Writing Definitions: Internal Conflict

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What's the hardest thing to write? Well believe it or not the hardest thing to write varies depending on the writer, but I can honestly say that one of the biggest struggles I've seen is writing internal conflict.

So before we begin, let's talk about internal conflict, what is it? how does it compare to external conflict?"

As writers, we know that each character has a different personality, but they also have different thoughts, different reasoning, and different traumas. Everyone has struggles and issues, even at the youngest age, and that can be that each person sees things just a little bit differently. Internal conflict is when your mind is almost at war with itself.

So when we compare external conflict vs Internal conflict, we can see that they're two very different things, yet what happens internally will change how you react externally.

Example

Gollum, (from Lord of the Rings) in the second film we can see that he's at war between his desires and the right thing, we also see him being good in the second film, choosing the right thing internally affecting how he acts externally. But in the third film, we can see him give in to his desires, affecting the external conflict.

We can also look at one of the most common internal conflicts.

Sense and Sensibility or in more simple terms, Mind vs Heart.

This common trope comes in all different shapes and sizes but it shows that it's not always black and white instead there's a lot of gray area when it comes to decision-making.

Now that we know a little bit about the topic, let's get into the discussion.

Good vs Evil

Characters like Gollum don't come around too often, and usually, things aren't as black and white.

A good thing to remember is that a character's desire isn't always a bad one (unlike wanting a magical ring just for its powers) but in fact, it can be a perfectly reasonable one.

Characters like Anakin or Elsa, have reasonable desires yet they would still hurt people or cause damage, as sad as it is sometimes a character must give up a perfectly reasonable desire to do what's right.

So while yes some internal conflicts can be black and white, others can be heartbreakingly sympathetic.

No Remorse

Can you lie, pinch, or be mean without guilt?

Because I know I can't, and most people can't either, so why can your character? There are reasons like mind control or brainwashing, where the no remorse hurting is realistic, but most of the time, there's always a part of us that says no.

God gave us a conscience to help us avoid sin, not that any of us are capable of not sinning, but when we sin one of the punishments is a terrible feeling of guilt.

I suggest in the middle of a character doing a terrible crime or saying a hurtful sentence, you show the conflict internally that's taking place.

Why are they doing this? What happened in their past that's making them make this decision?

Why internal conflict is so important

Does your personality play a part in your decision-making? The answer is yes, we are constantly at war with ourselves, and that's the same for our characters.

The truth is internal conflict is the basis of everything in our stories, the villains, heroes, and side characters are all fighting this battle inside of themselves.

Internal conflict shouldn't be taken lightly, but instead, it should be the most important part of a good story.

A little reminder

As I've repeated several times, we're all fighting battles internally. You probably don't know mine and I don't know yours, but God does, he knows every thought and emotion that runs through your body.

So I hope that whatever your struggle is, you know that you're never alone, no matter how alone you might feel.

Thanks for reading!!

Hope you enjoyed reading, and that this post could be of some help!! (: