Want vs. Need Without the Cliché

Every coaching session eventually reaches want vs. need. It's a useful lens and a lazy one, depending on how hard you push it.

The want is external and stateable: win the case, get the girl, reach the summit. The need is internal and usually unspeakable: forgive my father, stop performing, be seen without the costume.

The mistake writers make is treating them as parallel tracks. They should be in direct conflict. Getting the want should make the need harder to reach, and satisfying the need should cost the want something real.

A test: write the ending where your character gets both. If that ending feels satisfying, your need isn't expensive enough yet.