THE SECRET TO IRRESISTIBLE INTERNAL CONFLICT (hook your readers on page 1)

Well my friend here I am, back with another episode of #WritersLifeWednesdays and today it's all about JUICY INTERNAL CONFLICT -- how to write it so that you HOOK AND HOLD your reader's attention. Subscribe so you don't miss next week, the last installment of the series How To Create Relatable And Addictive Characters!

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✨ V A L U A B L E R E S O U R C E S✨

MORE VIDEOS YOU WOULD LIKE:

→ HOW TO WRITE DUAL POVS

→ SHOWING VS TELLING INTERNAL CONFLICT

→ HOW TO WRITE POWERFUL SIDE CHARACTERS

→ HOW TO WRITE THEME INTO YOUR STORY

✨F O L L O W ✨

✨ A B O U T ✨
My name is Abbie Emmons I teach writers how to make their stories matter by harnessing the power and psychology of storytelling, transforming their ideas into a masterpiece, and creating a lifestyle that makes their author dreams come true.

Story isn’t about “what happens” — it’s about how what happens affects and transforms the characters. I believe that there is an exact science (a recipe, if you will) behind a perfect story. And if you know what ingredients you need, you can create your own perfect story with ease and confidence. That’s what we talk about every week on this channel – and if it’s something you’re into, be sure to subscribe and join this community!

[princessaether]

Everybody: Watching the video normally.

Me: **Thinking how she opens blue drawers at the back, without getting them stuck to the lights.**

[whiskeyblack]

Desire: Well loved published author able to support myself on my writing alone
Fear: No one will like my series because it's not "typical" urban fantasy
Conflict: UGH!

[KryptojackJr]

I saw some sources say there are more than two sides in an Internal Conflict than Desire and Fear. In fact, there are probably FIVE options that can help make it more nuanced.

1. DESIRE - Something the character wants. Clearly used the most.
2. NEED - Something the character needs to have or do for survival or progress.
3. DUTY - The obligation the character feels is right or necessary.
4. FEAR - A driving force that worries or scares the character.
5. EXPECTATION - Something a character feels obligated to do because of someone else.

As shown in Tangled, Rapunzel WANTS to see the floating lanterns, but she NEEDS the selfish Flynn to help her get there, because she FEARS many things and is afraid of disappointing Gothel (EXPECTATION).

For other situations, someone may clash with DESIRE and DUTY, like a king who wants fun but knows he can't afford that with a kingdom to run. Spider-Man 2 (2004) is a great example of that, because Peter DESIRES to be able to succeed in his normal life, but with supervillains appearing every week, he has to don the suit and fulfill his DUTY by dealing with them, even if it risks him missing out on time with friends; it weighs heavily on Peter's mind, and eventually he gives up the superhero life, going against what Uncle Ben would have wanted him to do (EXPECTATION) and Peter seems happy about being a normal civilian, but when he sees how much New York needs Spider-Man in the aftermath, he realizes he NEEDS to sacrifice some personal happiness to protect his home and he becomes Spider-Man once again. As for DESIRE vs. FEAR, obviously he wants to tell his friends the truth of his superhero life, but doesn't want to put them in danger because of them knowing.

In Romeo & Juliet, the two titular lovers DESIRE to get married and live the rest of their lives together, but due to their families being enemies, neither of which would approve and they EXPECT them to hate each other too, and so the duo feels the NEED to keep it a secret, cementing their FEAR of being caught.

In Turning Red by Pixar, Mei is a young girl who has personal DESIRES such as seeing an all-boy band with her friends, but she doesn't always do those things because she wants to live up to her strict mother's EXPECTATIONS and so she feels the NEED to hide those desires out of FEAR of disappointing her mother, especially after she can now transform into a giant red panda, continuing to hide her desires or mistakes at school.

[iviebrooks]

I think my villain thinks he's the hero. I LOVE THAT SO MUCH!!

This is so great. I'm going to work on my character's arcs a little more and definitely use a lot of internal conflict. :D

[nutshellreadsandwrites]

I love that you used Tangled as an example for these tips!

