Clear steps for developing a powerful inner conflict
This question is similar to this one. However, it is different based on what I am looking for.
I know what inner conflict is, and I know why I need it. I have tons of examples, and I can usually generate perfectly fine inner conflicts (hereafter called ICs) for my characters. Until now.
For some reason, the ICs I've been generating lately seem weak. It might just be that I'm getting used to characters being pulled in two opposite directions; I don't know if that's normal for writers. Then again, it might be that I am genuinely developing weak ICs.
The difficult part is that I don't know how to describe it. I don't see anything wrong with the ICs I am developing. They seem just as potent at first glance as any other IC, even those in well known books. This might mean that the problem lies in my writing: maybe I don't know how to properly incorporate IC into the character in a powerful way.
Long story short, I can't identify the problem. And since I can't tell you what the problem is, I can't very well ask for an answer. So I've decided that I must be doing something somewhere wrong.
Question:
On that note, can anyone give me a clear and concise method for developing strong inner conflict? Hopefully studying the methods will shed light on where I am going wrong.
Note: Despite the above, and the below comments, I'm still looking for a clear method for developing powerful inner conflict. If you know of one that works for you, please post it here.
Edit: I have marked what's reply as the answer; however, the reply by Chris Sunami also contains some great counter examples, and should be read as well.
Further edit: 2 years later, I finally realize the problem: while the inner conflicts I was creating were fine, I wasn't showing them enough. If the plot doesn't show the inner conflict naturally in all its detail, you need a subplot. I wasn't working with subplots, thus my IC's came across as lacking.
2 answers
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A like the Chipperish Media "How Story Works" way -- instead of binary conflicts, characters are built on Triangles: weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and strengths.
The same trait may be any one of these: I may be bad at math, but if I don't care, it's only a weakness, not a vulnerability. If I'm a manager and I might miss some embezzlement because I assume the numbers people have that part handled, it's a vulnerability. If my problems with math has me focus on other ways to understand data (visually, for example), then it's a strength.
What matters is how a character's vulnerabilities and strengths/weaknesses affect their pursuit of their goal.
https://chipperish.com/2017/08/28/hsw-22-the-character-triangle/ (an episode of the How Story Works podcast) has more details.
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(I thought @what gave a great answer, which I upvoted, but it also made me want to look for counterexamples.)
In Remains of the Day the main character is a repressed butler who devotes his life to providing exemplary service to a family that may not deserve his loyalty. In the process, he misses a shot at love with the family's housekeeper. The conflict here is between the character's repression and his need to connect, and while the conflict is entirely internal, not notably momentous, and arguably unrelatable, it still provides compelling tension and drama throughout the course of the movie/book.
I think the decisive factor is not whether the conflict is "strong" or "weak", or whether it is character or plot-driven or both, it's how real it feels. If you are creating your characters and situations first, and then adding in inner conflicts as a way to add depth and drama after-the-fact, it may feel forced and cursory. In the example you gave in the comments, you admit that the vengeance subplot is a non-starter. "IC" can't just be a checkbox you hit on the way to the finish line.
Let's say that your character is a key figure in bringing an end to this disastrous war. Let's see her on the brink of signing the peace treaty --what's the real conflict here, what's true to her character? Maybe you can convert the weakness of the vengeance plot into a strength. Maybe her plan all along was to sabotage the peace, out of a misguided sense of family loyalty. She's told herself that everything she's done was just to maneuver herself into this position, but now that she's here, she realizes she doesn't really want to go through with it. She doesn't really want the war to go on, she just feels like she should. The point here isn't the specifics, it's that you have to seek conflicts that are inherent to your story, not ones that are tacked on.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/16643. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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