inner conflict

Quick Link: Using Internal Conflict to Create Plot

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Janice Hardy does it again with another great post! Are you struggling with adding depth to your story or just want to take it to another level? Head over to Writer’s In The Storm to learn how to use your protagonist’s inner conflict to help strengthen your plot.

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Using Internal Conflict to Create Plot

By Janice Hardy,

 

A lot of focus gets put on the core conflict of a novel–the main problem the protagonist has to solve to win. It’s no wonder since that’s the whole point of the book, but sometimes, when we look too hard at the external problems, we miss out on opportunities to let the internal problems muck things up. This is especially true in a character-driven novel, since that inner journey is what’s driving the entire book.If you’ve been struggling with a plot, or you’re looking for ways to deepen an existing plot, try looking at how your protagonist’s internal conflict is driving her external actions.

At the heart of every good internal conflict is a fear created by trauma. Something bad happened to that character at some point to scar her for life, and this fear affects how she makes decisions. This is usually the fear she must overcome by the end of the book to finally grow as a character and overcome whatever obstacle has been in her path.

Look at your protagonist and ask:

What’s her greatest fear?

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Quick Link: Inner Conflict in Fiction

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Having depth in your characters makes them more believable and having them face conflict makes them more interesting.  At Live Write Breathe, Janalyn Voigt gives us examples of conflict that will help you develop your characters and then throws in a little psychology too. Check out the whole series!

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Inner Conflict in Fiction

Inner Conflict in Fiction (Conflict in Fiction, Making it Real Series, Part 4)

Comforting patientUnderstanding the dynamics of inner conflict in psychology can help you create believable characters who tap into emotions common to us all.  Portraying inner conflict believably in fiction requires that we understand its ways and means. In this article, we’ll cover the four models of inner conflict in psychology, with examples from my own writing.

This post is a continuation of “Tap the Psychology of Conflict in Your Fiction,” which I recommend reading first.

1. Choosing Between Two Positive Outcomes

Your character needs to choose between two equal desires that are mutually exclusive, resulting in tension. The stronger the opposing desires and more serious the consequences, the harder the struggle.  Giving your character traits that deepen the conflict will make it even more compelling. ‘You can’t eat your cake and eat it, too’ is an expression that perfectly frames this sort of problem. In psychology, this is called the approach-approach conflict.

Example

Such a dilemma arises in DawnSinger (Tales of Faeraven, book 1) because the hero, Kai, who has sworn to protect the High Queen of Faeraven, will be freed from his pledge at her death. Since that event seems imminent, both Kai’s parents press him not to bow his knee to the heir of Faeraven who will take over the high throne at his mother’s death but to take over the responsibilities of heir to their kingdom in the absence of his missing older brother. The consequences of refusing them are that his parent’s kingdom is likely to be absorbed into a neighboring one.

The new High King will be an untried youth, and Kai’s loyalty to the High Queen, love of the life he leads in her service, and drive to fulfill his duty, sometimes at the expense of relationships, makes this a gut-wrenching decision for him.

Read the full post on Live Write Breathe

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.