What think you, Scott, to John August's comments on character motivation?

Sean, I agree. The whole "Want" and "Need" thing is a helpful place to start developing characters, in particular the Protagonist. But it's just an opening and in most stories, there is a LOT going on with the psychological and emotional lives of main characters. Still Conscious Goal [Want] and Unconscious or Unexpressed Goal [Need] is a good starting point when dealing with a Protagonist, often representative of the beginning and ending points of their metamorphosis [if they do, indeed, go through some sort of change].