Now that they are in middle school (OMG!) my boys have begun analyzing books in their language arts classes in terms of the classic three-act structure. As part of this they have been identifying and discussing the nature of character and conflict. Now, we here at TKZ have often talked about the need for characters to be placed in conflict to give a book both momentum and purpose. In the mystery and thriller genre usually the nature of the conflict is critical to the plot (without conflict there’s no rising tension or action). Nonetheless, it’s been interesting to observe my own kids analyzing their class book in terms of the nature of the character conflict involved. They have to categorize this conflict in terms of:
- Character vs. character
- Character vs. nature
- Character vs. society/community
- Character vs. self
In many books a degree of conflict may exist on all of these levels, but I realized, while discussing these elements with my boys, that it would be a useful exercise for me to undertake on my own WIPs – mainly because, if I couldn’t nail down the conflict in my own draft yet, perhaps I didn’t really have as good handle on my character or the plot as I thought.
Even though I am an outliner, I rarely I go through the exercise of analyzing my own book in terms of the character conflict involved – I just assume I know what it is as I piece all the elements together. It’s only when something goes wrong, that I take a step back and try to analyze where things may have gone adrift. Sometimes the issue/problem is that I haven’t articulated in my own mind the true nature of the character conflict involved. Luckily, taking that step back means I can usually resolve the problem:) However, I do think when beginning any new project it doesn’t hurt to ask the question in the first place.
So TKZers, what about you? Do you take the time to identify and analyze your character conflict while your writing or do you go with the flow? How would you characterize the conflict for your main character in your current WIP?
When I was a MS English teacher we analyzed our stories according to these conflicts. That exercise worked well for short stories. When I thought about my current WIP, I realized it contains all of these. The novel is set in Africa: Man vs nature. The protagonist is fighting a dictatorship: man vs society. He must overcome a weapons trafficker, who is keeping the dictator in power: man vs. man. He must conquer his flaw to survive: man vs. self.
I think a lot of novels contain multiple character conflicts and it was hard for my boys to pin their class book down to just one main conflict/theme. I think it’s easier to classify short stories this way.
I never understood the idea of teaching about man vs nature, vs. self, etc. Not that it isn’t useful to some degree, but I’ve found that to a great extent most characters are going through more than one of these in a story anyway.
Take man (or character) vs. self. Isn’t that at the heart of stories regardless? Even if you are battling the climb up a huge foreboding mountain, fighting through a snowstorm, or whatever other natural challenges, ultimately it’s still about what’s inside yourself. Ditto for the other character vs. categories.
But I guess that in itself is an answer to why these character vs. categories are taught. Capturing the essence of the internal person of the protagonist is a difficult task. If it were easy, everybody would be writing and making millions of dollars doing it. So looking at all types of conflict is a way of leading you into examining the protag and capturing your story.
To answer the question: yes, I do think about the character conflicts before I write, but even so, I must continue to revisit it throughout the writing and in the rewrite—because I find I never hit the center mark on the first go.
I never hit the mark first off either:) and must admit it was pretty hard for my boys to pin their novel down to just one conflict because, as you say, most books involve multiple layers of character conflict.
During editing, I review every scene to make sure that it moves the story forward in some way. Conflict is an essential element in propelling any story forward, so I do look for that as I edit. And whenever a story becomes becalmed and listless, I look for ways to inject conflict to reinvigorate the story.
That’s a great way to review and edit. You can certainly tell when there’s no conflict as the story starts to sag and readers start to skim the pages with a yawn (yikes!).
If I may… once again, this kind of analysis of your WIP can be an alternative to finding yourself stymied by “Writer’s Block” – i.e. if you’re stuck in one place, step back and look at these “other” conflicts… work towards either writing something on one (or more), of these that can be developed for inserting into your story either where you’re stuck, or where you’re headed (if you’re not “pantsing it…”)
Adding this to yesterday’s “What’s your antagonist doing?” blog, I think I’ve found a couple of ways to push on from… “Hmmmm… now what….?”
🙂
Yes – it is a great way to evaluate what is going on, especially when that ‘block’ forms!
Thanks, Claire, for the good reminder that sometimes we need to go back to middle-school basics that we’ve taken for granted and/or half-forgotten with the passage of time. I find teaching someone else is the greatest way to reinforce concepts in my own mind.
You’re helping your kids and they’re helping you. Win-win.
Most definitely a win-win!
For me it always starts with Character v. Character (Lead v. Opponent), then layer in Character v. Self (need to transform or grow stronger, made clear in a “mirror moment”).
“Nature” I think of as Setting, and how that may complicate matters in the primary plot.
Not as diligent about this as I should be. It’s a good thing to consider before you turn in your novel.