Story Plan Checklist: Internal Conflicts

[ladyseishou]

Great art is the expression of a solution of the conflict
between the demands of the world without and that within.

- Edith Hamilton



What will you reveal of your character's inner world?

This, our final week before the NaNoWriMo kickoff, we're going to examine the conflict in your story: internal, external and evolving characters' goals which can in turn be a source of conflict.

Today our focus is on internal conflict which Karen Wiesner defines as: "emotional problems brought about by external conflicts that make a character reluctant to achieve a goal because of his own roadblocks."

Knowing your character's inner conflicts helps keep your writing focused. This in turn helps retain your reader's interest, making it possible to identify with the character as he or she evolves through the story toward its resolution.

If you're not sure what these problems may be, Ms. Wiesner offers the following advice:

Your first story spark will usually suggest what the character's conflicts are, and they're almost always based on someone or something threatening what the character cares about passionately. In some instances, a loved one is in jeopardy, or something the character wants, needs or desires above all is at risk of being lost.

In my story, my protagonist is rather abrasive, compensation for and suppression of the deep-lying feelings of abandonment due to his less-than-ideal childhood. This is something that he will have to face/overcome in order to discover the true culprit behind the crime that he accused of committing - it's also the basis for my story "twist".

So Nano Writer, what is it that your protagonist fears losing? Or what is it that your character wants above all else?

Comments

[twistingthetale]

Here's what I have for my two protagonists - Kate and Alexander - and antagonist Gaius/Guy:

Kate: wants to get her memory back as there are some details about the accident that are very hazy and manifesting in some bad nightmares. Main detail is detail something she sort of remembers before going unconscious, and which is the most scary part of the nightmare.

Alexander: fears his true nature being discovered by Kate and therefore making her nightmares worse (and thus losing her trust). As a result he's also afraid for her in case Gaius/Guy and his group catch up with her and prevent the final part of her puzzle clicking into place. So there's plenty of conflict for him as he's trying to help and protect her, but there's the risk of what will happen if she finds out what he really is.

Gaius/Guy: wants to kill Kate before she gets her memory back and finds out what he is. He also wants to kill Alexander and his friends because there's a lot of history between them, and he's an evil so and so by nature ....

[brutal]

The ultimate conflict in my novel's case is fairly external. Two boys lost on an island. Battling the elements and other dangers. There are internal conflicts being dealt with by all of the characters introduced, but we don't really explore all of them fully.

One boy fears losing everything he's dying to get away from. Comes from abusive household, but still enjoys the security of an upper-class lifestyle.

The other boy fears, well, pretty much everything, but most of all he's afraid of being afraid and wants the love and affection that his family neglects to give him.

They're both pretty abrasive characters at times, and their respective families have their own reasons for treating them as they do.