Dear Writer,
I’d bet a million bucks that you recently watched a movie that bored you.
The characters were probably flat (see my last letter on how to fix that), the plot was contrived, and the resolution didn’t have any weight or finality. There are a lot of issues, and I don’t pretend to be able to solve all of them with one letter, but I’ve found that when writing doesn’t work on a fundamental level, it’s time to get back to the basics.
So, here I’ll detail one of the starting lessons I give each of my Creative Writing classes: the types of conflict.
Conflict is at the heart of every story. Without conflict, there would be no story, just characters (round, hopefully) wandering in a setting (one that’s well-detailed and interesting) having pleasant conversations about what they had for lunch, or something like that. Conflict drives plot, drives character change, and gives the reader something to sink their teeth into. Most, if not all, stories will have multiple types of conflict in them. Even Hollywood can manage that. The real artistry comes from crafting conflicts that show emotional depth, believable character change, and effectively explore relevant themes.
Man vs. Man
The most common. Superman vs. Lex Luthor, Elizabeth vs. Darcy, Martin Luther King Jr. vs Malcolm X. Notice one of them is more violent, one’s a relationship conflict, and one’s philosophical. I’m grossly simplifying each one of these, but the point is there’s room for interpersonal conflict in almost every kind of story. Give your main character a rival to push them to their limits. Use tension between two characters to explore themes. Of course, you can also have cool action sequences, but you can do so much more with Man vs. Man.
Think about how the antagonist of your favorite story changed the main character. Harry Potter doubled down on friendship and love in the face of Voldemort’s quest for power. Inigo Montoya trained himself half to death so he’d be able to beat Count Rugen. The antagonist will often be a foil for the protagonist, giving you the chance to show off that fully fleshed-out character you’ve conjured.
Man vs. Self
As common as Man vs. Man is, I think Man vs. Self is the most interesting, and perhaps the most necessary. If your character has any kind of growth arc, the person they are becoming must be in conflict with who they were. Do not let change be easy; make the character earn it, or it will have little impact.
Look at Elsa in the first Frozen movie. She went from isolating herself and never using her powers, to isolating herself with her powers, to finally embracing her powers (and her family). Each step had her in conflict with her fear. It was not easy to overcome, and she did need help.
Make your character doubt themselves. Or, maybe they have to deal with their hubris or imposter syndrome getting in the way of their true happiness. The only time your character should be perfectly happy or content is when they do not need to change throughout the story: a flat arc. In that case, you’ll have to do some extra work to make them interesting. (Another letter coming on that soon).
We all get in our own way sometimes. Our greatest enemy could be ourselves.
Man vs. Society
All too real these days. Your character is at odds with some societal norm, and the societal norm tries to squish them. They’re a rebel going against school rules. They’re a rebel fighting a corrupt government. They’re a rebel… you get the point. This could be as big as a revolution (Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins), or as small as trying to change what people call pens (Frindle by Andrew Clements). There may be a surface Man vs. Man conflict, where the antagonist represents the social norm (Javert from Les Misérables, Mrs. Granger from Frindle).
There’s a lot of room for philosophy and theme development here. Use it wisely.
These last few affect genre, but they present mostly interchangeable antagonists. Still important for the vibe of your story, but focus on the first three for the real meaty conflicts that will affect theme and character growth.
Man vs. Nature
The antagonist here could be an animal, a natural disaster, or a disease. Really anything from the natural world. You get a lot of survival stories with this. Human resilience as a theme can be big here. Look at Hatchet by Gary Paulsen for a good example (although I would argue the most important conflicts in that one are Man vs. Self). Swiss Family Robinson, and Robinson Crusoe are classics. You could probably even say that The Fault in Our Stars has Man vs. Nature in it.
Man vs. Technology
Robots, AI, social media addiction, etc. The antagonist is technology of some sort. You can grapple with the nature of consciousness, or what happens to humanity when they rely too much on tech (Wall-E), or just have a fun robot-smashing flick.
Man vs. Supernatural
Magic, monsters, mayhem. My personal favorite to play with. The world’s your oyster for what kind of story you want to tell. But, how much does it change the heart of your story if your protagonists are fighting vampires instead of robots? The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, … Twilight.
Final Thoughts
If your conflict isn’t interesting, your story won’t be interesting. I’d say this even goes for memoirs. The interesting parts of your life’s story aren’t when everything was all easy. Make sure it’s clear how your character (even if it’s yourself) is shaped by the forces they overcome. And, why not, throw in some cool action sequences.
Your homework: pick your work-in-progress and figure out the primary and secondary conflicts. How will they change your character? How will you weave them together?
Go write something.
In conflict with himself,
Tyler Hess
Freelance Editor
https://www.tylerhessportfolio.com
www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-hess-a76629170
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