tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post7296828891787327370..comments2024-03-17T06:03:00.362-04:00Comments on Fiction University: Building Your Core: Internal and External Core ConflictsJanice Hardyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-80261378988383395692021-01-17T08:02:47.063-05:002021-01-17T08:02:47.063-05:00You're most welcome!You're most welcome! Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-29057281608624897062021-01-15T02:00:25.700-05:002021-01-15T02:00:25.700-05:00this is really informative THANK YOU!!this is really informative THANK YOU!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-69525659626636560842016-02-26T13:32:37.314-05:002016-02-26T13:32:37.314-05:00Great stuff, Janice. Thanks for this post.Great stuff, Janice. Thanks for this post.Rosihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01294774973863802821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-69058224419429991032016-02-26T10:57:30.325-05:002016-02-26T10:57:30.325-05:00Ack, this brought a lot of things to mind about my...Ack, this brought a lot of things to mind about my Artifacts series. For months now I've tweaked the plot and this post brought some clarity as to why what I've been doing isn't working, haha ... got more to think on now, thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-6899410901917073262015-01-02T08:54:53.310-05:002015-01-02T08:54:53.310-05:00Thanks!Thanks!Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-68865071143326364522014-12-26T12:29:40.858-05:002014-12-26T12:29:40.858-05:00great post! another one to be saved and rehashed!great post! another one to be saved and rehashed!Carol Baldwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10444182118975929045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-24359092573258508122011-07-14T17:48:21.827-04:002011-07-14T17:48:21.827-04:00Welcome to the blog! Glad you found me, and glad I...Welcome to the blog! Glad you found me, and glad I was able to help.Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-92115258801994071242011-07-14T12:17:59.926-04:002011-07-14T12:17:59.926-04:00I happened upon this article. Great stuff for buil...I happened upon this article. Great stuff for building plot that works, my weak area. I have a few internal conflicts, mostly personality-related, that will face off with the external later in my middle grade chapter book I'm working on. Some of the internal is inevitable... (character is autistic), but will work through some understanding and growth in awareness and choice regarding his personality struggles and how he allows these to affect his life. You see... complicated! Thanks for guiding me in the right direction!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13539393935984416522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-21548887206172202332010-11-21T08:25:41.393-05:002010-11-21T08:25:41.393-05:00Anytime! If I do my job right, a lot of these thin...Anytime! If I do my job right, a lot of these things are invisible and all you remember is the story. I have a old copy of Dave Duncan's "The Gilded Chain" that I have highlighted with notes and whatnot. I love his prose, and he was my study book years ago.Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-10752831594828768642010-11-20T09:51:04.122-05:002010-11-20T09:51:04.122-05:00Thanks Janice, for taking the time to answer. I ca...Thanks Janice, for taking the time to answer. I can't even remember when Nya went through these things. I always intend to study books I like to see how the authors do certain things, but I always forget because I get caught up in the story.sally https://www.blogger.com/profile/11068670473065918371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-46840326919783623552010-11-20T08:25:47.422-05:002010-11-20T08:25:47.422-05:00Lbdiamond: Most welcome!
Sally: I do think at som...Lbdiamond: Most welcome!<br /><br />Sally: I do think at some point, the internal conflict wins/affects and causes a bigger problem. When is really up to you and what best suits your story. (Nya has one of those moments in the middle of the book) Since that moment tends to be pretty dramatic, and probably puts the protag in a really nasty situation, often it'll be toward the climax or end of the third act (that dark night of the soul moment) but it can just as easily be in the middle like mine and send the story in a new direction. <br /><br />If clashing them works best at your climax, sure, do it then. But if it doesn't, don't. Only you know how that internal conflict is going to affect your protag's external choices. So if they need to go through something heavy emotionally to be ready to do what needs to be done for the climax, it may happen sooner. Or that moment might be what makes them put their foot down and say "no more" and act. <br /><br />I think they can have a conflict with something and not be aware of it if they haven't yet been put into a situation where they're forced to make a choice concerning it. (did that make sense?) It isn't until they need to do X to win, but their inner need/desire/morality says "hang on, wait a minute" and puts them into conflict. <br /><br />They don't need to know about that conflict from page one. Nya's inner conflict is having to decide how far she's willing to go to save her sister, so I show he doing things to help people right off the bat. I establish her as a good person with a good heart, so when she's later asked to hurt people, readers know she's going to say no, and feel all the more for her when she's forced to say yes. <br /><br />The first time she encounters this conflict is chapter four or five I think. and that's when she starts down the slippery slope between her external and internal goals.Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-19215870414039659212010-11-19T12:33:09.409-05:002010-11-19T12:33:09.409-05:00Great post. I think, too, that the internal confli...Great post. I think, too, that the internal conflict and external conflicts should climax at the same point. Do you think it's helpful to have the internal conflict threaten to make the character lose at the point of the climax in the external conflict--what sometimes is called a dark night of the soul? (or, as you call it, having the two crash together. Should they do this in the biggest way at the climax of the story.)<br /><br />And...on the internal conflict...would you say it's acceptable for the character to not be aware of the internal conflict early on? if she's flawed, say, can she be unaware? And if she is unaware, is it important the reader be able to see what the character is blind to?<br /><br />Maybe you will delve into these a bit in future blog posts? :) I'd love to hear your thoughts.sally https://www.blogger.com/profile/11068670473065918371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-4219264078244763312010-11-19T09:24:38.916-05:002010-11-19T09:24:38.916-05:00LOVE this post!!!! I'm totally digging the par...LOVE this post!!!! I'm totally digging the part where the internal conflict meets the external conflict--I'm gonna review my outline and make sure there some collisions of conflicts in there.<br /><br />Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-35104961956863103302010-11-09T08:32:13.151-05:002010-11-09T08:32:13.151-05:00Frankie: Thanks!
