clear loss if they fail
The Two Powers of Hopes and Dreams
Power 1: Establishing Stakes
When readers know what character hopes for, they understand what’s at risk.
Vague stakes: “If she doesn’t get the promotion, she’ll be disappointed.”
Reader: “Okay? So?”
Specific hope creates specific stakes: “If she doesn’t get the promotion, she can’t afford her mother’s medical treatments. She’s already imagined the conversation where she tells her mom help is coming—pictured her mother’s relief, the way her shoulders would finally relax. Without the raise, that conversation becomes: ‘I failed. I can’t help you.’”
Reader: “Oh god, she HAS to get this promotion.”
The specificity creates investment.
Power 2: Revealing Character
What character dreams about tells us who they are.
Three characters want the same promotion:
Character A’s hope: Corner office with view, custom desk plaque that says “Vice President,” ability to make her critical coworker report to her
Character B’s hope: Enough money to finally afford the apartment she walks past every day—the one with natural light and a kitchen big enough to cook the family recipes she hasn’t made since leaving home
Character C’s hope: Platform to implement the sustainability initiative she’s pitched for three years that management ignored, transforming company culture, proving her ideas had merit all along
Same goal (promotion), completely different characters revealed through their dreams.
We instantly understand:
- A is competitive and status-focused
- B is nostalgic and domestically oriented
- C is idealistic and change-driven
No psychological analysis needed—the dreams show us.
The Disney Princess Masterclass
Why “I Want” Songs Work Brilliantly
Every Disney animated film features an “I Want” song early on.
These songs are masterclasses in specific hopes and dreams:
“Part of Your World” (The Little Mermaid): “Wanderin’ free, wish I could be, part of that world… What’s a fire and why does it—what’s the word?—burn? When’s it my turn?”
What this reveals:
- Curiosity about human world (specific objects fascinate her)
- Feeling trapped in current world
- Yearning for knowledge and freedom
- Sense of missing out (“when’s it my turn?”)
“Belle” (Beauty and the Beast): “I want adventure in the great wide somewhere, I want it more than I can tell… For once it might be grand to have someone understand, I want so much more than they’ve got planned”
What this reveals:
- Intellectual hunger (not just physical adventure)
- Feeling misunderstood and isolated
- Rejection of conventional path
- Desire for meaning beyond provincial life
“I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” (The Lion King): “I’m gonna be the main event, like no king was before, I’m brushing up on looking down, I’m working on my roar!”
What this reveals:
- Naive eagerness (doesn’t understand responsibility)
- Focus on surface perks of power
- Immaturity and playfulness
- Lack of understanding about what kingship means
These songs do in 3 minutes what many novels fail to do in 50 pages:
Establish exactly what character wants and exactly who they are through the specificity of their dreams.
Contemporary Examples: Specific Hopes and Dreams
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Evelyn’s evolving dreams:
Early: Be a star—specific vision of name in lights, crowds knowing her face, never being powerless like her mother
Middle: Have Celia openly—imagined life where they don’t hide, can touch in public, world accepts their love
Late: Control her narrative—envisions telling truth before she dies, Monique writing it exactly as she wants, legacy on her terms
Each dream reveals evolution of values: Fame → Love → Truth
Where the Crawdads Sing
Kya’s layered dreams:
Surface dream: Publish her marsh drawings—specific vision of seeing her artwork in a real published book, proof she’s not just “Marsh Girl” but a scientist
Deeper dream: Be understood—imagined conversations where someone sees the beauty she sees, appreciates her knowledge, doesn’t view her as trash
Deepest dream: Safety to love—envisions relationship where she can trust without abandonment, though she can barely articulate this even to herself
The specificity of the published book makes the deeper emotional dreams concrete.
The Martian
Mark Watney’s hope:
Not just “survive”—he imagines specific return:
- Disco music finally stopped
- Real shower (first thing, before even talking to people)
- Seeing Earth from the window during descent
- First meal on Earth (something green and fresh)
- Eventually: telling the story at a bar to someone who’ll buy him a beer
These mundane specific dreams make his survival quest visceral.
