Writing the Inner Conflict of a Main Character

“I was tempted to deny I was capable of gutting and skinning him, but I had killed before.”

Who would say such a thing? Well, the tortured main character of my first-in-series novel, “Girl Desecrated”, of course. And if I wrote Rachel’s inner conflict correctly, the reader should be wondering if she’s going to gut Donald, the American or not.

[image error]Rachel is consumed by a constant battle of wills against her alternate personality, who unfortunately, likes to hunt people. The good news, Rachel mostly keeps the “other” down. But sometimes, the She erupts, and then all hell breaks loose.

This battle is “inner” conflict due to the nature of the “internal” force that is part of Rachel. Inner conflict can come in many different forms, mental illness, low self-esteem, guilt, compulsion etc. Generally the root of the conflict leads to choices between good and evil.

Inner conflict creates tension as readers wait to see if the character can overcome the part of them that is causing problems. It generally presents less action than external conflict, unless of course, the inner conflict is someone like Scarlett – Rachel’s “other”.

Scarlett does bad things when she gets out, and this is where the action comes in. When Scarlett is “out”, the conflict becomes external, because Scarlett has effectively become the antagonist and Rachel must battle her to get her body back.

But wait… if Scarlett is an alternate personality, isn’t that inner conflict? Wow… did I just outsmart myself? Or can a novel have two types of conflict for the protagonist?

I think so. Consider “Lord of the Rings” and Frodo. The ring is external. The weakness of “man” and Gollum in falling for the seduction of the one ring is probably character flaw. But the battle Frodo goes through in resisting the temptations of the ring is internal.

Internal conflict can be created by opposing morals within one character.

In contrast to the dark grain of the coffin, her skin shone alabaster white, unflawed and as smooth as marble. And her mouth… My fingers twitched to trace those lips that were still full and dark like wine. Closing my eyes, the memory of the feel of those lips on mine caused a heady rush. My loins warmed beneath my funeral pants, jolting me to an awareness of my surroundings with a horrific sense of shame.

Gritting my teeth, I contemplated the magnolia’s grey trunk to defuse my passion. Dark with rivulets of rain, the trunk was as much a betrayer as her lips. For it too took me back to the recent past. It had been a silent witness to my hands gripping its bark above Scarlett’s hair as I had turned her mouth into a little circle of surprise with my heated thrusts.

Fantasizing about the dead woman at a funeral? That’s just nasty. And definitely something a God-fearing man should be ashamed of. Notice how the character swings between his desires and his horror at the inappropriateness of those desires. This back and forth creates tension as we read, because we’re watching a struggle and we don’t know which way he’s going to go.

Another example of internal conflict is when the main character knows they should do one thing, but they want to do another.

It only took me ‘til six to burn through the last of my birthday budget. I cast a look around the pub. It was the first time I noticed the people sharing my space since I’d arrived. A few men were perched on time-scarred, wooden stools along the bar, regulars by the look of their defeated posture. Experience had taught me men are cheap and easy, so it wouldn’t take much to get a free beer. Normally.

Problem was, I had made a birthday resolution to not have sex or engage in any physical interactions or altercations with members of the male gender for one week. Sounds a little uptight, but those are the exact words Patrick used before pressuring me to agree.

Patrick tricked me into agreeing, really. He knows how much I want to get better and go to college. He felt it would be a helpful part of my therapy to swear off men for a week. He seemed to think drying out the well so to speak, would almost cure me. That seemed a little farfetched, considering my psychiatrist thought I was certifiably crazy, but hope is a valiant chum.

I needed all the help I could get, even if it was from my mother’s male nurse at the Homeward Sanitarium.

This example keeps the readers’ attention because they want to know if the character will stick to their promise.

Internal conflict can be created in a character through any number of stressful inner battles, from moral and religious standards, to poor leadership or relationship skills, to guilt, low-self worth, poor communication skills, mental health issues and personality traits.

The internal conflict works for your novel when the reader is encouraged to follow the conflict through to see how the character will resolve it, or be beaten by it. That’s your goal, so play it tight to the character and make it seem as if the character themselves don’t know what’s going to happen either.

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The above excerpts are from “Girl Desecrated” the first novel in “The Fergus She” series, which is available here. Click through to read more free chapters and see how Rachel fares in her battle against herself–the Scarlett.