Okay, so you have these characters and they each have their own goals that they're striving for. Now, it's very fine and good if you have a goal, but it's not really a story if you don't have conflict.
What is conflict? Good question!
Conflict is something that keeps your characters from attaining their goals. For example, let's take Suzy, the writer. Her goal is to write her best-selling novel. But she has several things keeping her from the goal.
1. She gets severe writer's block sporadically.
2. Her parents offer her criticism and are generally unhelpful.
3. Carpal tunnel syndrome... bad stuff.
So yeah. Three general things that will stop her from attaining her goal. OH NOES!
Now note that there we can split these three things into sub-conflicts. For instance, her parents might make her cry one day and she might try to give up writing altogether. But these are general conflicts.
So, now your turn. List, for your big characters, three things that are holding them back from achieving their goals.
Good luck!
What's Stopping Them?
46 posts in this topic.
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Empri (inner peace)
1) The war, the fact that she's the warlord of Mystic.
2) She's betrothed to the enemy's King, and in love with his two sons. Eek.
3) She knows very little about her past, and will not accept the Emperor as her father.
Aloisio (his true love)
1) She's dead, he isn't.
2) She was the Empress, he was an infamous pirate.
3) His son, and his obligations to him.
Emperor (pride in his leadership)
1) The huge legacy that his mother left behind.
2) His personal relations with the enemy.
3) The pure fact that the enemy has been around for generations, and he is barely thirty.
Alexander (Empri's love and satisfaction)
1) The Empri's love lies with the darker side, and he cannot express himself.
2) He accomplishes material things, a genius in manufacturing, but rarely considers philosphy.
3) He often kills, and never confronts his guitly feelings. -
Eli: (human trafficking, finding Kyra)
1) The secret police are trying to stop him.
2) Almer and his followers are trying to stop him.
3) Kyra is living under an alias.
Kyra: (mastering pyrokinesis)
1) Kyra makes it hard for other people to teach her by being dissagreeable.
2) Kyra has difficulty with mastering pyrokinesis.
3) She injures her hand. -
Samuel (To help coordinate and assist the Whigs in anyway possible against Parliament's taxing. )
-Age
-Lack of experience with politics
-Survival; that comes first before his goal.
Welcome (Persuading Samuel's interest in warfare and fighting by eventually describing his own military background in depth and the conflict's it caused Welcome. He also wants Samuel protected.)
-His son can be unresponsive
-His son sometimes makes rash decisions without thinking clearly
-Teaching Samuel military training has made Welcome's son mildly cocky
Martha (Like Welcome, she fears for Samuel's safety and wants him protected.)
-Unresponsive son
-A son that makes rash decisions without thinking about the consequences.
-Samuel's involvement with the Whigs, and the community, is starting to endanger his life.
Samuel Adams (To assist measures against Parliament's taxing, fill that 'emptiness,' and keep a secret between Samuel and him buried.)
-British laws being forced by King George; he can't get directly caught
-Adams is technically preventing himself in filling the void
-Revere is aware of that secret, and Revere has a horrible habit of mockery
Paul Revere (Same as Samuel's goal. He also wants to learn restraint, and keep a fixed eye on Dr. Benjamin Church.)
-British laws being forced by the King, expect Revere is quite as rebellious as Adams
-He's preventing himself to learn restraint. Revere is his own worst enemy in a sense
-Distractions from eight other radicals all discussing the Massacre, and chit chatting are challenging Revere to watch Church closely
Garrick (Learn about the Bible and forget his family's past. Garrick wants to also learn how to take his hatred against Britain, his father, and somehow use that energy in a positive light.)
-His roommate's stubbornness won't teach him about the Bible
-As long as his memories exist, forgetting the past is difficult
-No one has taught Garrick how to use hatred as a positive form of energy yet
Angus ( Just to preform his duty without showing weakness or remorse, and tending to a fiery soldier.)
-Death on a daily basis could affect his responsibility; trigger emotions or distract him
-His high rank; he cannot shrink from it
-A soldier challenges Angus's patience -
Sadie's father: He wants his family (even the somewhat adopted family) to be safe.
1. His family hates him.
2. He has to worry about the political implications of EVERYTHING he does.
3. He is terribly lonely.
Carolina: She wants to free from the domestic wife place she's expected to be.
