Channeling Emotion into Characters

It's been a very, very long time since I truly visited my characters in the Goblin's Apprentice.

Oh, I edited and published five stories with these characters in 2011, but I didn't immerse myself into their world. It's been almost two years since I wrote anything new and now I'm faced with the reality that I can't simply edit TROLL, but I have to rewrite it . . . from scratch.

And I'm scared.

TROLL was written in May 2010, but every single time I tried to edit it, I knew something was wrong and I put it down.  It took me over a year to figure it out. At first, I thought it was Kyte's voice, which was part of the reason, but not all of it. Then I thought it was simply the overwhelming edits that I needed to do to rid the story of the excessive repetition. Well, it is that, but that wasn't the core problem.

The problem turned out to be motivation--mine and Kyte's. She wasn't motivated to move through the story. Oh, she played along and did what I told her to do, but her heart wasn't in it . . . and neither was mine.

Last week, while on my morning walkies, I figured it out . . . I think.

Every writer has strengths and weaknesses in their writing. Mine is emotion. I have a difficult time channeling emotion into my characters because I tend to avoid any sort of emotional outburst in my own life. You know how you trundle on in your life, but your good friend has constant drama in her life? And you think to yourself that no one would believe her story if it was ever written, because it was simply too unrealistic?

Well, writing is about the drama. Every action must inspire a reaction. Every character must have sufficient motivation to take a chance, risk their lives, or simply be there emotionally for another character.

What was missing from Kyte's motivation was anger. TROLL takes place after Halloween and before Christmas, and it's been almost a year since her dad died. Her mom moved them back to her hometown where Kyte didn't know anyone. She discovers she's adopted, can see and talk to mythicals and nearly gets killed a few times, and a goblin decides to take her under his tutelage. Her life is not her own. Now, she's forced to do her schoolwork AND learn tons of stuff about Celestia and mythicals, PLUS combat train under a goblin?

She misses her dad. Her mom is becoming distant. Her best friend is fighting in Celestia, but might be missing, AND a goblin is pushing her around on a daily basis. She doesn't have time to watch TV, paint her nails, much less hang with kids her own age.

And she has reached the final straw when Rhan smacks her practice sword out of her hand, telling her that she's a waste of his time and effort.

This is where FOR WHOM THE BELL TROLLS starts.

What do you all think? Have I finally zeroed in on sufficient motivation?

I'm serious here. I need to know. Talk to me. . .