Conflict. You know what that is…

It keeps our lives from getting boring or too comfortable.

Along with Goals and Motivation, which I discussed last week, are inner and outer Conflict. Conflict drives the story. But if you think about it, our characters are no different from us, and that's why we shouldn't have any trouble creating conflicts for them.

Internal conflict is the difference between the character's values, ethics, and personal beliefs and their end goal. There is usually some sacrifice involved. The hero or heroine must sacrifice something they think they want for the betterment of someone else.

Not all internal conflicts are a straight line and easily attainable, nor should they be. What makes internal conflict good for your book is that it draws the reader in because it is something they can relate to.

External conflict: a conflict that comes from an external place, like something that exists in the world, society, or a villain in our story that they must overcome. Think about the 5 W's: why, who, where, when, and what happens? Remember, If there isn't a deadline of some sort, you lessen the suspense and the conflict.

Having a novel with internal and external conflicts is good because you can relate them to each other and create something more layered. Sometimes, I've gone to a movie that's action-packed and heavy on external conflict. Still, it never grabs me because the internal conflict between the characters is lacking and/or never developed.

What kinds of conflicts can we lay out for our hero and heroine? Pretty much the same type we experience in our daily lives:

• Moral. An example of this in your story could look like this: your main character is on the way home late at night after working a double shift. A drunk man steps out in front of him. He hits the man. He stops and checks, but finding him dead and no one around, he proceeds home rather than call the police. He can’t sleep that night. The following day, he has to decide whether to turn himself in or do nothing. He solely supports his grandmother, mother, and young daughter. Moral conflicts still seem popular in books and movies, but you must pick a question and an answer most readers can agree with.

• Philosophical. Your main character comes from a religious family. He has been taught to obey his father and follow the tenets of the Bible. He discovers his father is not what he seems and has been living under a false identity. He is not a pastor and may even be a terrorist. Does he obey his father or call the authorities so they can investigate him? Situations where you make your characters question their beliefs, go against someone they once trusted, or fight the values of their family or community are exciting fodder.

• Identity. Who the hell am I? I ask this question more than once daily, and considering I'm seventy years old, I find it pretty crazy. I thought I'd have the answer nailed down by now. This subject matter is prevalent no matter how old you are. Still, in coming of age or YA, they are especially numerous. Questions concerning sexuality, embracing who you are, culture, and becoming an adult are fleshed out in these books.

• Self-image. Show me a woman or man who doesn't worry about how they look or if they're achieving their career goals, and I'll have some questions for them. Most of us wonder if we are all we could be, including our characters. Romance novels are great at mining for this, having our characters tackle their insecurities and helping them grow. Does my butt look too big in these pants? Lie to me, please.

• Interpersonal. Again, romance books are about relationships and the character's inner conflicts about the relationship. In one story I'm writing, the character ends one relationship; her husband divorces her, and she has the chance for another relationship. She can choose from two other beings, and in deciding between them, she learns a lot about herself and what she desires out of life.

Why are conflicts important? Because they create tension in a story and keep readers turning the pages. It suggests that something worse might happen or improve, and our characters will reach their goals. The short of it is that we get to test our characters.

A fun and exciting thing to do is to give your main characters opposing internal conflicts. For instance, in my WIP, my heroine, an American human introvert, loves nature, animals, and the sun. She's an artist but put photography aside and lived in the shadow of her famous husband until coming to Italy. The Italian hero is immortal, a vampire, and an extrovert. He can only survive in darkness and prefers his villa. Unfortunately, he also lives in a house that has its own power, creating more conflict. If a living person visits the villa more than three times, it owns the person, and they can never leave, or they'll die. Therefore, if she wanted to stay, she would have to stay in the house forever or become a vampire.

One suggestion that works well is to come up with one primary internal conflict and then take that conflict and develop others that might come out of it. For instance, my heroine above was served with divorce papers. She's trying to establish her identity as an artist, struggling with confidence, procrastination, and even with a will to live. The hero has his own troubles. He's immortal and doesn't like it. He's bored and lonely, and his external conflicts feed into his internal conflicts. His primary wound: He was kidnapped as a child, but when he was returned to his father, his father tortured the men in front of him. Now, the sight of blood makes my hero dizzy. A vampire that faints at the sight of blood. LOL. The heroine thinks of killing herself, and a hero who’s immortal…maybe he can help her out here. Would immortality be a good thing for an artist who procrastinates? I think not. This is how you could use your character's wounds and fears and have them feed into your hero or heroine’s conflict.

Please comment on your WIP. How are you exploring conflicts, motivations, wounds and fears?