1. To escape, she finds it easier to turn to narcotics.
2. She loves her family very much.
3. She is prone to rash hastilly-thought out plans.
Daniel: He wants to love without reserve.
1. Being an indentured servant, this is hard to do, especially being under the nose of the master at all times.
2. He's grown up in an upper-class society where love is superficial, so he is naturally distrustful of love.
3. He often goes overboard with his ideas.
Sadie: She wants freedom.
1. Her father, in his attempts to protect her, has arranged a terrible marriage for her.
2. In her family's neglect, she has turned into a spoiled brat that few can love.
3. She is extremely distrustful of anyone.
The freak: She wants the ones she loves to be safe.
1. Her love is not always returned.
2. She's much too quiet for her own good.
3. She is very selfless and forgets to make sure she is happy.
Elsa: She wants to hold together the family.
1. She has fetishes to get over.
2. She is much too loud for her own good.
3. The family doesn't really like her.
Claude: He wants to be truly loved.
1. He's lame.
2. He has too much power, which makes him paranoid about others' motives.
3. He doesn't mind manipulating others.
...actually, that was kind of hard. *glee* -
Donovan (wants to protect his family and kingdom)
* One becomes neglected whenever he attends to the other.
* He tries too hard.
* He blames himself for others' mistakes and things he can't control.
Charlotte (wants to protect her daughters from the evils of the world)
* She's insane.
* Her daughters have minds, wills, and personalities of their own.
* Her solution to the perceived problem is a bit... unconventional.
Ivy (wants to keep her sisters safe and become a general at her father's side)
* She's a girl; sometimes women may enlist as soldiers, but it's rare, and certainly a princess would not be allowed.
* Her father won't let her travel with him, so the only time she's seen an encampment is when she's sneaked away.
* Her sisters won't always listen to her (especially Abby).
* Her plans are sometimes faulty.
* A bit too bossy for her own good.
Dinah (wants everyone to be safe and happy)
* Outside circumstances will always assure this cannot be.
* Blames herself for things that aren't her fault.
* Feels as though everyone else's happiness is her responsibility (plays peacemaker too often).
* Won't speak up when she is unhappy or upset; shy; allows others to take advantage of her.
* Hates conflict of any type.
Abby (wants to be free; wants to rule the kingdom as an adult, but without a king)
* By right (though not by choice), Ivy should be the one to inherit the ruling responsibilites.
* Will have to marry unless she becomes a nun. Abby's no nun.
* Has a list of expectations that seems to grow longer every year.
* Temper, temper, temper!
Sophie (wants to be loved by everyone and for all her family to be together all the time)
* The king periodically must leave on diplomatic/military campaigns.
* The queen periodically must leave on diplomatic missions.
* Dinah enjoys her time alone; Ivy frequently spends entire days outside training; Abby is quick to lose her temper.
* She's prone to whining, panicking, and overemotional behaviour.
That was fun! And really, really helpful too. I'm glad you put this exercise up, Snoink.
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Okay... Oy, looks hard. But fun, I think. ^_^ Okay. Now.
Shan Azov Tefur: (is looking for a purpose worth fighting for again)
- He has a lot of baggage from the Kasimovs as far as his sense of duty, loyalty and pride go
-In his less than harmonious state he is very easily disillusioned
-He's being stalked by Strazhas
Kyra Elasin: (wants civil reform and revolution)
-Shan is proving difficult to manupilate into doing what she needs done
-The Strazhad are looking for a writer matching her description
-Her obsession with the Chair is making her somewhat neurotic about what's written in her book...
Airhei Livny: (wants to keep things the way they are in Sheodin)
-Kyra is making it difficult for him to attain his goal, even though he doesn't even know that it's her doing it.
-His pride as a Kasimov clashes with his high level of corruption
Lhe Jahan: (wants the allegiance of the Strazhas in order to stay safe from them)
-The Strazhad is on really high alert mode about everything and everyone thanks to Kyra's little antics
-Strazhas are, as a rule, unpredictable
-He's conflicted - he doesn't really believe in what the Strazhas are doing -
Let's see if I've got this.
