On writing internal conflict
the juiciest, most painful, most deliciously human conflict isnât when your characters fight dragons, or armies, or even each other. Itâs when they fight THEMSELVES. And I donât mean a cute little âoh no, should I go left or right on the mapâ problem. I mean the kind of fight that leaves them contradicting themselves, making stupid choices, hurting the people they love because they canât get their shit together.
People are contradictions. You want closeness but also space. You want revenge but also forgiveness. You want freedom but also safety. And you CAN'T âwinâ both. Which means no matter what choice your character makes, theyâre always losing something...
⢠Your character should want two opposite things at once. Not âthey want cake but theyâre on a dietâ... deeper than that. Like: they want to forgive but also punish. They want to be loved but also fear intimacy. They want to belong but also canât stop running.
â˘Â âI know what I should do, but I donât want to.â Honestly? This one carries me. Characters who know the ârightâ choice and still go left are instantly interesting. Theyâre self-sabotaging, theyâre human. Nobody likes a character whoâs perfect at moral math. Give me the disaster who says âscrew itâ and pays the price.
â˘Â Comfort vs. growth. This one is everywhere if you pay attention. Do they stay small, safe, predictable? Or do they risk it all for the terrifying possibility of becoming more? Coming-of-age, romance, even horror lives here. âStay in the cocoon or rip yourself out and bleed on the floor for a chance at wings.â
â˘Â Self-image vs. reality. Oof. This one hurts. Who they think they are vs. what their actions prove them to be. A âgood manâ who does something cruel. A âcowardâ who throws themselves into danger. Nothing breaks a character like realizing theyâve been lying to themselves about WHO THEY REALLY ARE.
â˘Â Fear disguised as logic. Internal conflict loves this mask. They donât say âIâm scared.â They say âitâs not practical.â They pile excuses on top of excuses until even they believe the lie. Fear is sneaky. It makes âreasonableâ decisions feel rational, when really itâs just cowardice in a nicer outfit.
â˘Â The loop... Internal conflict doesnât solve itself in chapter 12 and vanish forever. Real people relapse. They learn their lesson and then do the same dumb thing again in chapter 15, because habits and wounds donât disappear just because a monologue happened.
â˘Â Desire vs. morality. Classic for a reason. âI shouldnât want this thing. But god, I want it anyway.â You can wring a whole trilogy out of this one sentence.
â˘Â The body vs. the brain. Maybe they say âI donât love youâ while their hands are shaking. Or they tell themselves theyâre brave while their stomach knots. That disconnect between what they say/think and what their body does? Pure GOLD, use it.
The point is: internal conflict isnât neat. Itâs not a âoh they overcame their fear, check.â Itâs fucking ugly, and our characters are allowed to contradict themselves, relapse, screw up, hurt people, learn too late, or never learn at all.
snowghoul
yousharknotpass
blakekathryn
ellievsbear
stormborns
theartofmadeline
vaporwave
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