Normal People
Connell’s dream (rarely articulated):
Be with Marianne openly—imagined life where he doesn’t hide their relationship from friends, where class differences don’t create shame, where he can love her without social anxiety
Marianne’s dream (deeply buried):
Be loved without abuse—barely allows herself to imagine someone treating her with genuine affection, seeing her as worthy
Rooney’s genius: These dreams are so deeply buried the characters barely acknowledge them, but when glimpsed, they devastate with their simplicity.
How to Craft Specific Hopes and Dreams
Technique 1: The Magic Wand Question
Ask: “If character had a magic wand and could create their perfect life, what would it look like?”
Don’t stop at: “They’d be happy” or “They’d be successful”
Keep going until you have:
Physical details:
- Where do they live? (Specific apartment/house)
- What’s on their walls? (Art, posters, photos)
- What’s in their closet?
- What does their morning routine look like?
Social details:
- Who are their friends? (Specific people or types)
- What do they do together?
- Who loves them? Who respects them?
- What’s their reputation?
Emotional details:
- How do they feel waking up?
- What gives them pride?
- What do they no longer fear?
- What have they proven?
Example:
Vague: “Character wants to be a successful writer”
Specific magic wand vision: “Wake up in a light-filled apartment (finally afford it), coffee at the desk where her second novel is half-written (proof first wasn’t a fluke), phone buzzing with text from her agent about foreign rights deal. She imagines opening email to find message from reader who says the book helped them through depression—that’s what she pictures when she thinks about success. Not the money (though that too), but knowing her words mattered to someone struggling like she once did.”
Now we know her values, wounds, true motivation.
Technique 2: The “And Then What?” Chain
Start with vague desire and chain it to specifics:
Character wants: “Freedom from their parents”
And then what? “They move out”
And then what? “They get their own apartment”
What does apartment look like? “Small studio, but it’s THEIRS—they paint walls purple (parents always said no), put up concert posters (parents hated their music), eat cereal for dinner in underwear without judgment”
And then what? “They invite friends over without permission, blast music at midnight, prove they can make own decisions”
And then what? “Eventually prove to themselves (and parents) they’re competent adult who didn’t need that level of control”
Final specific hope: Purple-walled studio apartment where they eat cereal in underwear at midnight, surrounded by concert posters, proving parents wrong about their competence
Now we know: Rebellion tinged with need for validation, specific aesthetic taste, desire to make own choices, still seeking parental approval despite rebellion
Technique 3: The Five Senses Specification
Make hopes and dreams sensory-specific:
Vague hope: “Character wants to open a restaurant”
Sensory-specific hope:
- Sight: Imagines exposed brick walls, Edison bulb lighting, mismatched vintage chairs, their name on the menu in their grandmother’s handwriting
- Sound: Jazz playing softly, laughter at tables, kitchen sounds that mean activity not chaos
- Smell: Grandmother’s recipes filling the space, bread baking, herbs from the windowsill garden
- Taste: Customers experiencing the flavors she grew up with, made properly for first time in this city
- Touch: Smooth wood of bar she’d refinish herself, ceramic plates she’d collect from estate sales
The sensory details reveal: Connection to grandmother, aesthetic values, authenticity over trendiness, desire to share heritage
Technique 4: The Failure Vision (Inverse)
Also imagine: What would be intolerable about failure?
Success vision: “Get into medical school, become doctor, help people”
Failure vision character dreads: “Working in father’s insurance office forever, watching him try to hide disappointment, small talk at reunions about ‘what could have been,’ never getting to wear the white coat she’s pictured since age 8, that coat that meant respect and competence and making a difference”
The dread reveals: Fear of disappointing father, specific childhood dream, craving respect, desire for meaningful impact
Together, success vision + failure vision create complete understanding.
