A Look at Inner and Outer Conflict in Your Novel

We’re knee-deep in conflict (in our look at the four crucial corner pillars of novel construction). Let’s take some time to talk about the two faces of conflict: inner and outer. Maybe I don’t need to go over outer conflict because it’s obvious, right? Anything outside your character that hinders him or opposes him is external conflict. And usually this is easier to construct that internal conflict. But there are some things to keep in mind about external conflict.

I mentioned in an earlier post that you should have a central element of conflict in your story, but let me explain this a little further.

It’s possible you may have one individual or thing that is in direct opposition to your main character that is his greatest obstacle or challenge. It may be another person, an evil beast or demon, an element of nature (The Perfect Storm, for example), or a more abstract opponent, like society or law or “the system.” A lawyer trying to take a case to the Supreme Court can be fighting society and the legal system, and so instead of one person opposing him, conflict can come via many people and circumstances. The central conflict might encompass a number of elements, but it will still be “man against society,” unless this is a personal battle, such as in the 1970s movie Kramer vs. Kramer, which is more “man against man” (or woman).

So, to think in terms of a general, overarching central conflict element in your story, you need to go back to pillar #1: concept with a kicker. Your concept needs to be tied in with the central conflict of your story.

If your novel is about a married woman who desperately wants to have a baby and is willing to risk just about anything (high stakes) to get pregnant and have one, you need to determine just what the primary opposition is going to be for her. What is she willing to risk? What if her husband is sterile? What if she, he, or both do not want to adopt? What choices does she face and what would the consequences be by acting on them?

Always Ask Questions!

If you want this story to have great conflict with high stakes, your character might consider getting pregnant in secret, outside her marriage. Enter deception, lying, prevaricating, betrayal. What if she asks her best friend’s husband to impregnate her? Think of what a mess that could make—all because she wants a baby more than anything else. Would she kill? You could push her to that point. People have killed to hide their affairs (makes me think of Scott and Laci Peterson).

Without needing to point this out, we are talking here about a protagonist and her goal. Her core need. These are questions you can ask to help you elevate both private and public stakes:

• What will she do if that core need isn’t met?
• How far can you muddle, push, exacerbate the situation to raise the personal and public stakes?
• How many (more) people can you involve and affect by her choices?
• How many lives can you ruin (this is where you can come up with the great subplots for your secondary characters)?
• What allies can turn into foes by her choices and actions?
• How can you complicate things so that it (seemingly) becomes impossible for her to reach her goal? What will she do now that will make things even worse for herself and others?
• What core beliefs of hers can be challenged?
• Can you push her to have to choose between two options, both unthinkable (think Sophie’s Choice)?

Notice how the inner conflicts interweave with the outer ones. Every time your character struggles internally and has to make a hard choice, it creates consequences of outer conflict. And vice versa.

Donald Maass says, “Inner conflict is an interior war.” When your main character has two desires that are mutually exclusive, it’s a dilemma. This is not just inner confusion, though. Inner conflict has to present clear issues with clear repercussions. The choices your character makes have to be deliberate, done with knowledge of the stakes, risks, and consequences.

We haven’t gotten into theme yet, but whatever issues your story is showcasing by the plot, create conflict by having others take views that stand in opposition to your protagonist’s. Like plot layers, conflict can be thick or thin. Big and important or small and irritating. The best novels have conflict on many levels, all working cohesively to oppose your character. And as we’ll see later when we look at the pillar “plot in a string of scenes,” these forces build to a climax in which protagonist and conflict clash head-on.

Sometimes we writers really like our characters. We may even love them so much, we hate to make them uncomfortable or hurt them. Our jobs as novelists, however, require that we be a bit heartless. Okay, maybe more than a bit. For how can a hero triumph without conflict and high stakes? How interesting is that novel going to be if there is no obstacle in the way of his getting his heart’s desire?

From what I’ve seen in the hundreds of manuscripts I’ve worked on, conflict and stakes are way underplayed. Writers are too nice to their protagonists. Conflict is narrow, too small a scope. Asking these types of questions (above) can help push you to create higher stakes, bigger risks, greater possible losses, more collateral damage, and horrible choices.

Now that’s the recipe for a page-turner. Think of ways to create lots of internal conflict (hard choices) and external conflict (lots of opposition from every direction) and you’ll have a strong corner pillar. Any thoughts you’d like to share about inner and outer conflict? Which do you like best in a story?

Inspection checklists:

Inspection Checklist 1-concept with a kicker

Inspection Checklist 2-protagonist with a goal

Photo Credit: Brendan½ via Compfight cc