COMPLEX CONFLICT AND CHARACTERIZATION: BUILDING CHARACTERS AND - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

COMPLEX CONFLICT AND CHARACTERIZATION:

BUILDING CHARACTERS AND RAISING THE STAKES FOR SUSTAINABLE ROMANTIC CONFLICT

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What is a “flat” or “one-dimensional” character?

• Complacent/don’t care/will not engage/only act on other’s orders
• Clichéd/stereotype
• Don’t do anything important
• Have no reason to be in the story
• Could be replaced by a piece of furniture
• Have only one note/mode/emotion
• Predictable/seen it before

so knight

extra good

fighter

much armor

strong

wow

very noble

shiny hair

Is Chewbacca an “interesting” character?

Is Chewbacca a “complex” character?

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• Race
• Ethnicity
• Nationality
• Gender
• Sexuality
• Disability
• Neurodiversity
• Age/ Generation
• Religion
• Class
• Languages spoken
• Body type
• Education level
• Career/Job
• Relationship/family status
• Political bent
• Social circles
• Place of residence
• Commuter status
• Sports teams
• Hobbies
• Fandoms
• “Niche” aspects
• Toilet paper roll
• ver/under
• Cilantro/no cilantro
• Star Trek/Star Wars

IDENTITY ASPECTS (A NON-EXHAUSTIVE LIST):

Identity Aspects

• Society has different beliefs/ideas/values about different

identity aspects.

• Identity aspects influence the ways characters view and

interact with the world.

• This can feed into the kinds of conflicts they encounter,

and how they react to them.

• When an identity aspect is threatened or destroyed, it

can be a catalyst for the great trauma that propels them

• n the path to change.

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COMPLEX CHARACTERS: What makes characters “interesting”? What gives a character “Depth” or “Nuance”?

• Flaws (beyond the physical): Positive and

negative

• Quirks: Outstanding personality traits
• Proficiencies: What do they excel at (despite

their flaws)?

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COMPLEX CHARACTERS: What makes characters “interesting”?

• Core beliefs: What is their most deeply held

belief/faith rooted in?

• Code: What is their one cardinal rule that they

will not break?

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COMPLEX CHARACTERS: What makes characters “interesting”?

• Background/backstory/history: Where do they

come from? Who are their people?

• Lived experiences: What have they been

through?

• *Goals/Motivations: What are their goals and

why do they need to achieve them? (More on this later…)

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COMPLEX CHARACTERS: What makes characters “interesting”? Nature vs Nurture:

• WHY are the characters the way they are? How

did they get this way?

• Is their behavior part of their DNA or is it

learned behavior?

https://www.certifiedtraininginstitute.com/what-happens-during-fight-or- flight-or-freeze/

CONFLICT OR CHARACTER? WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT TO STORY?

• Both! Symbiotic relationship
• A character is only as interesting and

compelling as the problems they are presented with

Conflict Character

STORY!

DRIVE CHARACTERS TO THE LIMIT

• The author must drive the character toward conflicts that

continually test their limits, forcing them to the edge of their comfort zone and beyond, until they are compelled to act and grow/change.

COMPLEX CONFLICT

WITH CHARACTERIZATION SPRINKLED IN

“BACK POCKET” QUESTIONS

• Why now? What is compelling your character to

act/confront this conflict (leave the Ordinary World)

• Why is this important? Why does the goal matter to

them?

• What’s at stake? What does the character stand to

gain/lose that is important to them?

DEFINITION OF CONFLICT

Definition by Debra Dixon, GMC

• 1. Conflict is a struggle against someone or something in which the
• utcome is in doubt.
• 2. Conflict is bad things happening to good people.
• 3. Conflict is bad things happening to bad people.
• 4. Conflict is friction, tension, opposition.
• 5. Conflict is two dogs and one bone.

The Principle of Antagonism

“A protagonist and his story can only be as intellectually fascinating and emotionally compelling as the forces of antagonism make them.” — Robert McKee, STORY

• Interesting characters aren’t interesting unless they triumph over

something.

• Heroes are made when they go to extreme lengths to achieve their goals.

The Law of Conflict

“Nothing moves forward in a story except through conflict.” —Robert McKee, STORY

• We don’t tell a story through mundane everyday

happenings: we tell a story through conflicts and triumphs.

Goal, Motivation and Conflict

GMC by Debra Dixon External: the plot—the external forces that propel the character on their journey Internal: falls on the character’s emotional journey

GOAL

Goal—what characters want.

• Clearly define what the characters want. The more

tangible and well-defined, the easier time you’ll have building on the conflict.

• Goals can be big or small, but they must be important

to the character.

MOTIVATION

Motivation—the reasons driving the characters to pursue their goals.

• This defines how important the goal is to the character.
• A well-developed character supports the motivation
• If an action seems out of character, it’s likely because the

motivation isn’t strong enough, or runs counter to the character’s other actions up to now.

CONFLICT

Conflict—the roadblock that keeps the character from attaining what they want.

Conflict in Romance and Romantic Conflict

INDICATIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE ISSUES WITH CONFLICT:

• 1. Scene after scene where there is no tension or conflict.
• 2. Scene after scene of conflicts that are resolved by the end of the

scene (episodic conflict)

• 3. MCs’ paths do not cross, or they cross by coincidence only.
• 4. Conflicts come only from external sources, and MCs are reactive,

not proactive.