Technique 5: The Tangible Object Method
Attach dreams to specific objects:
Instead of: “Character wants stability”
Anchor to object: “Character wants the house with the porch swing—the one they drive past every day on the way to their third-shift job. They’ve imagined sitting there with coffee on Sunday mornings (no alarm), watching their own kid play in the yard (the childhood they didn’t have), the mortgage payment auto-drafted because they finally have enough in the bank. The swing represents everything: stability, family, safety, proving they broke the cycle.”
The porch swing becomes the hope—visual, specific, loaded with meaning.
Common Mistakes (And Fixes)
Mistake 1: Staying Too Abstract
The problem: “Character wants happiness” or “Character seeks fulfillment”
Why it fails: Too vague to picture, impossible to root for
The fix: Ask “What does happiness/fulfillment look like specifically?”
Abstract: “Character wants happiness” Specific: “Character wants to wake up without anxiety, text their friends without overthinking, order at restaurants without panic, attend parties without escape plans—all the things their therapist calls ‘normal social functioning’ they imagine other people do effortlessly”
Mistake 2: No Visual Component
The problem: Dreams described in abstract emotional terms only
Why it fails: Readers can’t picture it, can’t adopt it as their own
The fix: Add visual, physical, sensory details
Before: “Character wants to feel loved” After: “Character imagines someone looking at them the way their parents look at each other in old photos—that unguarded softness. Someone who texts ‘thinking of you’ for no reason, who knows they take coffee with too much sugar and brings it anyway, who stays when things get hard instead of finding excuses to leave like everyone else did”
Mistake 3: Dreams That Don’t Match Character
The problem: Aspirations feel pasted on rather than organically arising from who character is
Example: Shy, anxious character suddenly dreams of being on stage performing
Why it fails: Disconnect between character and dream breaks believability
The fix: Dreams should emerge from character’s actual values/personality
Inconsistent: Shy anxious character dreams of performance fame Consistent: Shy anxious character dreams of being brave enough to speak up in one meeting, tell one person how they feel, have one conversation without overthinking afterward
Mistake 4: Only Surface-Level Wants
The problem: Character wants promotion/romance/victory with no deeper layer
Why it fails: Feels shallow, doesn’t reveal much about character
The fix: Layer surface want with deeper hope
Surface only: “Character wants to win race” Layered: “Character wants to win race (surface) to prove to her mother she’s not fragile anymore (deeper)—imagines crossing finish line, seeing mother’s face shift from constant worry to pride, finally being seen as strong not broken, maybe even getting to stop the weekly ‘how are you feeling?’ calls that keep her locked in identity as The Sick Kid”
Mistake 5: Telling Instead of Showing the Dream
The problem: Explaining dream rather than showing character imagining it
Telling: “She wanted to be successful so she could help others” Showing: “She imagined the scholarship fund in her name—kids who looked like her, from neighborhoods like hers, getting acceptance letters that would’ve been rejections without financial help. She’d pictured it so many times: the thank-you letters, the graduation photos, the first-generation college students who made it because she had”
Showing the imagining makes it visceral.
Genre-Specific Applications
Literary Fiction
Approach: Subtle, internal hopes often unspoken even to character
Example structure: “He didn’t let himself think about it often, but sometimes, walking past the park, he imagined what it would be like if…”
Characters may not fully articulate dreams, but readers glimpse them in unguarded moments.
Romance
Approach: Specific vision of relationship they want
Beyond: “Find true love” Specific: “Partner who laughs at her terrible jokes, doesn’t try to fix her when she’s sad, remembers she hates cilantro, texts goodnight even from different time zones, makes her feel like coming home is something to look forward to”
Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Approach: Grand dreams but grounded in personal detail
Beyond: “Restore the kingdom” Specific: “Restore kingdom so children can play in streets without fear (like she did before war), markets filled with laughter not suspicion, mother’s grave tended with flowers not hidden for safety, ability to wake without checking for assassins”
Mystery/Thriller
Approach: Justice-oriented dreams with personal stakes
Beyond: “Solve the murder” Specific: “Solve murder so she can finally sleep without seeing victim’s face, so the victim’s mother stops looking at her with hope she can’t promise to fulfill, so she can prove to herself she’s still good at this job, that the last case that broke her wasn’t the end of her career”
Young Adult
Approach: Vivid, sometimes unrealistic dreams that capture adolescent intensity
Example: Seth Cohen’s Tahiti plan—completely unrealistic, perfectly adolescent
Allow: Harebrained specificity that reveals yearning even when impractical
Your Hopes and Dreams Audit
Character Dream Clarity Check
For each major character, answer:
- [ ] Can I describe in concrete detail what they imagine when they picture success?
