Want vs Need
Separating what the character outwardly pursues (want) from what they inwardly need, and the tension between them.
The five levels
Each anchor describes what separates one level from the next — not a general description of quality. This is the text the evaluator itself reads.
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Level 1 Below Standard
The character has no clear goal at all.
Example A protagonist drifting through events with no driving desire.
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Level 2 Approaching
An outward goal exists but no deeper inner need opposing it.
Example A protagonist wanting a promotion with no inner conflict.
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Level 3 At Standard
A clear distinction between what the character chases and truly needs.
Example Chasing success while needing acceptance.
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Level 4 Above Standard
The want/need tension drives all of the plot's decisions.
Example Each choice nearing the want and distancing the need.
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Level 5 Excellence
The climactic choice is a condensed embodiment of the conflict — the hero chooses need over want, or perishes.
Example Surrendering success to gain the acceptance he needed.
Where does your own work sit on these levels?
Submit one work to be read against this criterion alone: your position across the five levels, why you are not higher and why not lower, three literal quotes from your own work, and one exercise with its success check. Your first card is free.
Price: 7 SAR · Included in Pro & Artist Plus · First one free — Pricing details
Read my work by this criterionOther criteria in the same art
Building story according to: setup, confrontation, resolution
The five levels →Building main character with motivations, problems, and transformation
The five levels →Creating anticipation making reader want to know what happens
The five levels →Building external and internal conflicts that intertwine to enrich the drama
The five levels →Moments that shift the story's course and raise its stakes irreversibly
The five levels →The ending's ability to close the story and leave a lasting impression
The five levels →Does each scene turn a dramatic value (+ to − or vice versa)? A scene that changes nothing is a dead scene.
The five levels →Can you tell the speaker from their style without the name? Each character's vocabulary, rhythm, and subtext distinct.
The five levels →