Stories revolve around conflict. Without it, there is nothing to struggle for, to strive against; if Frodo had no trouble just wandering off to Mordor to dispose of the ring, how interesting could Tolkien have kept The Lord of the Rings? There has to be something to work with, to make the reader cheer for your protagonists, and urge them on despite all the obstacles in their path.
There are five classical conflicts accepted by literary theorists, though in modern times man vs machine has become the sixth. The other five are:
Man vs. Himself
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. the Supernatural
Man vs. Society.
Interpersonal conflict revolves around the first two – man vs. himself and man vs. man.
A friend of mine has the unfortunate talent of being able, in the heat of an argument, to say exactly the worst possible thing she could say to whoever she is arguing with to make it really hurt. Whatever that person holds as their most important self-concept is where she’ll hit. Now, in real life, this is not much fun, to put it mildly. But in writing, you can use something like that to create major conflict between characters.
First, think – what is the most important self-belief your character holds? Is the fact that she knows she’s pretty enough sometimes to comfort her? Does he pride himself on being there for his family when they need him? And so – what is the absolute worst thing that could be said to them, to flay that open and make it sting?
What if someone turned around to him and listed times when he had failed his family, voice dripping with disdain and venom? How will he react?
If you can get your character to fighting with himself, then it’s going to take a lot to pull them out of it. Where does that take your story?
Interesting, isn’t it?
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