Hunter- Find and rescue his father
1) Ignorant of human society
2) Has absolutely no idea where to start looking
3) The king has father imprisoned in the castle
Bennick- Reestablish order of knights and oust king
1) Is being actively hunted
2) Finding supporters
3) Tendency to be over protective and over emotional
Leona- Assist Bennick and discover the extent of her newfound power
1) Is being actively hunted
2) Her fears of her potential power
3) Feels she drags others down with her inadequacy
Rishele- Discover her friend's true identity and test her abilities
1) Her friend's cleverness
2) Few opportunities to test herself other than with Hunter
3) Her near obsession for an adrenaline rush
Tallis- To prove himself and become legendary
1) His hotheadedness
2) His lack of true trust of most people
3) Overconfidence
Wow, it was hard to come up with the third one for everyone but Hunter. I thought I already had it down. Shows what I know know. Looks like I may have to work on it. Anyway, it got me thinking and it helped. -
Tov: (survive/present moment amusement())
-himself - reckless penchant for pushing things/people to breaking points
-refusal to work for/respect anyone but himself
-coward's blank towards...the past
Piers: (justice/fairness)
-anarchical system
-his own frustration and unbending grip on one way to manage things
-doubt
Well, Tov has some idea of what he wants, until someone asks him then. Then he pretends there's nothing. (I don't mean to sound ridiculously pathetic, but someone tell me: I'm not the only one who's had this sort of mad character to deal with? I assume not - not in a forum full of writers...) -
Poor Imp wrote:Well, Tov has some idea of what he wants, until someone asks him then. Then he pretends there's nothing. (I don't mean to sound ridiculously pathetic, but someone tell me: I'm not the only one who's had this sort of mad character to deal with? I assume not - not in a forum full of writers...)
Nah, Imp, I think we've all touched the unhindered insanity of our characters at some point... I mean with bleak Kasimovs and inebriated pianists and what-not... I don't think any of my characters were ever quite like Tov, but then again - that's what makes him so cool. ^_^ -
Regan (to discover her past, family, etc...)
- amnesia
- erm... amnesia
Blanche (to marry rich/fears being poor)
- churlish
- hard to please, picky about everything
- because she fears being poor, she excommunicates herself from anyone who isn't rich or rich and available.
Archie (to take over Temple Press, to be loved)
- he is hesitant to prove himself
- doesn't trust himself
- When I come to woo ladies, I fright them
- skittish towards Mr. Temple
- has had abysmal luck with ladies, i.e Blanche ripped his heart out and fed it to the wolves and other carnivorous beasts.
Henry (to be free of his oppressive duties/to see the end of the Empire)
- he is a Lord
- he thinks his uncle Mr. Temple hates him
- he is overzelous and flamboyant
- he is only a man, and he is not immortal
More later. -
Imp, you remind me of Dostoyevsky.
Well, here goes:
Fineena (raise money for family so they can come join her in America to begin their new life)
1. She's Irish, and the influx of Irish immigrants in America make Americans biased towards her.
2. She has a large family, and can't get the money that quickly.
3. She's fiery, and speaking before she thinks often gets her into trouble.
Peter (protect Fineena and Bridget, help get Patrick out of prison, start his own newspaper)
1. He doesn't have the resources to begin his own newspaper right away because he comes over virtually penniless.
2. He wants to protect Fineena so badly, but one night on the ship, he tells her that he'll protect her forever, and misses a prime opportunity of telling her he loves her. Fineena also wants to support herself in a way (at least she makes a show of it on the outside), although inside she desperately wants to be loved.
3. The unfair and biased court system makes it very difficult to convince them of Patrick's innocence.
4. The politician who gives Peter help in return for votes and persuading others to vote for him, even though he is corrupted.
5. The shipwreck
Patrick (wants Ireland free and supports his starving family)
1. Is in prison and has to convince the biased English court system on his innocence.
2. His native wife dies.
3. Is shipwrecked.
4. Is sentenced to be deported to Australia.
5. Has to overcome depression.
Bridget (to support Peter and Fineena and Patrick)
1.She really doesn't have any problems of her own, except those of her friends. She lives to help others.
2. Trying to remember her family. They died when she was very young. Peter has some memories, but she doesn't.
3. Having to deal with a cranky aunt.
4. Having to help Patrick learn to love again.
I think the thing I need to do is get into Bridget's character a little more. Delve into it, you know? It was hard finding things for Bridget. I don't know why, but she's such a...helper that she doesn't have any problems of her own really except those of her friends and other minor ones (besides helping Patrick). -
Scarlett: To come to terms with her past and understand it--also, to overcome her fear of loving and trusting others.
