THE SECRET TO IRRESISTIBLE INTERNAL CONFLICT (hook your readers on page 1)

what's up my friend Abbi here and welcome back to writers life wednesdays and another episode of the series how to create relatable and addictive characters this is the episode I've been waiting for it's all about conflict the thing that we instinctively try to avoid at all costs in the real world but we can't get enough of in books last week we explore the first part of your ultimate character profile the questionnaire but it doesn't end there and your character profile is far from being complete sure you know a lot about your character but you don't have that electricity that lights up a story that's where we're going to discover in today's video so grab a cup of tea and maybe a notebook and let's get into this yeah I only gave you eight seconds to grab a cup of tea in a notebook if you didn't make it in time then whatever so let's jump right in and first answer the question that I'm sure is floating around out there and that is what is conflict some people say if the things that happen in the story the events that clash and interfere with each other and make everything just kind of spiral out of control think the Titanic hitting an iceberg obviously that creates a little bit of conflict but still it's just a thing that happens there's no electricity there you and I know better by this point the electricity comes from the characters so although external conflicts will arise in your story and they will be important they are meaningless without the internal conflict because external conflict is simply what happens internal conflict is why it matters this is the reason a lot of books suck this is the reason why after you finish reading a book that maybe had a lot of action-packed climaxes in it you still feel like meth you don't feel like you went on a journey with the characters instead you just feel like you watch them get into a lot of trouble and survive to tell the non riveting tale good internal conflict is a very simple equation okay it's desire meets fear boom conflict and here's why it makes your characters relatable because every single person on the face of the earth struggles with this readers have no reason to care about your characters favorite food or whether time of day or even their job or their interests because all those things are only relatable to some people but you want anybody to be able to pick up your book and read it and relate to the characters right so what is the one thing that everyone can relate to desire clashing with fear what is your desire in life what is it you're chasing after the thing that you think will make you happy now what's that fearful little voice at the back of your head saying but what if I can't finish that sentence for you you don't know what that is I only know what mine is but every single person has this internal conflict going on all the time even if you don't even realize it every person has desires things they think will make them happy and every person also has fears things obstacles that they don't want to have to face in order to get the thing that's gonna make them happy if you were the protagonist of your own story you're riveting novel would be about the challenge that you have to face in order to overcome your fears in order to get the thing that will make you happy and somewhere in your life story novel you the protagonist will reach this really satisfying aha moment where you realize that thing you were afraid of it all started with a misbelief that you've held on to for so long and it's actually prevented you from being happy until this moment and wow you were so wrong about everything so now we're going to get into asking those questions the second part of your ultimate character profile and that's gonna just spark that electricity and bring to life the juicy internal conflict of your story this is honestly such a cool process because you don't even have to make stuff up it's already there you already have it it's just buried under your plot and all the stuff that happens because we've been told for so long that's the most important part of storytelling it's not but the conflict is already there so now it's time to under it question number one how is your character dissatisfied with their life note this is not the thing that's gonna slap your protagonist upside the head and make them want to step outside their comfort zone that's called the inciting incident you might have heard of it before but this is just the problem that's been boiling below the surface for long time what does your character believe will bring them true happiness or contentment this is their logical solution to their dissatisfaction in their probably 100% unbelievably unequivocally wrong about it so this solution should be sparked from something internal but don't get too abstract because people don't think so abstract we think in external actionable steps what can I do to improve my life not how can I change that's what your a ha moment is for later on but right now your protagonist has to be wrong what actionable steps could they take to turn their dream into a reality this is going to be their external goal the stuff that they actually have to do in order to reach the solution that you just figured out in the last question so this will be different for every character and their goal how has their fear kept them from taking this action already originally I wrote this question as what has what has kept them from taking this action already but do you see what's wrong with that there's no conflict there's no electricity when you start thinking what kept them it's really easy to get caught in figuring out an external explanation for it like it's illegal or they don't have the ability to or their mother said no but when it's about how their fear has kept them from taking action that's taking it to the next level that hits home because now we're in the protagonist or antagonist skin feeling what they're feeling now this question might be kind of scary because you might be like uh-uh I don't know the answer but dude a