Hey, great to see you again! 👀
I'm glad you're here for the second lesson with me. If you're reading this, it means you enjoyed the first lesson.
How did you do with the exercises? I hope you did well.
Well, let's get started with today's lesson.
I've already told you that without conflict, there is no story. A story, whether it's a short story, novel, or movie, without problems is very boring.
So let's make the character we just created fight against something. 💪
Here are some types of struggles or conflicts your character may face:
Struggle against nature: think of stories where characters have to face a hurricane, an earthquake, or hungry dinosaurs (like in Jurassic Park).
Struggle against other humans: this type of conflict is very common, especially when there are villains to fight against (Batman and the Joker).
Struggle against circumstances: for example, a financial problem (the character lost their job, like in The Pursuit of Happiness) or a relationship problem (a love story, like Romeo and Juliet).
Internal struggle: when your character has to face their own fears (like in Coraline), insecurities, and prejudices.
What type of struggle or conflict will your character face? Think about it and write it down.
The Structure of Your Story
There are many types of structures for writing fictional stories, but we don't have time to study them all.
So let's use this structure to write a story, which is related to conflict:
1. Get your character into trouble as soon as possible.
2. Everything your character does to solve the problem only makes things worse.
3. The situation seems unsolvable. This is the CLIMAX.
4. Finally, your character succeeds against all odds.
If in a novel we walk, in a short story we run. Everything has to happen faster. There isn't much time to tell the characters' life stories.
Time to Read
We must give our character a strong desire, something they want to do or achieve; perhaps a place they want to go. But then we put an obstacle that will prevent them from achieving it. Just with that, we have a conflict!
Now I'm going to share one of my favorite short stories by Neil Gaiman. It's a simple story. It only has two characters: the lamp genie and the young woman who rubs the lamp.
Let's see how this story follows the structure we learned today.
1. Get the character into trouble as soon as possible.
The story begins with the genie wanting to do his job of granting three wishes.
But Hazel doesn't want anything. There, a conflict is created. 🤯
How is it possible that she doesn't want anything?
2. Everything the character does to solve the problem only makes things worse.
The genie insists and insists, but she says she's fine. He tries to trick her when he asks if one of the wishes is for the genie to clean her garden, but nothing.
3. The situation seems unsolvable.
Time passes (we can infer that at least a month has passed from the references to Halloween 🎃 and Thanksgiving), and it seems like there's nothing indicating that Hazel is going to make three wishes.
4. Finally, the character succeeds against all odds.
In an unexpected ending, the genie has changed his way of being and thinking, and he no longer has the desire to grant wishes. He is free from the lamp and has fallen in love with Hazel. Just like her, he no longer has wishes to fulfill but is content with his life.
Do you see how easy it is to create tension and conflict in a story? The difficult part is telling the story in such an elegant and simple way as Neil Gaiman does.
Hands-on
Let's put ourselves in our character's shoes and find their deepest motivations, goals, and dreams. Write your response to these two questions:
1. What does your character feel most passionate about?
2. Throughout their life, what do they want to be or do more than anything else in the world?
3. Now imagine that your character is about to achieve their goal, but something goes wrong...
They want to be a singer, but their parents won't let them go to the audition.
They want to be a professional football player, but they injure their knee.
They like a boy at school, but he already has a girlfriend.
Make a list of 10 things that can go wrong and prevent your character from achieving their goal.
4. Using the 4-step structure we learned today, write an outline of your story. For example, you can write some ideas under each step. Or if you're feeling inspired, start writing your story!
You did it! You've reached the end of another lesson. 👏
In a few days, you'll receive a lesson about the narrator of your story.