I have been in a bit
of a comic-book mood since the passing of Stan Lee, but this has its benefits
for my inner writer. A common theme within the comic genre is the big conflict
– a major battle between titanic powers – Superman versus Doomsday, for example
(I know Stan Lee had nothing to do with Superman). Such a battle royale is an
external conflict that might not apply to all stories – or any story where
Superman does not exist. However, such a massive collision of power can always be
found on the internal battlefield, and can be even more dramatic since the
battle within the character can rage on for a long time.
Fighting is conflict, but not all conflict is fighting |
Internal conflict
should play some role in any extended narrative, as it provides depth and
complexity to the main character. This might be a secondary issue to the
main plot in, say, a thriller novel, but its existence should complement the
external story. Where things get tense, however, is when the primary conflict
is internal, with the external conflict secondary to that arc. It’s a lot
easier to walk away from a fistfight than from the battle inside one’s own
mind.
An internal battle can
start from a simple external event that starts digging up all the moral issues
and questions in the hero’s mind, and even forces the hero to rethink their own
personal code. Let’s go through an example with our favorite hypothetical
character, Tom:
Tom finds out that his
coworker and lifelong friend, Phil, has been skimming a little money off the
books at the large company they work for. Under normal circumstances, this is a
fairly simple dilemma with a few obvious routes to choose from. Tom could
report him to management, he could stay silent to protect Phil, or take the compromise
route and tell Phil to stop before it gets out of hand. Simple enough, right?
Now let’s turn it into
real internal conflict.
Internal conflict
comes out the best when external situations run against the principles of the
main character. The example above is merely an external dilemma to be
reconciled. However, once we show Tom’s principles, the conflict emerges. Let’s
say that Tom is passionately loyal to those around him, and the two things he
is most loyal to are his friends and the company he works for. Now that loyalty
is challenged, as choosing one side means betraying the other. Now the problem
is not about Tom making a decision, but Tom wrestling with the internal forces
that prevent one side from winning the day.
Of course there’s the
compromise to the situation – talking to Phil about defusing the situation. If
this is a simple escape, we can turn it into more problems, thus turning up the
tension. Phil can explain that he is in debt to some very bad people, and he
needs to clear the debt or those people will go after him and his family. Now
Tom is forced into a different situation. Can he help his friend out of the
situation before the company finds out? Or can he at least cover Phil’s track
for a while until everything is paid off? And how does this make Tom feel to
betray the company to which he is so loyal and devoted?
Now let’s turn it up
more. The company sees the figures do not add up, and the auditors start
looking into things. Furthermore, Tom is one of those auditors. Now there is the
slow burn of the external conflict in a suspenseful build, but Tom’s internal
conflict is magnified because he could be implicated in this as well. Now we
have a tug-of-war between his friendship, his company loyalty, and saving his
own bacon.
The external story
could survive well on its own, using the internal conflict as a secondary arc.
However, using the internal issues as the major focus brings Tom out as a
complete character. When we pay more attention to Tom and how this problem
tears at him, haunts his dreams, aggravates his ulcer and hurts all his other
relationships, we develop a closeness to him that does not develop when the
attention is on the external issues.
Every story needs
conflict, and the stronger stories use both external and internal sources to
push along the narrative. The point to consider as you develop the story is
where the real fun leaps out, and how to work with it. Superman versus Doomsday
was an easy choice for external conflict. However, most other stories carry a
rich adventure within the mind.
I enjoy reading about characters who attempt to avoid conflict and end up creating more conflict.
ReplyDeleteThose are great examples of Act 2 development -- the hero's response to conflict creating a greater buildup heading toward Act 3
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