Amparo: There are certainly more...Frankie: Thanks!<br /><br />Amparo: There are certainly more questions you can ask yourself, but those are some of the ones I use. I've found that when I try to play off the internal and external conflicts, the story just holds together better. <br /><br />Natalie: Glad I could help!<br /><br />Deb: Thanks!<br /><br />Ben: Thanks so much. I really try to come up with things that folks can use right away to improve their writing. <br /><br />Brittany: Awesome! Good luck with that.<br /><br />Dustin: Thanks! I actually have a post in the works on action vs conflict. There was a great post on action a while back from Les Edgerton who inspired it. Here's the link to that:<br /><br />http://lesedgertononwriting.blogspot.com/2010/09/major-flaw-in-teaching-creative-writing.html<br /><br />Now that the tour is over I can get back to those "defining what we do" posts.<br /><br />The Sweater Curse: Most welcome. Glad it helped.<br /><br />Cheryl: That's great! Tweaking is fun when you can see how much better the book is going to be when you're done, isn't it?Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-63294064233034150432010-11-05T19:25:44.841-04:002010-11-05T19:25:44.841-04:00Great post Janice. You've helped me figure out...Great post Janice. You've helped me figure out what my protag's internal conflict is. Some tweaking will be required, but I'm very excited about it. Your tips will help me intertwine it with the external conflict that's well established. Thanks for all the info you share with us.Cheryl Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08375547152670259749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-34552972360583587742010-11-05T19:14:03.614-04:002010-11-05T19:14:03.614-04:00Thank you so much for this --it clarifies a lot wi...Thank you so much for this --it clarifies a lot with my current WIP.Author Leanne Dyckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12886667518427660865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-26861194303950046032010-11-05T13:18:57.568-04:002010-11-05T13:18:57.568-04:00Wow, great post. This is so clear and actionable. ...Wow, great post. This is so clear and actionable. <br />I have a request. Isn't this the special requests blog line? Well, anyway, you are such a gifted action writer and so many people confuse action and conflict. Someday I'd love to hear your approach to action and how you break that down. <br /><br />Really great hints here.<br /><br />Thanks Janice.Dustinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13627994419189135018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-77838086158531716052010-11-05T11:55:29.617-04:002010-11-05T11:55:29.617-04:00This post is really, really helpful. It helped me ...This post is really, really helpful. It helped me realize a choice that my protagonist has to make between something related to her internal conflict and something related to her external conflict. Thanks, Janice! :)Brittanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08115091011126786039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-71389752447323152502010-11-05T11:06:23.413-04:002010-11-05T11:06:23.413-04:00Very very good and smart post about storybuilding....Very very good and smart post about storybuilding. I like coming here, your articles don't rehash other people's concepts.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11483490020980574428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-39138271047847623082010-11-05T10:36:25.855-04:002010-11-05T10:36:25.855-04:00Love this post! Bookmarked.Love this post! Bookmarked.Deb Salisbury, Magic Seeker and Mantua-Makerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01513482264195697450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-15065134245836563942010-11-05T10:22:07.439-04:002010-11-05T10:22:07.439-04:00This is a great post. I'm trying to develop a ...This is a great post. I'm trying to develop a plot for a new series and all that you've raised today is really going to help. Thanks.Natalie Aguirrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03756087804171246660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-68202104609841261202010-11-05T09:01:59.922-04:002010-11-05T09:01:59.922-04:00I'm currently in a serious brainstorming phase...I'm currently in a serious brainstorming phase, so this post is definitely going to get bookmarked! I never thought about the five things approach to the external/internal conflicts, but it makes sense now that I see it. <br /><br />Thanks!Amparo Ortizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05751368034351196820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-90268642748302615022010-11-05T08:47:46.351-04:002010-11-05T08:47:46.351-04:00Such a GREAT post!Such a GREAT post!Frankie Diane Mallishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06066659801542129040noreply@blogger.com