The conflict is also known as the antagonist. Since I talked about the villian during A for Antagonist, I'll cover the other types of antagonists or conflicts you can have in your story today.
Here are a few different types of conflict you can have in your stories:
- Hero vs Nature
- Hero vs Technology
- Hero vs Himself
- Hero vs Someone Else (aka the Villian)
- Hero vs God
- Hero vs Society
- Hero vs Ideas
The important thing with conflict, no matter which one you use, is to gradually increase the tension of your conflict until it basically explodes into the final climax of the story. Keep your readers turning the pages by throwing block after block into the hero's way.
Conflict makes tension, by opposition between the hero and the antagonist/conflict. Balancing the opposing forces will keep your readers glued to the pages wondering how the story will end!
In my series, "The Faery's Tale" the actual villian doesn't show up until Book 4. In th first three books, the antagonist of the story falls within Hero vs Society, Hero vs Himself, and Hero vs Ideas as the character struggle with their own inner demons and each other. I think this adds tot he tension as the series goes along, as each book becomes more tense and has more conflict as things just get piled up ontop of each other until the huge final showdown with the villian and everything else!
What about your stories? What type sof conflict do you use? Which ones are your favorite? Do you use a combination of them for increased tension?
Don't forget to head over to Derac's blog, the hero of my book Cleanse Fire for his C post today, about Combat Techniques!
Conflict is of huge importance when it comes to writing!! I think you've nailed this completely and I loved that you chose the word!
I love increased tension when it comes to the thrillers I write but I'm less dramatic when it comes to the YA scenes that I deal with at times. All depends on the stories I'm writing.
Great blog! I'm here to welcome you to the A to Z blogging challenge (I'm late, I realize that) but I'm a co-host, should you need anything just let us know! We're also having fun on twitter (I'm @jenunedited and we're at #atozchallenge)!
Conflict. It is the most important ingredient of any book. Thanks for your analysis of the types of conflict!
Thanks for this post. It's fantastic. I agree that conflict is the most important part of the story. If there's no conflict then why bother reading?
I think I've got three of your listed conflicts going in my novel. Hero versus technology, self, and a villain. Oh, yeah, I've got conflict. Good post.
I have so many different kinds of conflict--it all depends on the character and the novel. And sometimes, there's a combination of conflicts.
Great post! Actually, I'm very fond of internal conflict. MC against himself/herself in a tormented sense.
Jen: Thanks! Yes, YA doesn't need as much as thrillers but tension and conflict like you said is a huge importance to any type of story. Thanks for commenting!
Damyanti: Thanks for stopping by!
Cheree: I'm glad you like it and I totally agree.
L.G.: Ooo combinations of conflict, always fun to up the anty a bit there!
Laura: Yes, that is true. Conflict has to be true to the plot and the characters involved. Thanks for stopping by!
Lindsay: Internal conflict is great in a story and I do love it. Makes the characters seem so real to me as we struggle ourselves in every day life. Thanks for commenting!
Thank you so much for distilling it down to Hero vs. ____. Conflict is the hardest part for me, so keeping these possiblities in mind will help me create more conflict.
Conflict is the whole reason for a story. As Donald Maass says, "tension on every page." Whether it's internal or external (hopefully, both!), our heroes need conflict. Otherwise, it's just a series of events that the reader doesn't care about. Great list!
This is an area I LOVE reading about but have the most trouble with writing. I'll follow back to this post for more inspiration.
Lisa
InspiredbyLisa
I remember these from both Novel Writing and Sci-Fi Lit classes. Good idea for today's post. I think most of the time I do a mix of at least a few. Often times there is at least some inner conflict along with different "outer" ones as well, especially with the main characters.
Ephram's book, for example, does have the external issue with the government agency that he has to report to or else he will be punished. But the main conflict is him dealing with himself. As you might notice when he posts on the blog, he has issues with being a mutant, with being a tattle and hasn't accepted his differences yet. Time will show if he grows up and figures things out or not.
I used the same 'C' today. You've done a great job of pointing out the importance. I like a balance of external conflicts and internal.
M.P.: I'm glad I could help! Thanks for stopping by!
Kristie Cook: Indeed! Thanks.
Lisa: I'm glad my post can inspire you! Thanks for commenting!
Dawn: I do a mix also as inner conflict added with outer just increases the tension, making for a great read and indepth characters.
Susan: Thanks! I'll be sure to check out your post this week. Thanks for stopping by.
So true. It's vital to keep the conflict rising throughout the story. I've come to realize that this is the biggest reason why I have to be a plotter and not a pantser, or else that won't happen in a good manner.
Rosie
East for Green Eyes
Rosie: That is one reason why I became a plotter also. It also helps to keep the conflict organized so you don't have random conflicts in the way that have nothing to do with the story! Thanks for stopping by!