WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE DRAGON?

INNER CONFLICT

All of us deal with internal conflict while we engage in external challenges. It is the human condition.  
  
Internal Conflict

 Good writing depends upon it. 

In every scene. It's what pulls the reader and the story itself along. 

As the plus and minus of electrons determines the flow of electricity, 

so the plus and minus of EVERY scene determines the healthy flow of a novel's narrative:

An upscale attorney walks into his office, his back being slapped by his associates for winning another case. 

He closes the door, turns on the light, and turns off his smile. 

 His eyes move to the certified letter on his desk, informing him of his wife's plans to divorce him. 

He walks to his desk, sits down, and buries his face in his hands.

***

 A metropolitan mayor is hanging his latest civic award upon his paneled wall. 

 

His eyes flick to the picture of his son, killed in Iraq. He remembers his last words to him: 

 

ugly words, harsh words, impossible to erase words. 

 

He takes the award from the wall, dropping it into the waste basket.

Plus and Minus.
 
All fiction is based on conflict and this conflict is presented in a structured format called PLOT. 

An internal conflict is a good test of a character's values.

Internal conflict is the heart of characterization, but it's also at the heart of drama.

The conflicts that bring characters alive are the smaller conflicts that occur between two people, 

a small group and the internal conflicts we deal with on a daily basis.

The thing that will make the connection with your reader is the internal conflict your protagonist has to go through. 

This is what makes him or her human and this is where you have a memorable impact on your reader.

Whether you’re writing epic fantasy or literary fiction, 

the inner conflict is what will keep your reader turning the pages.

There is one steadfast rule when writing fiction and you probably know this rule.

Your character has to grow.

There has to be an internal path that is taken.

And even if your writing takes place on an exotic world with a stable of wondrous creatures, 

the main character is still human - 

and even if your main character is not human, your reader is.

There is the crisis that seems center-stage and the inner conflict which actually drives the story.

The same is true with our own lives.

It’s not the crisis facing us that is truly important, but what we tell ourselves about the crisis.

Are you facing a crisis?

Is your “self-talk" accurate and realistic?   

Are there any “should’s” lurking in the shadows of your thoughts?   

There are really no should’s: things are just what they are.

No one is perfect. 

Cut yourself some slack. 

Do the best you can with resources you have 

and learn from whatever mistakes you might make.

See? A hint on how to better write and live both in one post. How cool is that?