-Personal
-Interpersonal
-Extra Personal
Certain forms of media excel at one of those conflicts.
Prose is really great for personal conflict
A character's contradictory desires, nature, and emotions. Prose - novels, essays, short stories, literature - is great with narrative. You can describe the emotion a character feels during any action they take. This allows you to give insight into a character even while they do something mundane. It doesn't work in film because no one wants to see a someone starting into the sky for 5 minutes. It's hard to communicate a character's complex thoughts through just their facial expression or movements.
Theatre is good with interpersonal conflict
Lovers, rivals, family, and personal relationships. Theatre is fantastic with dialogue. You'll notice that characters in plays spend most of their time talking to each other. This makes sense - talking is the way people express their thoughts to each other and work out their relationships. Now imagine if a novel described a character's emotion after every single line of dialogue. A simple conversation could take up an entire chapter. Characters in theatre reveal themselves through things like vocal tone or body language. You can tell how a character feels because you can hear it in their voice, or see it in their reactions.
Film's power comes from extra personal conflict:
A character against their physical or social world. This is why action sequences are the trademark of film. It's one thing to read and imagine a car chase, but another to actually see it play out before you. The way a shot is framed also communicates the intended mood of a scene. Close ups are intense. Quick cuts and shaky cameras give a feeling of agitation. You're able to represent larger and more abstract ideas in film because of how much more (or little) you're able to show to the audience. The power of sound and image (especially CGI) allows film to represent something in a way prose and theatre can not.
There's no way I could cover all three of these topics with the depth they deserve... So, with my ham-fisted writing ability, I'll just try and explore personal conflict with a story of my own:
Kevin has always loved cooking and tasting new foods. This passion has lead him to become a talented chef in a prestigious restaurant. The food business has always been competitive, and he has had to step over many co-workers and deal with incompetent bosses to get to where he is now. His co-workers respect him. He enjoys going into work, and gets along with everyone in the restaurant. Despite being young, everyone recognizes his talent. But after a scathing review by a well-known critic, management is in an uproar. The owners feel that it is time for a new head chef, and Kevin sees a chance to get what he deserves.
Kevin and another chef named James are the top candidates. They both come in early and leave late. Every dish is expertly prepared and worthy of praise. They are charismatic and creative. But why can't they see that Kevin is just better? Why can't they see that Kevin deserves it more? He's loved cooking his entire life. When other kids went outside to play, he stayed in the kitchen with his dad. Other teens joined clubs or played sports, but Kevin went home to try new recipes. Whenever his room mate went out clubbing with his friends, Kevin invited his own over for a home cooked meal. No one in the restaurant understands cooking like Kevin does. No one loves it as much is he does. The choice should be obvious. If management can't see this, then he will make them.
Kevin takes it upon himself to test James. He begins to misplace James's utensils. Turn a fire too high or too low every now and then. Leave an ingredient out to spoil by accident. Surely, if James were as good as everyone thought, he would notice these things. But he doesn't, and James's performance slowly begins to slip. Time and after time, James fails Kevin's tests. How could they promote a head chief who can't even remember where he put his knives?
Here we can see the character's interpersonal of conflict - the complications that arise from his daily life. The conflicts for Kevin at the daily level are things like: competing with co-workers over a task; getting a boss to notice his skill; constantly being at the top of his game at work. We're also starting to see a bit of what drives Kevin to do what he does...
But Kevin is now afraid he has been too obvious. Someone must have noticed his actions. And they must want the position as well. Someone who doesn't deserve it - someone average. They could be out to get Kevin, trying to set him up for failure. His enemy is no longer just James, but the entire kitchen staff. So Kevin begins watching his own tools. His own fires. Never a moment in the day goes by where everything isn't exactly where it's supposed to be.
The restaurant begins to notice Kevin becoming aloof. They ask him if he is okay, if something is bothering him. Just fine, he tells them. A lot on his mind lately. They walk away concerned, but he knows what their real intentions. They wont get him to slip up that easily. There is no way he will give up the lead he's built himself.
The fateful morning comes and the crew is called into the kitchen. They stand around in a circle, and after the useless pomp, Kevin is named head chef. No surprise, really. Only natural. They clap and cheer. They pat him on the back. "You deserve it", they tell him. As if he needed their confirmation. Everyone goes back to work while Kevin is shown his new office.
The restaurant is about to be brought to new heights under Kevin's leadership. He has plans. Ideas. New dishes are created. A higher level of service was expected. Those who did not share his enthusiasm were left behind. He did not to surround himself with those who could not see his talent. He begins to alienate himself from his colleagues. His lunches were now spent alone in the office. The only time he talked to his staff any more was when it concerned business. But Kevin knew that this was the price he'd pay for his success. The restaurant prospered. He could not complain It was everything he had wanted. Finally, a new review by the same critic comes in:
"A return to form and a level of excellence we've come to expect. This restaurant once again finds its place among the gold standard."
"Standard? Expected?" The words pour over Kevin like heavy rain, but he doesn't know how to react. Kevin could not accept that his talent and effort were anything other than extraordinary. He would not. These critics obviously could not appreciate the subtlety of his flavors. How could they? They didn't understand food like he did. Nobody in the restaurant does. He was being held back...
Now we begin to delve into personal conflict. We get a glimpse into our character's desire, their deep fear, and eventually their fatal flaw. This is also the level at which we can see a character's motivation at a deeper level. All people are born with essential needs. The way a character goes about fulfilling those needs is what defines them and creates drama. The things revealed about the character here also gives insight on how or why they make their choices at the daily level.
And so...
Kevin was driven by the need for praise, the fear of being average, and his pride. Not sure if my story communicated those things, but that was what I went for.
I couldn't really come up with an ending for my story (sorry!). But I'm sure it would have been worse than whatever you could come up with.
Remember that every character has basic needs. How they go about fulfilling those needs is what creates the story. If they fail, it's a tragedy. If they succeed, you have yourself a happy ending. I wonder which one Kevin deserves?
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