1. The people whose opinions she values the most want nothing to do with her/want to brush all the unpleasantness she's trying to understand under the rug
2. Every time she gets comfortable with something/someone/a situation, something goes wrong (rather characteristic to a novel, eh?).
3. She herself constantly tries to deny what has happened to her as a method of coping (refusing to talk about it, etc.) even though she wants to feel better about her past.
Charlie: To make his life look normal to everyone around him, even when it's not. To put things back to the way they used to be before his family became a mess.
1. Well, reality is staring him in the face. Everybody is talking about all of the awful things going on, so it's difficult for him to pretend they're not.
2. It hurts his sister when he tries to ignore everything that's going on because she feels he's trying to ignore her, the drama queen that she is, and it makes everyone else angry.
Zadkhiel: To help Scar turn her life around and be happy, and then later, to persuade her that she indeed has feelings for him. Also, to have a life different than that of his parents.
1. Whenever he tries to help Scarlett, things tend to backfire, or else another problem springs up.
2. Scarlett has trust issues and therefore feels he was using her through their friendship just so he could have a relationship with her, which she is horribly afraid of.
3. He is drawn to messed-up people who have problems similar to his parents, so both his parents and his friends rub off on him, making him something he does not always want to be.
Yay! That was fun. And useful... -
Robert Shaw -- Find a place in the Navy again, get over the death of his wife.
1. He hasn't sailed in the Navy for almost 2 years, and has lost some of his well-honed skills.
2. Feels at fault for his wife's death and can't escape this guilt.
3. The crew doesn't take to him and neither does the Captain as he begins to make mistakes.
Benjamin Findley -- Campaign for freedom of slaves, attempt to woo Ameerah
1. Finds little support for abilitionism in Caribbean where slavery is needed, met with anger and apathy.
2. Ameerah has rejected his advances and doesn't love him back, only wants him as a friend.
Ameerah -- (I would put them down but it would totally ruin the story - haha! So, instead, I'll put an ambigious answer.) Complete her given mission.
1. Many things (ambiguity again) -- mainly the unexpected arrival of a British frigate.
2. Falling for Richard.
David Fawcett -- Learn the ways of the Navy and the sea, avoid the tyrancy of Midshipman Betteridge
1. He's young and Betteridge has made it hard for him to adapt to Navy life.
2. To avoid Betteridge is mainly impossible on a ship where he berths with him.
3. Feels weak and inconfident and can't find the strength yet inside of him to work toward his goals.
Lieutenant Gray -- Show himself in battle or otherwise to attain promotion, see Jenkins-Hall fall from grace
1. Pegasus is called a "cursed" ships since prizes and battle have been few and far between.
2. He is aging and his chances of being promoted seem to getting lower and lower as he gets older, stuck on a frigate.
3. Jenkins-Hall has sufficient influence to prevent him from losing his position.
Lieutenant Jenkins-Hall -- Maintain a healthy relationship with the Captain and other officers to keep influence, attain promotion
1. Lieutenant Gray's efforts and his position of only second Lieutenant restrict him.
2. Promotion is only accessible if Gray dies or he is transferred to another ship where he is the most senior -- ie. he is stuck in the slow heriarchy of the Navy. -
MATTHIAS: [Keep family safe, later reunite family]
1) He's been drafted into the Imperialist army- and the Imperialists don't like him all that much, so if he goes AWOL he'll probably end up in a bad situation (dead, I mean to say).
2) His family is spread all over the continent (actually, the world, if you count Mary). He's in Louisiana, Jeremy is hanging around mainly the Middle Province (think North Carolina), and Luke is near Boston.
3) The British don't like him either (Jeremy's quip of 'Father, you slept with a princess?' fairly sums it up)- and as you could probably guess, living on a continent where neither major party likes you is pretty bad stuff.
MR. BARCLETT: [Serve as guardian/protector for Luke and Upton, destroy Empire's economy from the inside]
1st Goal: Luke and Upton aren't exactly the most...socially accepted pair of people living in Virginia. Naturally, he's got to look out for Upton since he's his grandson, but people still are going to talk. And when you control all of a country's major power players...talk isn't good.