- [ ] Does the dream include sensory details (sights, sounds, specific objects)?
- [ ] Does the dream reveal their values?
- [ ] Would different readers picture the same thing when reading the dream?
- [ ] Does the dream go beyond the obvious/surface want?
- [ ] Can I state in one paragraph exactly what they hope for?
If you can’t check all boxes, dreams need more specificity.
The Specificity Test
For your protagonist’s main hope/dream:
Rate on scale of 1-10:
- Vagueness (1) vs. Specificity (10): _____
- Abstract (1) vs. Concrete (10): _____
- Tell (1) vs. Show (10): _____
- Generic (1) vs. Personal (10): _____
Score below 7 in any category = needs more specificity
The Comparison Exercise
Write your character’s hope three ways:
Version 1 (Abstract): “Character wants success and happiness”
Version 2 (Somewhat specific): “Character wants promotion and nice apartment”
Version 3 (Highly specific): “Character wants [describe exactly what success looks like with sensory details, specific objects, particular moments, emotional states, relationships, fears alleviated, pride felt]”
Use Version 3.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to state dreams explicitly in the text?
Not always. Dreams can be shown through character’s actions, what they look at longingly, what they sketch/plan/imagine. But readers should clearly grasp what character hopes for.
What if my character doesn’t know what they want?
Their confusion can be specific: “She tried imagining different futures—med school like her mother wanted, art school like she secretly craved, gap year traveling like her friend suggested—but none felt right, which terrified her more than picking wrong one.”
How much space should I give to hopes and dreams?
Establish clearly early (first 50 pages), then reference periodically as north star guiding character’s choices. Don’t need extended passages every chapter, but dreams should remain present.
Can dreams change throughout the novel?
Yes! Often arc involves character realizing initial dream wasn’t what they truly needed. But each version should be specific.
What about ensemble casts?
Each POV character needs their own specific hopes/dreams. Secondary characters can have simpler but still clear aspirations.
Your Action Plan
This week:
- Write magic wand vision for your protagonist
- Make it sensory-specific (all five senses)
- Ensure it reveals their values
This month:
- Create specific hopes for all major characters
- Use “and then what?” to add layers
- Add tangible objects that represent dreams
- Show characters imagining their hopes
This revision:
- Find all instances of abstract wants
- Replace with specific hopes/dreams
- Add sensory details to dream descriptions
- Ensure dreams reveal character values
- Create failure visions as counterpoint
Conclusion: The Power of Vivid Yearning
Here’s the truth about character motivation:
Psychological analysis of unconscious drives might help you as the writer understand your character.
But specific, vivid hopes and dreams help readers fall in love with your character.
Because:
Complex psychology → Readers must work to understand Specific dreams → Readers instantly grasp and adopt
When character imagines standing on that podium with the medal, furnishing that purple-walled apartment, seeing that first book with their name on the cover, opening that restaurant with grandmother’s recipes, hearing that parent finally say “I’m proud of you”—readers imagine it too.
We adopt their hopes as our own.
And when those dreams are threatened, we feel the stakes viscerally.
Your character wants freedom?
Show us the purple walls and concert posters and cereal for dinner.
Your character wants success?
Show us the embroidered couch or the children’s hospital smiles.
Your character wants love?
Show us the person who remembers the coffee order and texts “thinking of you.”
Make the dream so specific, so tangible, so vivid that we can picture ourselves there.
Then we’ll follow your character anywhere to help them achieve it.
What does your protagonist imagine when they picture success? Can you describe it with enough detail that five different readers would all picture the same thing? If not, you haven’t gotten specific enough yet.
