Writing Interesting Characters (part 4)

However, character background alone is just a framework upon which to hang other determining factors. What does the character enjoy? Is the character passionate about something so much that she will fight for it regardless of what might happen to others in the process? Or maybe that character isn't a fighter, but she's still passionate about something so much that she'll find everything else in life pointless and will wallow in depression because her goal seems so out of reach? A third option is that the character hasn't yet found anything to be passionate about, and she's either actively searching to find it or is apathetic because she's given up and doesn't think anything matters. Motivation is a huge factor in most characters, but a character can still be intriguing if motivation is completely lacking. Even the lack of motivation is a trait that can develop an interesting character, especially if, at some point in the story, that character encounters something that flips on the light switch and gives them something to value. Ultimately, characters need to have something underneath the hood, so to speak, so that they aren't always responding predictably to the events that you throw at them through your story.