There are two different kinds of conflict in storytelling: internal and external. Now, we go into lots of detail in our definitive guide to conflict, but today, I want to focus on external conflict only. I want to go over the definition, look at some examples, and extrapolate how it can be used in your writing. Let's dive in. External Conflict DefinitionExternal conflict is the physical struggle between your character and outside forces, even including other characters.These are the outside pressures slowly crushing in on your character. Things like maybe being stuck in a trash compactor, or the impending attack of a star destroyer, or being hunted by the Sith. Also, non-Star Wars related things too.The Kinds of External Conflict When you're writing external conflict, you have to think about how the outside forces are affecting your characters. Of course, they could be threatening death. But there are lots of different ways to enter that realm. Let's look at the types of external conflict to talk about that more. Character versus Character: A situation in which two characters have opposing desires or interests and they go head to head on it. Think James Bond versus Blofeld or Captain America against the Nazis.Character versus nature: This involves a character tormented by natural forces such as storms or animals. We see it again and again in things like Gozilla, Crawl, and even All is Lost.Character versus machine: We see this in futuristic movies like The Matrix and Terminator series. This is what it...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - 6 days ago