Hey, it's the person from the new writer post. Answer when you are more human haha How do you come up with a story line and conflicts, without constantly almost copying other stories? In my story, I have a setting, some characters, and the general idea that I want their to be conflict (some bigger conflict, and some to do with disgust in 'mixing of races') - I just don't really know what the main conflict will be. I have a world in mind, but don't know how to build the actual story. Help?
Hey there! :) Sorry it’s taken me a couple days to get back to you. Life has just gotten in the way, unfortunately.
So, first of all, I want to (re)assure you that even if details of your story are similar to another, by the fact that you are writing it, it will be different. You’re going to bring not only your unique author’s voice to the tale, but also your experiences and creativity. So never be afraid to draw inspiration from other stories!
Now, as far as conflict goes, there are two broad types. Internal and External.
Internal Conflict - a personal struggle of a character. Examples include: fear of intimacy but also abandonment; desire to act ethically in face of a required and unethical action (*cough*Hamlet*cough*); guilt over a past action; desire to care for someone who may harm them (not just due to being abusive, could also be due to a worsening medical condition); or some disconnect between what a character thinks and what they feel
External Conflict - a problem outside of a character that requires them to act. Most movies and TV shows use external conflicts as their main driving points, so I’m sure you’re familiar with many examples.
The real fun in storytelling is mixing both types of conflicts. For example, you could have a character with a combined fear of intimacy and abandonment confronted with an external problem that requires them to get close to someone to overcome, with the consequences of not being that they’ll be left alone/abandoned for an extended period of time.
And that’s a very basic example.
You have multiple characters, and each can have an internal conflict (though not all of those conflicts need to be spelled out on the page), and when characters have opposing internal conflicts, you’ve got a recipe for added tension and drama. Will Character A’s issues around acting ethically in midst of a war be helped or hindered by Character B’s belief in the sanctity of (some) life?
Let the characters internal conflicts (if you choose to use them) act as foils to each other.
And when you then pit those internal and interpersonal struggles against an overarching conflict such as a war? Well, there’s lots of fun ways for all those tension points to interact. Like baking soda and vinegar.
Now, a good way to figure out what the main conflict will be is to focus on your main character(s). What do they want? It can be as simple as a glass of water, or as complex as restoring the lost honour of their family name. But whatever obstacles are in the way of that need...that’s your main conflict. All other conflicts in the story need to link to and/or interact with the main conflict.
Okay, let’s say your character wants a glass of water. What’s standing in their way? Maybe it’s an alien world where the natural liquids are too acidic to drink. Most people get their hydration through gel-like substances. Actual water is reserved for the elite of the elite. Okay, so we’ve got the goal and the obstacles. If you don’t already have a “why,” now would be a good time to come up with it. (An injury requiring clean water to treat? An elite character who lost their status struggling to regain it? A scientist wanting to prove that they can replicate genuine water - if they had a sample of it?)
With the broad strokes of the want, the why, and the obstacles outlined, you’ve got a great start on your main conflict. Everything else should be obstacles/challenges toward resolving the main conflict. And it doesn’t all have to be wrenches thrown at your protagonist. Maybe some action has resulted in even the elite losing access to water. Well now you’ve got some fun potential for pointing fingers, working with the enemy, new obstacles to overcome, or even just a moment of re-evaluation (e.g., is this conflict worth the price?)
Does this all make sense?
As far as what you mentioned about the conflicts you want to include, I would say the racism makes for a good internal conflict, especially if you can pair it with reasons for such beliefs to be confronted and potentially changed. (Not saying they must be - some people are just too stuck in their ways, after all - but that opportunity showing why those beliefs are unfounded or however you frame it is what keeps the racism belonging to the characters and not the story itself*)
I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have further/more specific questions :)
xoxo
*Note: I’m a white Canadian. I may be completely wrong here. Any POC followers want to chime in?
