A happy story isn’t an interesting story. Feel free to prove me wrong, but in my opinion no one wants to read about a character’s perfect life with their picket fence and 2.4 children. What people want to read about is drama, adventure, betrayal, exploration… all things that are definitely not part of a perfect life. So how can we create such plot points? One answer is conflicts! Join me for a discussion on the various kinds of conflicts and how I think they can be used in a plot and in characterisation.
This is just a categorisation that you might find useful when exploring character motivation. I will be using character, protagonist, and antagonist fairly freely throughout since this is by no means a comprehensive or protagonist/antagonist specific list. Additions are welcome, but I tried to stick to the 5 types of conflicts with sub-categories where needed.
Internal conflict: self vs. self. The broadest and probably most-used kind there is. This can be divided into infinite sub-categories depending on what it is your character is fighting, but I’ll try to be brief. Let’s approach it from a temporal perspective: is the character struggling with something that has already happened, something that is happening, or something that will happen?
Conflict with the past: Since this refers to one or more events from the past, it can’t directly be part of the plot. Its advantages, however, lay in the lasting effect it has on a character. An example is a painful memory that causes unpleasant emotions: depending on the response it triggers, it can be used to push a character into desperation, anger, sadness or any combination of emotions. Guilt is also a powerful motivator. The entirety of a character’s arc can be focused on redemption. Another example off the top of my head are a promise made (maybe to a dying friend) that is becoming increasingly difficult to keep. Whatever fundamental thing the character is fighting, it colours their judgement, decision-making, emotional state, and relationship with other characters. It doesn’t even need to be explicitly explained in the narrative; sometimes past events are so terrible that the mere mention of them sends shivers down your spine.
Conflict with the present: An ongoing process that contradicts morals or emotions or even plain ol’ common sense. Being in love with your father’s murderer? Working with your most powerful enemy? Slowly discovering everything you know about yourself is a lie? These are all valid reasons to be pretty shaken up. And what better way to stir up your narrative than a protagonist that doesn’t want to keep going forward because it fundamentally contradicts who they are! Decisions made in the heat of the moment (or even a lack of action) can have a crippling effect on a character’s goals.
Conflict with the future: If a character knows they’re about to do or be the reason for something irreconcilable, then maybe they pause and hesitate. Is that hesitation going to change their path? Will they ultimately stick to the plan and shoot the bad guy despite being a pacifist? Will they go on stage and perform in front of the entire school even though they have terrible stage fright? Or maybe they change the way they think about the action and stop worrying about it. Do they talk to other characters and realise that, actually, going on a six-month trek across South America is not something to be terrified of, but rather an exciting opportunity? Do they eventually choose to go to university closer to home because they need to look after a parent? These things may sound trivial, but think of all the times you made an absolute big deal out of something that hadn’t even happened yet and now, looking back, you know wasn’t such a big deal.
External conflicts: I know your biggest enemy is you, but most characters actually have other problems than their own stubbornness or guilt. The four types usually listed here involve confrontations with another character, society, nature, or technology.
Self vs. other(s): It’s the bad guy trying to start the Apocalypse. It’s the stepmother who won’t give her stepdaughter a break. It’s the monster of the week eating the innocent residents of Sunnydale. It’s the big bad wolf lurking just off the path in the forest. You know the one. The antagonist. The one who’s making your character’s life miserable. As much as villains are… you know, the villains of the story, a story can’t exist without them. Their opposition and contrasting qualities make a protagonist shine that much brighter in our eyes. They might be threatening the character’s life, their loved ones’ lives, world peace, the local endangered species population, or the frail political balance of a newly-born democracy: it doesn’t matter as long as it makes sense in context and creates difficulties for the protagonist. Think about why this conflict exists. Possible reasons include a clash of principles or opinions, revenge, guilt, the defence of another character or object, the desire to own something, or any mixture of the above. Thought-out conflicts can either arise from a well-rounded antagonist or help form one, depending on how you’re going about plotting.
Self vs. society: Think about things like The Hunger Games or Divergent. There is a status quo and then comes along a protagonist that challenges it; this goes against the established social order and a major conflict is created. This is a great base for a plot because it can create confrontation rooted in more than just one person’s vendetta or principles. When you have the entire society involved, the stakes and consequences can be much higher. Consider this: a feud between two people can certainly have collateral damage, but one person beginning a revolution or revolt can have a further-reaching and lasting effect. Besides, everyone loves an underdog. We like rooting for the little guy fighting against the system. It shows that even through the actions of one person, a whole world can be changed. Prejudice and discrimination are very powerful examples of this type of conflict if you’d like to shy away from the post-Apocalyptic desolation genre. Even in our daily lives we sometimes come across examples of person vs. society and while we as people should do our best to educate and spread tolerance in the world, we as writers shouldn’t forget what a powerful tool segregation can be in the context of storytelling. On the other hand, poor characterisation or world building can lead to conflict appearing paper-thin and incapable of carrying the story. Think about not just what causes the conflict, but also what the conflict costs your character: is it loss of status, relationships, material possessions? There are always stakes and consequences to be considered. More about those in a future post.
Self vs. nature: Unlike the Evil Corporation TM, nature cares not about morality or money. A looming catastrophe is a powerful motivator and goes far to show man’s insignificance in the face of the elements. A word of caution when dealing with natural disasters: destruction on a massive scale can quickly lose its emotional impact. Rather than describing tens of hundreds of buildings collapsing, try starting with how an earthquake impacts a small family living in one of those buildings. Terror and panic are best showcased on a personal level: if you show the real, individual suffering in the wake of disaster, that resonates better with readers. Another example of self vs. nature are survival stories. Tales of the human spirit overcoming extreme weather, starvation, and desolation. Of course, after a certain point, the conflict becomes a self vs. self one as your character is driven further towards insanity.
Self vs. technology: This is one that is becoming more and more relevant. As technology progresses, the bleak future depicted in the Terminator franchise is less science fiction and more questionable future. Boston Dynamics are making robot dogs, but not in the way you think; self-driving cars are closer to reality than ever; and don’t even get me started on the storytelling (or, I don’t know, mass destruction??) potential of AI in the military. Technology, unless being guided by a rogue artificial intelligence, is guided by a human mind. A distinction needs to be made between people using technology to fight other people, technology failing catastrophically, and technology guiding itself. These different interpretations of the self vs. technology conflict can lead to an array of different conflicts – and that’s only considering writing about the present! For any of you out there whose boat is floated by science fiction, the world (universe? Multiverse?) is your oyster!
Conflicts don’t always have to involve life-or-death situations or the impending Apocalypse. Emotions are a very powerful trigger for rash actions or, conversely, complete lack of actions. Whether a character is actively acting against/towards a goal or simply reacting to their environment, that can be used to drive a plot along. Conflict is something I highly recommend you include in a plot outline and in your character profile as it is an integral part of many (if not all) cause and effect chains in a story. Go forth and write some conflicts! However, please don’t shout at strangers on the internet; if reasonable explanations don’t work, that’s their problem and not your battle to fight.
*This blog does not encourage feeding internet trolls. They have a highly specialised diet and giving them bread does not provide them with any nutrition. In fact, too much bread can cause trolls to gain excess weight, along with other health issues. Or is that ducks? Don’t feed the trolls ducks.