Understanding Conflict

Conflict or tension is a must in any story, book or movie. Whether that’s overthrowing an evil lord, defeating an enemy, or even your inner demon. It’s the crux of the story, the result of interaction between the protagonists goal vs the obstacles that’s blocking him/her to reach the goal.

Conflict can be internal or external.

External

From it’s surrounding.

Whatever the hero, protagonist, or main lead is attempting to accomplish, external forces obstruct their path—whether by a single individual/person, a group, or the situation. For instance, a detective searching for a missing person may encounter interference from their superior (who orders them to halt the investigation) (person), face opposition from a gang attempting to abduct a friend or lover (a group), or simply hit a dead end in their search (situation).

Internal

From the protagonists’ life themselves.

It refers to their internal conflict— their mental state, self-image, or beliefs about themselves. For example, they may constantly feel undeserving of love, making it difficult for them to accept genuine affection from others. Stories of this nature showcase the protagonists’ progress in overcoming their internal struggles along the story.

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All stories would surely carry a mix of internal and external in them (where the ratio would be heavy on a certain side).

Heavy on external and light on internal would be found in most fantasy (sci-fi/mystery/thriller/paranormal) stories where you joined a hero on his quest to defeat the evil boss (main external conflict) and discover his strength and weaknesses (scared of love) (or the responsibility of being a hero) (side internal conflict).

Heavy on internal and light on external leaned more towards in romance (young adult/coming-of-age) stories, very often internal-conflict driven and the interactions between the romantic leads serve to advance as the characters grows and change over the course of their relationship.

For example, two childhood friends who were separated were reunited again and discovered the importance of each other’s presence in their lives. They slowly fall in love with each other as they resolve their mothers’ arguments and issues, which had caused them to hate each other (side external conflict), while dealing with their main internal conflicts, such as her being a coward and him experiencing a traumatic event, which she helps him overcome by opening his eyes to appreciate what he has now instead of worrying.

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Hope that this article give a clearer understanding of conflict.

Will be posting another about tension.

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