Have you ever found yourself on the brink of tears, caught in a whirlwind of emotions that has left you on the edge of the abyss? Have you been happy, sad, bitter, angry with life, and all in the span of a few moments? Have you ever doubted someone's love? Welcome to the club of humanity! All of us, to varying degrees, are prisoners of our own emotional roller coaster, of our internal and external conflicts. Today, we will explore the relevance of these conflicts in narrative, particularly in novels, to help you understand how the conflicts of the characters can bring your story to life.
What are internal and external conflicts?
Before we dive in, let's ask a fundamental question: what exactly are internal and external conflicts, and why are they so essential in your novel?
The answer is simple: without conflict, there is no story.
Imagine a tale set in a beautiful Victorian castle, populated by a range of fascinating characters, but without any problem to face or solve. What would it be like? Undoubtedly, a tedious recounting of a peaceful and happy life. There's nothing to capture the reader's interest.
Conflict, even something as simple as running out of milk, can lead to an addictive and interesting plot. For that, I have the perfect example: in Neil Gaiman's children's story, "Fortunately, the milk" (in Spanish, "El galáctico, pirático y alienígena viaje de mi padre"), the father goes out to buy milk because they have run out and is abducted by aliens. Suddenly, with that tiny detail, we have an exciting story that captures the reader's attention.
Internal and external conflicts in narrative
In narrative, conflicts are divided into two categories: internal conflicts and external conflicts.
Internal conflicts refer to the struggles that characters have with themselves, be it with their feelings, desires, or goals. This type of conflict helps to develop the characters and give depth to their motivations and actions. For example, a character may struggle with their sense of guilt, insecurity, self-esteem, or a personal issue like an addiction, which in turn affects their behavior and decisions in the plot.
On the other hand, external conflicts refer to the struggles of the characters against external forces, be it with other people, institutions, or circumstances. This type of conflict helps to create tension, context, and drama in the plot and develop the relationships between the characters. For example, a character may fight against a villain, overcome a physical or social challenge, or a natural disaster.
It is important to highlight that both types of conflicts are essential for a well-developed novel, as they help to bring the plot to life and make the characters more complex and interesting. The internal conflict is intimately related to the evolution of the characters, allowing the reader to empathize with them and understand their struggles. On the other hand, the external conflict is what pushes the plot forward, providing the situations and circumstances that the characters must face and overcome.
Here I leave you a video in which I put the protagonist of the series "After Life" as an example. Take a look to better understand what I'm talking about and to see how screenwriters work with it:
How to create conflicts in characters?
Now, let's see how you can create these conflicts in your stories:
- Establish conflict from the beginning: The conflict is what piques the reader's interest from the first pages of your novel. Therefore, you must present it from the start. What does your character want, and what is preventing them from achieving it? That is the essence of your conflict.
- Make the conflict relevant: Your conflict must be relevant to the plot and the characters of your novel. It's not about a simple obstacle to overcome, but something that affects your characters and forces them to change and grow, for better or worse, more on that another day.
- Let the conflict evolve: Like your characters, your conflict should also evolve throughout the novel. It can start as something small and become something much larger, or it can transform into something completely different than it was at the beginning.
- Resolve the conflict: Finally, the conflict must be resolved in some way at the end of your novel. This doesn't necessarily mean a happy ending, but simply that your characters have faced and overcome the conflict in some way. If it's not resolved, your readers will be left with a bittersweet feeling, as if something was missing.
And above all, remember, without conflict, there is no story!
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