The Conflict

No story is a story without conflict. It serves to pull your character out of his comfort zone and forces him to face whatever misbelief or lie he’s been telling himself. It is the vehicle for the lie to play out.

There are two types of conflict: internal and external.

Internal conflict is where the character must face the lie that he’s holding on to that keeps him comfortable but miserable. In order to overcome it, he must face the truth. This creates conflict between what he wants and what he need—between the way he tackles a problem or pursues a goal and the transformation he needs to undertake or the lesson he needs to learn.

External conflict is the plot-related external goal your character is pursuing. This is where your character goes on a quest, faces a dragon, and slays the dragon. But this conflict mirrors the character’s internal conflict. The Character cannot resolve this until he deals with his internal conflict, rejects the lie, and accepts the truth. Once he has, he can now face the dragon and defeat it.

Both build on and add meaning to each other.