Conflict 101: External Conflict - article

Author Learning Center — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 17:46:51 GMT

Current Revision posted to Creating Conflict by Author Learning Center on 4/22/2019 5:46:51 PM

What Is External Conflict?

Conflict is a necessary ingredient to any good story. Without some obstacles to get in your main character’s way, he/she will reach their goal with no opposition. Doesn’t sound like too exciting of a story, does it?

Every story on your bookshelf includes at least one—but probably multiple—forms of conflict. As you build your narrative structure, you’ll use conflict to build tension and keep your reader turning the page.

There are two main types of conflict: internal and external. Internal conflict refers to the inner struggle that affects a character’s mental and emotional state. External conflict refers to conflict between the main character and any external force, such as a villain, government, or nature.

Examples of External Conflict

There are four main types of external conflict:

1. Character vs. Character

This is where one character conflicts with another. This type of conflict occurs because a protagonist and antagonist have the same goal, have conflicting goals where they stand in each other’s way, or one wants what the other has.

Harry Potter’s conflict with Voldemort throughout J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is an example of Character vs. Character conflict.

2. Character vs. Society

This is where the main character conflicts with a government, system, or a societal mindset. This type of conflict usually occurs because the character has a strong motivation to take action against their society, whether it be for survival, freedom, morality, or some other desire.

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is an example of Character vs. Society conflict.

3. Character vs. Nature

This is where the main character conflicts with an animal, weather, the terrain, or some other facet of nature. This type of conflict usually involves the main character fighting for their survival.

Andy Weir’s The Martian is an example of Character vs. Nature conflict.

4. Character vs. Technology

This is where the main character conflicts with some element of technology. This type of conflict usually involves the main character fighting for survival or protecting others.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is an example of Character vs. Technology conflict.

How to Add External Conflict to Your Story

In order to add external conflict successfully into your story, you must ensure that your protagonist and antagonist are equally paired. If it’s too obvious which one is going to win in the end, your story won’t have enough tension—which means the reader won’t feel the need to keep reading!

All moments of external conflict should also raise the stakes by keeping the main character from reaching his/her goal.

As an exercise, ask yourself the following questions to map out your story’s conflicts:

- What does your protagonist want? Why do they want to achieve this goal?
- Who or what opposes your protagonist as they attempt to reach this goal?
- Why does the antagonist or antagonistic force oppose your main character?
- What steps will your protagonist try to take to achieve their goal? What about your antagonist?
- How will the conflict end? Who will come out on top? Why does one win out over the other?

Once you’ve thought about these questions, it should be easier to figure out the plot elements that build your story.

How Internal and External Conflict Work Together

You need both external and internal conflict to write a great story. Without one or the other, a story will likely fall flat. But how do you make the two work together to create a seamless plot?

The simplest answer is: make any conflict oppose your character’s main goal or motivation. If your character wants to get the girl, every conflict in your story should make it more difficult for him/her to do so.

The difference between the two is that the main character will likely overcome multiple external conflicts throughout the story, but the internal conflict tends to stick around until the end.

External conflict can also arise when two or more characters’ internal conflicts contrast each other. For example, in Nicholas Sparks’s The Notebook, Allie’s need to live up to her parent’s expectations and Noah’s underprivileged background causes them to struggle to maintain a relationship.

As long as your character has a strong motivation and you create internal and external conflicts that make it more difficult for your character to reach that goal, you will likely write a great story.

Tags: article, fiction

Conflict 101: External Conflict - article

Author Learning Center — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 17:53:19 GMT

Revision 3 posted to Creating Conflict by Author Learning Center on 4/19/2019 5:53:19 PM

What Is External Conflict?

Examples of External Conflict

There are four main types of external conflict:

1. Character vs. Character

Harry Potter’s conflict with Voldemort throughout J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is an example of Character vs. Character conflict.

2. Character vs. Society

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is an example of Character vs. Society conflict.

3. Character vs. Nature

This is where the main character conflicts with an animal, weather, the terrain, or some other facet of nature. This type of conflict usually involves the main character fighting for their survival.

Andy Weir’s The Martian is an example of Character vs. Nature conflict.

4. Character vs. Technology

This is where the main character conflicts with some element of technology. This type of conflict usually involves the main character fighting for survival or protecting others.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is an example of Character vs. Technology conflict.

How to Add External Conflict to Your Story

All moments of external conflict should also raise the stakes by keeping the main character from reaching his/her goal.

As an exercise, ask yourself the following questions to map out your story’s conflicts:

Once you’ve thought about these questions, it should be easier to figure out the plot elements that build your story.

How Internal and External Conflict Work Together

You need both external and internal conflict to write a great story. Without one or the other, a story will likely fall flat. But how do you make the two work together to create a seamless plot?

The difference between the two is that the main character will likely overcome multiple external conflicts throughout the story, but the internal conflict tends to stick around until the end.

Tags: article, fiction

Conflict 101: External Conflict - article

Michael Esser — Sat, 04 Mar 2017 09:11:41 GMT

Revision 2 posted to Creating Conflict by Michael Esser on 3/4/2017 9:11:41 AM

In the scope of all that is storytelling, the drama created is based in conflict. That conflict comes in two forms: internal, which affects the growth of a character, and an external, which is everything that happens to move characters toward that growth.

External conflict in storytelling is broken into several. First there is man verses man or one human against another. Then, there is man verses society or man against the social structure that surrounds them. Next, we have man verses nature. That’s where we have man against the world around him. A great example of this is Tom Hanks’ character in the movie, Cast Away, a man who is stranded on an island with nothing but the harsh realities of nature to torture him. In addition to that turmoil, the character also has another conflict going on that is man verses himself or maybe better put, man against his inner demons (this last one is an internal conflict).

This leads us to the role of our antagonist or that thing that we’re pitting against man. The internal conflict is the struggle that adds meaning and entertainment value to the external conflict, but it's the external conflict that forces the character to grow.

Those tensions from the choices that our hero has to make are what feeds the story and allows it to move along. It’s those tensions that have us putting ourselves into the story just like we want our readers to do. But for it all to work those choices must have consequences for our character.
These tough choices are forced into our hero’s life by his antagonist. The importance of having this element is because, like ourselves, our characters won't easily take the difficult, yet more entertaining path. This is what antagonists do best.

They’re that thing whose goal it is to be the opposite of our hero. But remember this someone doesn’t have to be the stereotypical bad guy; they can be anything that forces the hero’s hand, so to speak. Because it’s that forcing of the hand that also leads our hero through all the additional depth by building little conflicts that eventually lead us to our goal of a worthwhile climax and a fulfilling conclusion to our journey.

Tags: article, fiction

Conflict 101: External Conflict - Article

Michael Esser — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Revision 1 posted to Creating Conflict by Michael Esser on 12/14/2016 12:00:00 AM

Tags: article, fiction