[shanthi]

I'm two years late but YES I'm so proud of myself for figuring this out about my character, to answer that question "what would it take for the character to finally reach their goal?
(My answer)

Michael's goal in life is to find who he truly is. The person he's living as now doesn't feel like his true self. To him, it's like he's playing a character in a movie. This, he has been doing his whole life, acting like someone he's not becuase he feels like his true self is not good enough for others. Because of this fear of rejection, he acted like someone he's not but now, he's lost touch with who he is deep down and that scares him.
He has been trying to push away his past, becuase of all the trauma, guilt, sadness that comes with it. But he's at the same time pushing away who he is. He's trying to seperate his past and present as two different lives but he can't. Because, the things he's dealt with in the past is what shapes him as a person. It may be tragic, but when he accepts himself, his flaws, mistakes everything, that is when he'll find his true self.

[lauraduncan]

Speaking of how the plot “doesn’t matter” in light of the internal conflict, when you mentioned the Titanic hitting the iceberg, I thought of a good analogy: The story about a tree falling in the forest. If the tree falls and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? An action or “conflict” happened (the tree falling) but no one cares because it has no effect on someone’s feelings or desires or fears. Thanks again for making these immensely encouraging videos!!

[melissagravitis]

There's so much wisdom in here! I took soooo many notes!

[gailasprey]

Okay. Don’t hate me for this but I don’t think characters HAVE to have their internal conflict there right away. It can help the story if they do but it isn’t absolutely necessary. Say your characters having a great life then one day everything changes (the inciting incident) that could cause the internal conflict later in the story. For example: Once Upon A Time. Emma doesn’t know her parents are Snow White and Prince Charming. She has no idea. But a child (Henry) comes into her house and convinces her to go to Storybrooke. She realises he is her son and soon finds herself caring for him and the people of Storybrooke. She doesn’t start caring but she does eventually.

[lisskori]

4:39 "people don't get too abstract.."
me (INFP): guiltily shrinks down, "guess I'm not people"

[bambiatwork]

You explain abstract concepts so clear, Abbie. This, honestly, is way better than my Masters classes in Creative Writing. Many people are amazing writers, but not amazing teachers. Most writers struggle to communicate their writing process, masquerading it as something magical and happenstance. You just make things concrete. Thank you!

[JT-wcme]

I was watching this to help me with my life and didn't know it was about writing. Turns out I did just have all of this happen and my fear kept me from my desire. I wasn't even that scared. It was just biology. It can literally hold you away from all you want and will make you physically sick to keep you from what you desire. Really sucks to lose. The best way to avoid fear is to move so quickly toward what you want it can't catch you. Just move fast! This won't stop it, but it will outrun it more than not, and also, when it does catch up; you'll have more of the journey completed toward your goal. Get strong for no reason! Stay strong and decent. Love yourself. If you can't find worth, pretend you have it.. And keep going! Don't miss out on your dream. It sucks. The dream never goes away. The opportunity does.

[SBaby]

7:48 - That's something people often forget about villains. The best villains are ones that think they're doing the right thing.

[deellaboe]

Tangled was the perfect example, thanks for helping us.

[daniellira]

😂😂 I LITERALLY LOVE THE ENERGY in this slightly old videos. It is like more "punchy". Character driven video

[frankhorrigan]

Probably the most underrated video when it comes to writing advice on youtube

[Anonymous-mlu]

My goal is to write a book and my mind goes "but what if it's bad". There goes conflict

[KittenCece]

What do I desire most? Stability.

And in breaking down what my fear is, I realize that my misbelief is that I need to have CONTROL in order to have stability. And when things outside of my control happen, I think react in fearful ways because I've been equating control with stability.
🤔
Aha?

[rowan]

8:04 You just hit me with my protagonist’s second favorite movie. I was NOT expecting that. Not only that, but the reason she loves Tangled is because her story throughout my book is similar to Rapunzel’s in the movie, all the way down to the freedom on her birthday and inciting incident becoming her love interest, so you’re basically giving me a cheat sheet.

[ellyseramirez]

Wow. I never realized that what I was missing was something I knew all along. The only problem is that I haven’t really touched on it at all. Time to do some revisions! Thank you so much for this.