Storylines & Conflict

Three, four, six, seven, or eight. Depending on where you look there are differing opinions regarding how many levels of conflict exist with the world of writing.

As seven is my lucky number I’m going with that, and no, I’m not joking.

Every story needs conflict. Without it… well there really is no story, and all you’re left with is the charting of a pretty mundane existence. Most of us experience that already, we sure as hell don’t need to read about it.

Conflict is an essential component of any compelling novel, propelling the narrative and immersing both characters and readers in the storyline. It defines the overarching objective and impacts the resolution of every plot point throughout the journey.

The conflicts that stories revolve around can be categorized into internal and external types. The most prevalent are internal conflicts such as Character vs. Self, which involves a character’s struggle with their own mind. Examples of this include battling fears, moral choices, personal flaws, and emotional baggage.

External conflicts involve elements or entities outside of a single character and can appear in the following forms:

• Character vs. Character – A direct confrontation between two characters.

• Character vs. Society – A character faces challenges in opposing the rules, laws, or prejudices upheld by their community/society.

• Character vs. Nature – A character’s struggle against a formidable force of nature, for example, asteroids, storms, or wild animals.

• Character vs. Technology - A character’s struggle against machines, artificial intelligence, or other technological threats.

• Character vs Supernatural - A character’s confrontation involving ghosts, monsters, deities, or other supernatural forces.

• Character vs. Fate - A character's battle against destiny or a predetermined future.

In most stories, characters have goals they’re striving to achieve. If they were to accomplish these goals quickly and effortlessly, the story would wrap up in just a few pages. It’s the conflict that stands in their way and keeps the storyline engaging to the reader.

Narrative conflicts often manifest externally, such as a protagonist facing a rival, enduring a hostile environment, or surviving a zombie apocalypse. Internal conflicts, on the other hand, center on inner struggles, such as wrestling with a moral dilemma, making a transformative decision, or confronting deep-seated fears. A compelling story needs both internal and external conflict.

But the levels of conflict also have a direct impact on the story. Here is where we dive into the macro and micro elements of conflict.

Macro conflict represents the overarching plot of a story, serving as the primary challenge the cast strives to resolve. It tends to hang around longer and it’s reach is felt by multiple characters. In contrast, micro-level conflict delves into individual scenes, characters, and events, which collectively contribute to building the larger macro conflict. Micro-level conflict tends to be short lived in comparison to the macro-level. It provides obstacles and challenges to overcome as and when they are encountered.

It is important to note that internal conflict can occur at both the macro and micro level.

A story can highlight both macro and micro conflicts, where the macro conflict is a character's internal battle with their own values - like grappling with a desire for adventure while fearing leaving home. The micro conflicts are the specific events that test this struggle, such as receiving a job offer in a new city, having a tough discussion with a family member about their choices, or dealing with a small inconvenience that sparks a moment of panic.

Although I have segmented each element of conflict it is also important to understand that each element can and will intertwine throughout a plot. Regardless of the specifics, each component adds strength and power to a story. It resonates with readers because one human affliction we all share are our encounters with conflict. It is an unavoidable part of life. Your reader may not have battled a dragon or fought an alien invasion, but the doubts and fears your character experiences are fundamentally no different to the doubts and fears that plague many of us on a daily basis, albeit the stakes may be a tad higher.

Ultimately in life we are faced with difficult decisions and circumstances that require strength and tenacity to survive. We make sacrifices, win some, lose some, and all in the name of achieving a goal. I mean, let’s be honest, no one gets through life unscathed. We all carry a little bit (or a lot) of trauma and damage that can impact our reactions and behaviors in certain circumstances.

Just as in real life, fiction needs to consist of a woven tapestry of macro and micro conflicts, all of which lead up to a cohesive endpoint. The key to creating compelling and relatable conflict is balance. Again this assimilates to life where balance is crucial, or so I’m told. For now I’ll stick to balancing out my storylines and character conflicts, and who knows, maybe one day I’ll attain the luxury of a balanced existence. I just won’t be holding my breath.