Some Thoughts on Conflict

In many ways, stories are driven by conflict. A story in which everything goes exactly to plan for the main character would not only seem unrealistic – it would also seem very boring. But there are different kinds of conflict, and today I would like to focus on two: external conflict and internal conflict.

External conflict occurs when the goals or desires of one character are opposed by an external force (typically another character). The classic example of this is when the protagonist wants one thing and the antagonist wants the opposite. This occurs quite frequently in fiction because it ensures conflict. It ensures that stuff actually happens. For example, if the hero of a story wants to free their country from the tyrannical rule of an evil empire and the villain wants to ensure the continuation of that tyrannical rule, then it is all but inevitable that the two will come to blows (either in a literal sense or a figurative sense).

However, external conflict need not always arise from two characters with opposing desires and objectives. On the contrary, it can arise even when two characters want the same thing but differ in how, when, where, and why they think that goal should be achieved.

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