In an article on Writers Helping Writers, Angela Ackerman offers advice for uncovering your character’s inner conflict, as opposed to their outer conflict. “The difference is that outer conflict is something external keeping the character from his goal, while inner conflict is a mental struggle over wanting things that are at odds or compete,” she explains.
Internal conflicts might be competing wants or desires; confusing emotions; questions about values or beliefs; indecision and insecurity; or conflicting responsibilities. Importantly, internal conflicts are relatable, because your readers have struggled with similar problems and search for a path forward.
“Scene-to-scene, you’ll usually see inner conflict,” Ackerman says. “At times it’s a heavy weight, other times, indecision over what to do, or deciding what’s better, option A or option B.” However, at the story level, inner conflict takes on greater importance. Your character’s conflict with himself will create external conflict and prevent your protagonist from reaching their goals.
Ackerman shares five ways to find and use inner conflict:
- Their Greatest Fear. The bigger the fear, the bigger your conflict. “Fear of failure, being alone, losing a loved one … these can push the character to embrace unhealthy habits or paralyze her into maintaining the status quo and resisting needed change,” Ackerman says.
- Their Core Moral Beliefs. Consider your character’s deepest beliefs about right and wrong, then challenge them. “If his inner turmoil surrounding this issue or theme is what the story is really about, if it’s something he could struggle with for the story’s entirety, it may be a good choice for his story-level internal conflict,” Ackerman notes.
- Their Existential Ideas. Is your character wondering about their purpose in life or their identity, or perhaps what happens after death? Grappling with these ideas can create conflict when your character is presented by opposing, yet attractive, alternatives. If your character’s beliefs are already formed, challenging them will throw them off balance.
- Their Wants and Needs. Sometimes what your character wants is in conflict with what they need. “By themselves they don’t generate much conflict, but when you set them in opposition to the character’s missing need or a core belief, internal strife explodes onto the scene,” Ackerman says. Sometimes a character can want two good things, but be faced with an impossible choice over which to pursue.
- Their Secrets. “Characters jump through all kinds of emotional and logistical hoops to keep important secrets from coming to light,” Ackerman notes. “They may withdraw from people, organizations, and cherished hobbies to avoid questions that hit too close to home. You can imagine the inner turmoil that develops when a character must give up an area of giftedness or a close friend in order to keep certain information from getting out.”
