Conflict is a key element to creating tension and showing character change over the course of your story. Some conflict is easy – even characters in literary novels have someone they consider an antagonist, if not an arch-enemy. But you can create other kinds of conflict, including smaller abrasive conflict, by carefully crafting your supporting case. In a post on Writers Helping Writers, Angela Ackerman describes the different kinds of characters you can put in your protagonist’s way.
“Chances are, your character is connected to a variety of people in the story,” Ackerman writes. “When you need conflict, poke at their relationships to see what problems shake loose.” Where can you find them? Ackerman suggests:
- Marriage and partnerships. “All romantic relationships have bumps – good ones, and bad ones,” Ackerman says. “People can also cope very differently when it comes to life’s challenges, and this can lead to resentment, frustration, friction, and fallout.”
- Family. “The people closest to your character may know things others do not…including the bad stuff. Past mistakes, shortcomings, and failures may be part of a relative’s mental Rolodex,” Ackerman writes. “Strings tend to be attached in family relationships, so responsibilities, duties, expectations, and demands might also be a source of friction.”
- History. Who has crossed your hero’s path in the past? Is there betrayal and jealousy to mine? Does your hero have a ghost in their past – an estranged friend or a tragic mistake – that can come back to haunt them at the worst moment?
- Provocateurs. Some supporting characters might start to press your protagonist’s buttons, knowingly or not. Who irritates your character or makes them feel small? How does your hero react? What are the repercussions.
- Antagonists. Other characters might have goals that run against your hero’s or they might be competing for the same thing. What would happen if your protagonist bumped up against a rival, a meddler, or just a hater.
- Opposites. Who is your protagonist’s opposite number? What characters traits annoy or disgust your hero? Introduce someone with those traits and see what happens.
These characters don’t have to be someone intimately connected to your protagonist, Ackerman says. If your story doesn’t call for a lot of close interpersonal interaction, you can still create these kinds of conflicts using characters your hero encounters in the course of their day to day life.