lot of writers never know the answer not before they write their book not after they write their book they never know the answer to that question so consider yourself away advance freeze and think thinking about this stuff and even asking yourself these questions because it's gonna make your book that much better than everything else out there what would it take for your character to finally make the decision to pursue their goal we run from change like the plague nobody wants to step outside their comfort zone okay you have to be pushed outside your comfort zone no person wakes up in the morning and decides today is gonna be the day that I decide to change my life and pursue my ultimate dream why because light stops us from seeing that change needs to happen the habits we've fallen to become all that we are and we don't see the need for change until something smacks us upside the head so what's gonna smack your protagonist upside the head you tell me this can be the inciting incident or the call to action it will be external but it also has to have internal consequences your protagonist has been wanting this thing so bad and suddenly there's an opportunity to get it they can't resist this actually pairs up with the final question which is how does your character feel they can accomplish their goal while steering clear of the thing that they're afraid of again nobody likes change our biology literally repels against it so in order to survive our brain will immediately look for the clearest road with no obstacles your protagonist doesn't know that she's gonna have to face her fears in order to achieve happiness so she's gonna do her best to sneak around her fears to get there so there you have it add this set of questions to your character profile and fill it out don't just do it for your protagonist do it for your villain - because they're a really important character I always say the thing that makes a villain a good villain is a villain who thinks he's the hero but that's another video for another time now I know what you're thinking this is all great outlining but how do I translate it onto the page is it possible to actually put all of this into the opening of a novel yes yes it is it is totally possible and I'll show you a story that already did it tangled I know I talked about this movie way too much but I'm not even sorry the movie opens and after five minutes of backstory we meet our protagonist Rapunzel and the story begins how is she dissatisfied with her life clearly it's a little dissatisfying and boring to live in a tower isolated from everything and everyone else in the world what does Rapunzel believe will bring her true happiness or contentment to see the floating lights I want to see the floating light what actionable steps could she take to make her dream into a reality she could ask her sinister mother to take her to see the floating lights while disguising the whole thing as just a really great birthday present it's my birthday how has her fear kept her from taking this action already well thanks to Mother Gothel Rapunzel is afraid of literally everything under the Sun but most of all she's afraid of disappointing her mother what would it take for her to finally make the decision to pursue her goal I think we all know the answer to this one since the birthday gift of seeing the floating lights idea was shut down pretty fast Rapunzel's moved on to plan B and it's the perfect opportunity Flynn is her inciting incident the thing that finally pushes her outside her comfort zone so how does she feel that she can accomplish her goal while still steering clear of all the things she's afraid of by setting the stakes and bribing Flynn into being her guide and taking her to see the floating lights the things she's always wanted she figures she can avoid her fears under the protection of this completely selfish criminal and also avoid disappointing her mother by returning safe and sound to her tower before anyone suspects a thing of course nothing goes according to plan so boom there you go that's literally everything we just talked about in an actual story and I love this so much because conflict like this internal conflict is something that you can feel it grabs your attention and it holds your attention and it doesn't even matter if your plot is a little cliche internal conflict wins every time so go get to work fill out these questions take your time remember it's not so much like you're trying to make things up as much as you are just uncovering what's already there the link to these questions is in the description of this video so next week is the final episode in this series we're gonna dive deep into your characters backstory ah it's gonna be good it might not seem that important sorting out what happened way before your novel began but holy buckets it's gonna have a huge impact on your story also any fuzziness that you're experiencing right now with the characters fear desire misbelief all of that is going to be cleared up in next week's episode so if you're already digging deeper into this good on you and you're asking yourself well why does my protagonist even want what she wants backstory baby I have to leave now or I'm gonna start talking about it subscribe so you don't miss next week's video because that's we're gonna bring this whole thing full circle smash that like button if you liked this video and be sure to comment below and tell me your thoughts have you ever worked out character goals and fear and desires like this and give me another good example of a story movie book whatever TV show anything that grabs your attention and holds your attention with internal conflict alright my friend you're doing awesome thank you for being here and I will see you next week rock on [Music] you

Channel: Abbie Emmons

Views: 184,563

Keywords: writing, author, advice, character, profile, sketch, development, conflict, story, arc, outlining, plotting, ya fiction, tips, abbiee, abbie emmons, writerslife wednesdays

Id: oiR42apkOy4

Length: 11min 31sec (691 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 19 2018