• 5. MCs’ goals are not well-defined or important enough for them to

proactively pursue.

• 6. The main conflict is a misunderstanding between the MCs.

“TO LOVE IS TO LOSE.”

“To love is to lose. Raising the stakes means that to love each other, they must lose something, but to not love each other means they’ll lose love and each other.” —Victoria Curran, senior editor Harlequin Superromance

“The goal in romance is NOT to fall in love and have a relationship that results in happily ever after.”

• The MCs each have separate overarching goals with separate

motivations.

• The goals and motivations have internal (personal) and external

(outward facing) components.

• The goals must be important enough for the characters to actively

pursue.

• The MCs’ goals or paths must intersect.

Examples:

a) b) d) c)

When it comes to GMC in romance, romance is part of the conflict, not the goal. Romance complicates matters for your characters and thwarts them from their goals.

Complexity, Characterization and Conflict

7 Types of Conflict

man vs self (inner conflict) man vs nature (natural disasters, disease, animals) man vs supernatural (aliens, magic, mythical creatures) man vs machine/technology (robots, computers, computer viruses) man vs society (ideas, status quo) man vs fate/God (the inevitable) man vs man (antagonist vs protagonist)

CHARACTERIZATION AS A SOURCE OF CONFLICT

• Man vs Man: US vs THEM
• Man vs Self: Who I am vs Who I think I should be/want to

be

• Man vs Society: How your characters are perceived/judged

by society can put stress on your character to live up to/defy those standards

Three levels of conflict

Robert McKee, STORY: Inner Conflict—inner doubts, personality characteristics that run counter to a presented challenge

• man vs self

Personal Conflict—interpersonal conflicts, where an antagonist frustrates the goals of the character

• man vs man, nature, supernatural, machine

Extra-personal Conflict—environmental conflicts and frustrations; in romance, it’s often what throws characters together

• man vs nature, society, fate, machine, supernatural

Complex conflict layers different levels and types of conflict.

• Characters should face multiple obstacles at multiple

levels.

• Winning on one front results in losing on another.
• In character-driven romance, engage MCs in

personal and inner conflict.

How to Put Complex Conflict in Your Story

• 1. Choices create more conflict.
• 2. Story happens when choices have unexpected

consequences that often (but not always) make things worse.

• 3. Every character is the hero in their own private
• story. A well-developed cast plays off each other to

produce conflict.

SUBTLE CONFLICT INCLUDES TENSION CREATED BY…

• Overt aggression and provocation
• Passive-aggressive behavior
• Ambiguity (doubt)
• Word choice
• Put a timer on it
• Subliminal conflict
• Foreshadowing

HELPFUL HINT:

Your main characters should face conflict against every other character at some point in the story, even if it’s only a minor disagreement

• r tension.

RAISING THE STAKES

Stakes: the negative consequences of failure. Raising the stakes: elevating and increasing the conflict (tension) to drive the characters toward the ultimate choice and their ultimate loss (dark moment of the soul).

TO RAISE THE STAKES, ASK YOURSELF:

• What are the reasons this is a major conflict? Why can’t the character

just give up? (i.e. What do you stand to gain or lose?)

• Why is this such a hard decision for the character to make?
• What has just made the decision that much harder to make?
• How can things be made worse (without throwing random external

factors into the mix)?

• How can your characters’ choices contribute to their own possible

downfall or the downfall of others?

When you raise the stakes…

• you are putting more at risk than you initially thought.
• you are threatening more of the most important things in

your characters’ lives.

• you are forcing your characters to make riskier and

riskier choices that threaten their core values.

• you are making things worse for your characters.
• you are putting your characters’ needs in the balance.

MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Maslow’s_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg/2000px-Maslow’s_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg.png

Family Food, water Property Faith

RESOLVING THE CONFLICT

• Compromise and sacrifice.
• Paradigm shift (i.e. A change in worldview, values, perception, etc.)
• Other characters or devices can’t solve all the problems for the protagonists.
• Characters must actively engage the conflict and contribute to its resolution.
• Superficial grand gestures are not conflict resolutions.
• If your resolution is only a conversation in which a misunderstanding is

clarified, your main conflict may not have been strong enough to start with.

COMPLEX CONFLICT CHECKLIST:

 Are the main characters’ goals clearly defined?  Are the main characters’ motivations clearly defined?  Do the main characters’ paths cross repeatedly throughout the story?  Are there multiple types of conflicts layered in your main conflict?  Does the developing romantic relationship between the main

characters complicate or thwart the path to achieving the main characters’ goals?

 Do the main characters proactively pursue their goals?  Are your main characters forced to actively make choices?  Do your characters have reasons to gnash their teeth over major decisions?  Do those choices result in unexpected consequences?  Do those choices result in additional conflict or do they complicate

attainment of the goal?

 When you raise the stakes, are your characters forced to make risky

choices that threaten their core beliefs or values or the most important things in their life?

 When a main character fails at a goal, is there a loss?  When a main character fails at a goal, does it create tension or more

conflict?

 When you resolve the conflict for each character, do they make sacrifices

• r compromises?

 When you resolve the conflict for each character, is there a change in

behavior, worldview, perception, judgment, etc. (Paradigm shift)?