Internal Conflict.
The internal conflict of a character in the book is very important.
What is internal conflict?
Every character in a story will have his/her own beliefs. These may be right or wrong. These beliefs become a reason for his/her actions in the story. The ideas are within them, and hence the name.
The internal beliefs or opposing ideas of a character drive him/her.
The reader may or may not agree with the character. The conflict drives the character forward.
The conflict builds the story. It drives the plot of the story.
Subtle v/s Loud
(What follows is my personal opinion or views about how I like to build conflict in the story.)
The conflict should be personal to the character. The reader should be able to understand the conflict, but not the other characters. The behaviour of the character should baffle the other characters and create tension between them. They should be able to understand, see or feel the conflicting beliefs of the character and help them overcome it.
The reader has exclusive insights to the character's inner world, but the other side characters should be unaware of them.
They can only understand it, if the character chooses to reveal it to others through dialogue.
Or the other characters come to know about the back story of this character and understand him/her.
Or they have same experiences and are able to see through the pain and conflict of this character.
Last night I read a romance novel by an author who has written more than 50 books and sold millions of copies.
The chapter one revealed the conflict. Both of the male and the female protagonists.
Great.
Now the reader knows the reasons behind the character's actions.
But, throughout the next chapters every other side character knows the conflict and fears of the female character. She is open to share it with anyone who cares to listen. Even strangers. That's not believable.
It looked like the author wanted the reader to know, what is wrong.
I as a reader, felt that the author does not trust me to understand the conflict.
She has to shout it out through the mouth (in form of dialogues) of almost every character in the story.
The side characters don't have any other goal than to discuss the conflict with the female protagonist.
Everyone understands her fear, and she is loud enough to proclaim it.
And yet the male protagonist misunderstands her. How?
Absurd.
But most important, I as a reader, felt that the author thinks of me as not smart enough to understand what is going on until it is being shouted from every page.
Boring.
I like conflict that is subtle.
A glimpse into the backstory of the character is enough for me to understand what she must be feeling. I don't need to be screamed at. I am a reader. Trust me.
Backstory.
That is another topic.
