Wondering how to build in effective character conflict? How does one create the kind of inner turmoil that drives a character to outrageous page-turning decisions and mistakes? Try drawing a line in the sand.
I love that scene from the Fellowship Of The Ring where Gandalf screams at the Balrog: “You shall not pass!” Awesome. That was a game changer scene, it ratcheted up the conflict several notches. Gandalf went to the ultimate extreme to make sure that Balrog did not pursue the rest of the Fellowship. Does your main character have a line in the sand, a personal boundary past which they will not cross? Don’t be subtle – give them a shove off the cliff.
*Note: Not every character does or should have a personal vow. It’s a complexity that requires skill with plotting and pacing to pull off because a vow may influence a character’s motivations and morals, but it’s rarely their main story goal.*
Ever whispered a vow in the dark of the night, tears streaming down your cheeks? Maybe you were caught in the middle of a messy divorce. Maybe you experienced a trauma of some sort, the kind that haunts you – and down deep inside you made yourself a promise so that hurt never happens again: I will never…
Everyone has a line in the sand, a secret vow. No matter what else happens, this is one inviolable line they will not cross. Most people have several of these vows, some innocuous, some more serious. Some people make these vows consciously and others are completely unaware of these personal vows.
I will never let a bully see me cry – that’s a conscious vow.
I will never be a victim again – this one might be a subconscious vow that influences behaviour and thinking behind-the-scenes. These are often the kinds of personal vows that get explored in counselling.
Now – make them squirm
Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake novel Blue Moon uses a really great personal vow as a story element. Anita Blake has several rules or lines in the sand which have been firmly established in previous books in the series, but throughout Blue Moon Blake is forced to violate one rule after another. It started off innocently enough, Blake is uncomfortable, she’s not happy, but she can shake it off.
Blake faces escalating circumstances that forced her to throw her boundaries aside to accomplish what she saw as the greater good in a situation. Every line she crossed, because someone she loved needed her help, changed her and not always for the better. How could it not.
But the reverse can also work.
I loved the movie Law Abiding Citizen with Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx. At the beginning of the movie, Foxx’s lawyer character comes across as a good guy, but someone willing to cut corners to achieve what he saw as the greater good. Butler’s character creatively, and rather gruesomely, pushes Foxx to the very edge of sanity.
By the end of the movie, Foxx is still bending the rules for a greater good, but Butler’s character has forced him to draw a line in the sand: Never make a deal with a murderer. What was compelling wasn’t the line in the sand, but how far Foxx’s character was willing to go, to sacrifice — to ensure he never crossed that line again.
Complexity
Vows are hard to pull off in simple plots. These lines in the sand are often in addition to a character’s main goal in the story. For instance, Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind vows: “As God is my witness, I’m going to live through this and when it’s all over I’ll never be hungry again…”
Scarlett’s conscious goal for the story though is to claim/marry Ashley Wilkes. That’s what she schemes for, dreams about, etc.
Her unconscious goal is to have the love of a man who can make her feel secure. At the end of the book when Ashley finally becomes available, she realizes it’s actually Rhett she wants because he’s the one who makes her feel secure (she talks about how he comforts her in the night after a bad dream, etc), but now Rhett’s gone.
Scarlett never crossed her line in the sand, but how far was she willing to go to ensure that? That’s compelling conflict.
Been told you should learn Deep Point Of View? Had an editor or critique partner tell you to “go deeper” with the emotions in your fiction? Looking for a community of writers seeking to create emotional connections with readers? Check out the Free Resource Hub and then join the Going Deeper With Emotions In Fiction Facebook group.
What a great post, Lisa! And what a great question. The movie/book/story that immediately came to my mind was Gone With The Wind. On her knees, digging for food in the muddy garden, Scarlett famously says at the movie’s intermission about half-way through the book, “As God is my witness, I will never go hungry again!” And we see just how far she’s willing to go to keep that vow. Now I’m thinking back on it and I can’t recall that she ever broke it. I wonder what would have made her do that?
Diane Capri recently posted…New Short Story: Jack In A Box (the Hunt For Reacher Series)
I never read the book – but maybe I’ll have to rewatch the movie again. That’s an awesome line. Thanks for sharing!
If you’re a Star Trek fan there’s the scene where the ship is being over run by borg and Picard has his speach about the Line…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGF1NP-FrCU
Austin Berkel recently posted…I Told You I Was A Liar
That’s an awesome clip! Thanks so much for sharing. “I will not sacrifice the Enterprise.”
Thought-provoking post, Lisa, and I agree that Getting Into Character is a great book. Love the fly chapter.
For me as a reader, crossing the line in the sand depends on what and why. I like to see a character overcome something that’s limiting them, but I hate watching them make bad choices. Sometimes they have to early on, but I remember one book by a best-selling author where the character just went farther and farther downhill. I have no idea if he turned himself around in the end, because I was long gone by then.
Janet Sketchley recently posted…Take Flight Progressive Interview
Thanks, Janet. I had the opportunity to take a fiction intensive class with Brandilyn Collins and that book was the text. Very funny lady.
I think that there are a lot of different books for different kinds of readers. I would say that the author failed to make you care about that character in that particular case. I’m going to blog about raising the stakes next week.
I think I might be closer to Janet on this one. I like to see lines pushed and crossed to a certain extent, but after a while, I lose respect for a character who violates all their “I will nevers.” As writers, I think we also have to consider what message we’re sending to our readers. Is crossing all those lines for “the greater good” really the right thing to do, or should some lines never be crossed, no matter the cost? When making the choices in how we push our characters, I think we have to always be aware of the bigger message we’re sending and whether we want to send it rather than just whether it ups the entertainment value.
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No, I agree. I think the ‘I will nevers’ are a great opportunity for conflict. To challenge those boundaries, really make the character think through why they have those lines in the sand – self-examination. There are lines we won’t cross, but at what cost? And if we do cross them, what are the personal, emotional, social consequences? What I don’t like are the novels where the character’s line in the sand is hard to relate to – I will never tell a lie – I will never get angry – I will never look at another woman. Everyone struggles. Everyone makes bad choices in the heat of the moment from time to time.
Conflict, yes, and letting the character discover his/her lines in the sand and why/how much they matter. I’ve been thinking about the lines themselves, though, and for me, crossing certain lines is positive, growth and healing (eg I will never show weakness by asking for help) where crossing others is defeat and perhaps even degradation. If the latter happens early I can enjoy reading about how the character rebuilds, and if the former happens near the end of the book it’s a key part of a satisfying ending.
Janet Sketchley recently posted…Take Flight Progressive Interview