Blog Chain

Before I get down to business, I’d like to point out that I have a new post up at AJ’s Clubhouse.

And now to get on with things.

Once again, I’m participating in the monthly blog chain at absolute write. This month’s chain is devoted to writing/books/literature. Instead of simply reacting to previous chain entries, we are supposed to respond to a question that the previous link in the chain assigns us. So far the questions have been fun to think about, and I’ve found myself playing along at home.

DniC started the ball rolling by answering a question from JamieMT, who is last in the chain: “What methods for plotting a story have you tried, and do you plan to try a different method the next time you start a WIP?” with some clever solutions to storyboarding.
DniC passed the torch to bigwords in the form of the question, “What makes your favorite villain memorable?” Bigwords answers using Frankenstein (the evil genius, not the monster), Jack the Ripper and Lex Luthor as examples.

Bigwords asked Fokker Aeroplanbau, “Do you believe novels have the power to change the way we view the world, or is that the role of non-fiction?” I am totally jealous that Fokker Aeroplanbau got this question, because this is something a think about a lot. But I’ll save it for another day. Besides, you should read Fokker Aeroplanbau’s answer

Fokker Aeroplanbau asked me:

What is your definition of an inner conflict? Does one sub-type appeal to you more then others? Why?

My first reaction to this question was that it wasn’t a great one for me. I’m working on a large work of non-fiction at the moment (my dissertation). We don’t tend to talk a lot about inner conflict in academia. But in fact, while writing a history of a small movement, I think a lot about inner conflict and its twin sister, motivation.

Inner conflict is my favorite form of literary tension. It is something within a character that needs resolution, a pulling in different directions that defines both character and plot. Often this conflict defines motivation for action. This is what keeps stories going. It’s what makes them interesting to read. You want to know what happens and why.

In writing history, you are trying to explain something that has already happened. Frequently I find myself examining the character and background of those involved in the events and trying to figure out why they might have acted the way they did, why they set wheels in motion at a particular time. What were they trying to resolve in their own lives?

Inner conflict is crucial to literature. It’s what makes memorable characters and memorable stories. Jane Eyre would just be another poor governess if it weren’t for her conflicting desires for independence and love, the result of her abusive childhood. And where would Huck Finn be without the conflict between wildness and domestication? Left to drift on his raft forever, I imagine.

I’m not sure I feel the need to go as far as “sub-types.” To me, conflict is what’s essential. It’s the gas that makes a story go. I’m not even sure how I’d divide it into sub-types in any meaningful way. It seems to me that any “types” would hinge more on plot than on anything worthy of generic division. Rather, it’s an individual choice of an individual author for an individual story.

That said, one thing I do find compelling in fiction is the way in which an author takes an inner conflict and allows it to play out on the exterior – the way a psychological state affects the presentation of the physical surroundings. If that is a sub-type, then I guess that’s my favorite. Using efficient language to reflect both setting and interpretation of setting based on a psychological state is an art I’d like to master.

I’ve been trying to imagine a story without some kind of inner conflict. I can only imagine something minimalist or absurdist. Anyone else have any ideas?

And now, it is my turn to ask a question. So, razibahmed, I’ll throw this one at you:

What are your writing routines? Where do you work? How long? How often? What do you do when things aren’t going well? And what if they are?

Check back with razibahmed in a day or two for the answer. And meanwhile, read up on the rest of the chain. The chain in its entirety is:

DniC
BigWords
Fokker Aeroplanbau
harri3tspy
razibahmed
Forbidden Snowflake
bsolah
jen.nifer
Lady Cat
Fame<Infamy
rosemerry
aimeelaine
Proach
Apelle
lostwonderer5
upsidedowngirl
JamieMT