The Primary Causes of Character Conflict – Part 1
No story is
without conflict. It’s a driving force not only for the plot but also for the
characters. It makes characters do things they wouldn’t normally do. It makes
them behave in ways they wouldn’t normally behave.
But to
understand why characters react to conflict this way, writers should learn the fundamental
primary causes of character conflict and why they’re so important in fiction
writing, the kinds of reasons that universally make sense and provide the
catalyst to create such tension and conflict.
You have the
characters, you have the plot layout, you have a rough idea of the ending, you
have scenes plotted and prospective subplots, but your novel lacks the tension
and the conflict, so you might wonder: exactly what kind of conflict do
I create for my characters?
That depends
on the plot, other characters and the surroundings, because there are certain
types of conflict to help writers:
Man v Man – This is external conflict
Man v Himself – This is internal
conflict.
Man v Nature – This is external
conflict.
The most
important thing for any story is that the main character wants something, but
he or she is somehow being prevented from getting it. Think how you feel if you
couldn’t reach your goal? Think of the frustration and anger and disappointment
this would create because your goal is in reach but you are thwarted at every
turn. This is external conflict.
Another
cause of any conflict is good old fashioned love and hate. Characters love to
hate each other just as much as they love to love each other. Characters who
don’t agree – even best friends - will clash, thus providing lots of different tension
and varied conflicts. This is also external conflict.
Another
cause is desire, which covers a large spectrum of emotions. Desire is falls
under this type of cause, because sometimes what we desire isn’t always what we
get. It’s not just desire of another person, but sometimes it’s the desire of a
special object or place, or the desire to achieve something. The desire can be
obvious or it could be profound. It really doesn’t matter, because the true conflict
comes when the character’s desires are not fulfilled, which causes internal
conflict.
Let’s not
forget another primary cause – the antagonist versus the protagonist, or sometimes
known as ‘good versus evil’. Every story will have a protagonist (the hero) and
the antagonist (the bad guy) who will clash throughout the story, each time growing
in intensity until it culminates in the final showdown or ‘end game’ where the
hero might win the day. Or he might not.
This is another example of external conflict.
Here’s
another one to consider: Imagine being faced with many choices – what do you
do? What path do you take? What might happen? Will you make the right choice? Choices
make for good conflict because there is always the danger that your main
character will make the wrong choice, which will result in
danger and tension and lots of conflict.
Most stories
will involve the character making important choices; whether right or wrong.
This is internal conflict.
Similar to
choices, another primary cause of conflict is the dilemma. No one likes to be
faced with a dilemma, but unlike choices, which can be right or wrong, the
dilemma forces the character to make a choice between two bad outcomes. In
other words, there is never a right choice. But the decision behind whichever the
choice the character decides on will be full of conflict and tension. This
would take the form of internal conflict.
Think about
the states of conflict we create for ourselves in everyday life – the emotional
conflict, dramatic conflict and sometimes physical conflict. Somehow we resolve
them in our own way. Sometimes it’s a good outcome, sometimes it isn’t, but nevertheless
we are forced to behave in certain ways, we lash out, we react badly or irrationally,
we act hastily.
Sometimes we
do things we regret. And that’s because such conflicts awaken our
instinctive desire to act and react.
In the concluding part of this look at primary causes of character
conflict, we’ll look at some other familiar causes of conflict, which are
important to any story.
Next week: The Primary Causes of Character Conflict – Part 2
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