Define the Inner Conflict of Your Hero

Before writing any story, define the inner conflict of your hero. Most writers focus on their plot and the action of the story, but action won’t matter if it serves no purpose. Action only makes sense when it represents the inner conflict of the hero. 

“Rocky” isn’t just about a boxer trying to fight the heavyweight champion of the world. It’s really about a boxer trying to prove to himself and the world that he’s not a loser. The only way to do this is to put up a good fight against the heavyweight champion of the world. Strip away the meaning of this action and all the exciting action means nothing.

To define your story, make sure we know the external conflict and the internal conflict as soon as possible. In “Little Miss Sunshine”, the opening scene shows the hero’s external conflict, which is her dream of competing in a beauty pageant. 

Then the second scene introduces the hero’s internal conflict, which is that her father has convinced her that the world is made up of winners and losers, and if you’re not a winner, you’re a loser. 

Now the hero, Olive, has a goal to compete in a beauty pageant but she’s terrified that if she doesn’t win, she’ll be a loser. 

The first half of most stories focuses on teaching the characters (and the audience) so once “Little Miss Sunshine” introduces the idea of the beauty pageant and that people are either winners or losers, the first half of the story keeps repeating this idea.

Later in the”Little Miss Sunshine”, the grandfather plants a seed of change in the father. The father has been trying to publish his motivational program but has failed. That’s when the grandfather tells the father that most people never try to do anything (and admits he includes himself in that category) but the father did and that’s why the grandfather is proud of him.

Initially, the father thanks his dad sarcastically, but when his dad pats him on the shoulder, the father grasps his hand and finally thanks him sincerely. 

By the midpoint of “Little Miss Sunshine” we can finally see how the hero can change. The hero openly admits that she’s terrified of being a loser but the grandfather tells her that real losers are people so afraid of not winning they don’t even try. So as long as Olive tries, she can’t be a loser. That essentially outlines the hero’s enter internal conflict from feeling like she’s either a winner or a loser to finally realizing that she can be a winner just as long as she tries. 

Just in the first half of any good story, the hero should go from their initial dead end belief to a more hopeful state like this:

* Hero stuck in dead end life because of their beliefs

* Hero learns of a new way to think and live

* Hero gets the answer to live a better life although they (and the audience) doesn’t even realize it at the time

This is how this gradual three-step process changes the hero in the following movies:

“Star Wars”

* Luke is actually too afraid to leave his uncle’s farm when Obi-wan suggests he travel with him

* Luke watches Obi-wan use the Force to defeat various enemies

* Obi-wan lets Luke experience the Force by blocking laser blasts while blindfolded

“The Hunger Games”

* Katniss thinks she’s not very likable

* Through the help of others, Katniss learns to make herself stand out and get people to like her

* Katniss finally develops a friendship with Peeta the night before the Hunger Games

In the first half of the story, the hero gradually learns how to overcome their inner conflict. Then in the second half of the story, the hero takes action to overcome their inner conflict.

When writing your story, start with the inner conflict of your hero. Then focus on the action and plot. If you do it backwards (start with action and plot), you may n ever even think of focusing on an inner conflict and your story will be so much weaker as a result. 

Start with the hero’s inner conflict and that’s your entire foundation for your whole story. Until you know your hero’s inner conflict, you can’t possibly write a good story. 

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