Michala Woodruff

“A story needs conflict. That is key,” the author at my first writer’s conference said. Mmm, I was not so sure. I did not like conflict as a sixteen-year-old.

It was not until I understood the definition of conflict in author circles and how to use it that I realized a story must be conflict driven. In five minutes, let’s connect the dots by defining conflict and identifying its key relationships while providing some tips.

Definition

In storytelling, conflict is something (or someone) internal or external that hinders a character from his/her goal. Thomas Paine says, “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” Yep, that’s what we authors do; we put our characters through the ringer for a reason. Note: for a reason. Conflict without a purpose becomes boring very fast. So, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. If no one cares, we have no conflict. If the character cares about it, how far will he/she go to ____ (get, protect, find, earn, etc.) it?
2. Conflict is based in action and reaction of the characters. Anything can be conflict, if you make it appear that way in the eyes of your characters.
3. The type of conflict depends on your genre. For instance, mysteries often contain personal murders while thrillers usually contain a battle of two goals between two people or groups based on emotion. So, how do you know what type of conflict your readers will be looking for in your genre? Read books in your genre! (Another great excuse, er, I mean, reason to read–wink, wink).

In our definition, we said that conflict is something (or someone) internal or external. Let’s define Internal and External conflict.

Internal conflict. Some argue that this is the only true conflict because it roots all other conflict. Internal conflict connects characters to readers by revealing what matters most to them and what scares them the most.

Internal conflict is rooted in the character’s emotional wound, outer motivation, and inner motivation. For example, Katie Rodgers witnessed her mother’s murder (emotional trauma wound) and her goal is to never stand helplessly again by joining her father’s crew (ultimate goal), where she can finally prove her worth (her missing need).

Meanwhile, External conflict is what most people think of when considering a plotline. It’s the answer to your friend’s question, “So, what’s the book about?” External conflict is physical while internal conflict is heart related. Here are a few ideas:

• traps
• leaving someone behind
• temptations
• no food
• work
• issues
• promises
• malfunctions
• competition
• time bomb
• sickness
• traveling
• whether
• Just think “what could go wrong?”

Conflict is something (or someone) internal or external that hinders a character from his/her goal. A character may maintain multiple short goals, but a good story always has that one overarching goal that provides motivation for the whole story. When finding your character’s goal, ask the following questions:

1. Who longs for what?
2. What are they willing to do to satisfy that longing?
3. Who or what tries to stop them?

Key relationships

Conflict is not its own thing in the storytelling world. It correlates with character’s goals, fears, and motives while raising the stakes. Above we mentioned goals and how to form them for characters. So, let’s use this section to touch on fears, motives, and stakes.

Conflict with Fear

In Captain She 1: Her Revolution [WIP], Katie Rodgers holds two main fears that work with conflict. She is afraid of being helpless, where a loved one dies again, and she is afraid of leading her crew in the wrong direction (aka failure). These two fears rub against each other throughout the story. Which fear will she listen to during which situation? Can she overcome both fears? In short, use fear as conflict itself.

Another example of using conflict with fear is where Katie Rodgers is afraid of the dark. Not only does this fear provide empathy from readers, but it opens another door for me to add suspense, conflict, and stakes.

Conflict with Motives

Motives=why. Why do they want to achieve this goal? Why does Katie Rodgers want to find her father? Then, ask yourself: Why must they change internally? This, my friends, leads us to Stakes.

Conflict with Stakes

Everyone must care before we can raise the stakes. The plot goal is increasingly outnumbered. Characters begin coming face-to-face with fears. Motives carry the worth of all these things, and now, we come to a decision point. Stakes.

Stakes always ask, “If.” Stakes hold two items on the menu: failure or success and unchanging or changing. What happens if the characters fail to achieve their goal? What happens if the characters fail to change their heart (or mindset, etc.)?

Here are of my favorite tools, regarding conflict in storytelling:

Hope this is helpful to all my writing family out there! Please comment in the “Leave a Reply” box below with any other helpful insight or questions. You also can email me in the “Contact” page above. Happy Writing!

-Michala