Character + Character’s Goal + Opposition = ….

Conflict.

We all know conflict is what truly piques interest in the reader. Yet even experienced writers need reminders on how to generate believable challenges for the protagonist, and how to use those obstacles to manoeuvre plot.

Plot isn’t story — it’s a series of interconnected events. In a lot of ways, conflict IS plot:- Character wants something. Can’t get something. Responds.

Look at anything audiences find riveting. Political theatre, for example. Conflict is oxygen for politicians! They need voters to believe they’re at one with the country, and that the conflict they face is the same conflict the country is subjected to. This country wants freedom? I’m all about freedom! But my nasty opposition is all about TAKING those freedoms away. LET’S GET ‘EM!”

This casts them as heroes, and audiences are pulled into their narrative, identifying and conflating themselves with the political leaders of their choice. Just as readers identify and conflate themselves with the protagonist of any well-written story.

Even blog posts do this. Instead of visualising a protagonist, writers portray themselves or their readers as the main focus. They then detail an obstacle, why it’s bad, and why it needs to be dealt with. This makes readers care about taking something away from it.

This kind of conflict is born through applying certain values to an equation. Whether in fiction, politics, or blog posts, conflict certainly doesn’t exist in a void. It requires deep thought on other aspects of the story.

In How to Write a Damn Good Novel, James N. Frey emphasises the utility of a formula used by playwright Raymond Hull:

In How to Write a Play (1983), Raymond Hull explains opposition in terms of a formula:

“M + G + O = C.

Main Character + his Goal + Opposition
= Conflict.”

The key words? “His goal.”

Your character’s opposition is in relation to her goal, and her goal rises from who she is as a person. If opposition rises from an obstacle to someone else’s goal, the emotional stakes are low. If the protagonist must get into a college and the obstacle is she’s dyslexic, it doesn’t really impact us if she’s only lukewarm about the whole college thing. Unless you can demonstrate getting into college is something she’s passionate about, there is no conflict.

Where do these goals come from? This requires intimate knowledge of the character.

Batman’s goal is to keep Gotham safe. The Joker opposes this.

Why does Batman have this goal? It comes from his childhood, and the death of his parents.

Without applying this formula in some shape or form, you won’t know how to create conflict because your protagonist will never have any goals. This formula emphasises the importance of reflecting on the psychology, culture, religion (or lack thereof), childhood experiences, and even the era of your character. It is from these we can derive authentic goals, and thus a meaningful opposition. Adding these together helps develop the conflict your story needs.

*** Liked it? Heart it so others can read it too!
Follow me for more on writing, reading, and politics.***