2nd Goal: He's an Anglican- the 'bad guy' of Virginian society- so his every move is watched and evaluated countless times. All moves must be made slowly and very, very carefully or...you know the rest.
LIEUTENANT: [Survive Virginia, go home]
1) Being the infamous head of an aptly named 'Death Brigade', there's more than one person who dearly wants her head on a stick.
2) At the moment, you can't really get in to Scotland, no matter who you are. The place is in the thick of civil war- not really the greatest time to pay a visit.
3) Falling for Jeremy. Oh, you know you wouldn't want to leave someone that attractive...admit it.
MASTER BLACKWELL: [Keep original thought alive]
1) His method of interpreting religious texts would be under fire today- so, magnify that 200 times and you've got the true proportions of his problem.
2) The general age group of the students he teaches is around 13-20 years old- and by that age, he figures you've most likely become a part of the 'Drudgery'.
3) He's unusually young for a teacher (around 24) so he's already under the microscope as being 'untrustworthy'. Add in an underground subject or two...bad stuff happens.
JEREMY: [Ditto Lieutenant, Matthias]
1) Luke is his twin brother. Now, at a younger age you could tell them apart, but when they're older it's harder to tell. And back home, Luke's about as infamous as you can get.
2) His father is supposed to be fighting him to the death at the moment...which makes 'quality time' sort of hard.
3) He's fallen in love with Lieutenant, too. Aww...
DAVID: [Find out who he is + learn how to get by on his own]
1) He's been a bit...er...sheltered in his childhood. That is, everything from hugging to mixing bowls needs to be explained in depth. He's a pretty perceptive guy, just behind the times a little.
2) Later on, he's under quite a bit of fire for his love of anything that has to do with sex. And finding your own identity when you're on a constant hormone kick and have adults breathing down your neck all the time...not easy.
3) He's having trouble finding a girl he really loves- especially nearing the end, when he's around 18 or so and in a perfect world should be married by then. And, when you're clueless in the ways of the world, a girl's what you need.
VERONICA: [Find husband, and so on...]
1) She's in the same boat as David in the 'sheltered childhood' aspect. And when you've got your father constantly on your case...kinda hard to find someone you want to raise Virginia's finest family with.
2) Naturally, she's exactly like Luke (personality wise). That is, all manners aside- haughty and sort of cynical.
Pleasant, eh? Well, that's what etiquette lessons attempt to fix...but there are always slip ups.
3) Not only is she a feminine Luke...she loves him, too. It's bad when you're an Imperialist and your boyfriend is an illegitimate English heir- and everyone who knows him in Virginia knows him as a traitor (quite why, no one's figured out, but having something burned into your hand that signifies such is always going to cause a ruckus).
UPTON: [Escape school + live normally]
1) Upton wants to be a professor- though for his Indian heritage and crippled condition, it'll be hard to find a job.
2) Living normally is always hard when you've fallen in love with your [guy] friend's best [guy] friend. Especially when that's considered heresy...
3) Military strategy is no field for a genteel, wealthy boy to study. So when you've got your heart set on it and you're supposed to study racing horses...you're not going to do very well in school, and henceforth have a hard time getting out of school.
LIBERTY: [Escape oppressive family + ditto Veronica, Upton]
1) Her plan for getting out of the family is- shall we say- a little unethical. So! How does she do it without totally wrecking her reputation? ...er, you tell me.
2) Living normal life= hard, when you're supposed to escape the country in the dead of night with an allegedly 'dangerous' person. (I'm referring to Luke, if you haven't caught my drift yet.)
3) Finding a husband is hard in a country where you're the 'bad guy'. Especially if you've got the sort of mystique that Anne Boleyn and others had. (And we all know how they ended up.)
LUKE: [*cringes* Save the world...in essence]
1) The phrases 'illegitimate heir' and 'allegedly dangerous' don't do any particular wonders for one's PR.
2) Ah, there's Fritzy, who he must play father figure to since...his really father is on his deathbed and his brothers are schmucks.
3) Aforementioned brothers, Society of the Hourglass, Britain's aristocracy, Virginia's aristocracy, and the country of Scotland all want to kill him. Bad stuff.
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