Giving a Protagonist a Hidden Motivation

Recently I have been in the middle of writing the first installment of a new series entitled The Five Rims.  The first book is titled The Last Terran, and my protagonist is definitely out of the ordinary. Guillermo March is a former security officer with the C’Tuulian Planetary Police Force, the only Terran to work for them,

Why Is It So Difficult To Write Well?

I’m nearly halfway through the backstory material for my current WIP.  I’m writing a series of books tentatively titled The Five Rims Series and try as I might, I’m going to create a Tolkienesque place, a (most likely) vain attempt to give my setting a richness that will hopefully translate to a sweeping epic.  I’m just