What drives the actions of characters within a story?

The actions of characters within a story are primarily driven by their motivations. Character motivations encompass the reasons behind a character's goals and decisions, which can stem from desires, needs, fears, or personal beliefs. Understanding a character's motivations provides insight into their behavior and reactions throughout the narrative, allowing readers to grasp why they act in certain ways.

While character ambitions can influence actions, they are often a subset of broader motivations. Similarly, character personalities shape how individuals express their motivations, but they do not directly dictate what those motivations are. Character dialogues can reveal motivations and ambitions but do not drive actions on their own. Therefore, motivations are central to understanding and analyzing character behavior within a story.