Conflicts and Plots

garrowolf

First Post
I wrote this as a reference to myself but I thought that it would be helpful to other people.



[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Conflict[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] There are several kinds of conflict and there are several degrees of conflict. The kinds of conflict are things like Man vs Nature, Man vs Himself, etc. The degrees of conflict are how difficult that conflict is to overcome; what does it take to overcome it. There are conflicts that you can deal with yourself. There are conflicts that something outside yourself must be added or removed. There are conflicts that require more then one person to deal with. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Each one should have examples of stories or movies focusing on this kind of conflict, examples of protagonists in that kind of conflict as well as an antagonist. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Character vs Self [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] This is a conflict within a person, trying to overcome a fear, trying to change oneself, etc. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Fears[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Minor fear – You have a fear of something but after some self reflection or a need for bravery you face your fear and you are over it. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Moderate fear – You have a fear of something that bothers you a lot and you avoid it. It would take a major realization on your part to deal with it. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Major fear – You have a fear of something that changes your plans and behavior. You go to great lengths to avoid anything related to that fear, often to unreasonable lengths. A single brave moment is not enough to break you out of it. It will take years of therapy. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Minor Terror – You have a fear of something to the point that you will override your civilization nature and go into fight or flight to deal with. You would kill someone you care about it you thought that it would save you from it. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Major Terror – Your rational mind breaks at this point and you withdraw from the situation completely. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Solutions[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Face the fear[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Learn about the fear [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Therapy about the fear[/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Examples[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Monk, Batman Begins, [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Protagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Someone who is dealing with, or is trying to deal with, fear in a constructive way[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Antagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Those who use fear against others[/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Prejudice [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Prejudice is partially a fear of change or a fear of the unknown with an external focus for it. It is also hatred and selfishness all rolled into one. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Minor prejudice – You are prejudiced against something and you avoid it. However after seeing something that proves your prejudice wrong you rethink it. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Moderate prejudice – You have an active prejudice that bothers you a lot and you avoid it. It will take several counter examples for you to rethink your prejudice. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Major prejudice – You actively change your plans and behavior relating to this prejudice. You will behave irrationally in relation to this prejudice. It will take more then a single moment to break you out of it. It will take years of therapy. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Aggressive prejudice – You actively attack and seek to kill the target of your prejudice. This is to the point of insanity. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Suicidal prejudice – You are willing to die to hurt or kill the target of your prejudice. This is also to the point of insanity. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Solutions[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Face your prejudice [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Learn more about the subject [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Require help from the subject of your prejudice[/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Examples[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Mississippi Burning, Remember the Titans, Malcolm X, A Time to Kill, The Color Purple[/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Protagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Usually members of a group targeted by a Hate group, sometimes members of the Hate Group that change their ways, [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Antagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Usually members of the hate group targeting others. [/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Character vs his Type[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] This is where the character doesn't like some aspect of his own type. This could be against his race, family, or his instincts. He is trying to operate differently or wants to operate differently from this type. He wants to be nonviolent when his type dictates violence. He wants to be aggressive when his type dictates passiveness. This is an internal struggle that is usually connected to an external conflict as well with others of his type. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Minor problem – You are still a part of your group but you have a different outlook. You are seen as odd. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Moderate problem – You avoid your group and try to live differently. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Major problem – Try to change your group or try to somehow remove yourself from this group. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Aggressive problem – Try and force change in your group to be more like yourself or get rid of those who don't change. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Suicidal problem – You hate your kind so much that you try and kill yourself. [/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Examples[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Smallville, Angel, True Blood, Vampire Diaries, Twilight[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Protagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Character has inner conflict with his group[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Antagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] People that want the Protagonist to act like themselves[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Character vs Society[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Character is against his cultures morals and structures. He could be a rebel or a criminal. Cyberpunk stories are often here. This is difficult to do without creating either ridiculous political structures or straw-man groups. This is easier in a historical story. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Resolutions can involve changing someone else's mind about their society so that they see it for what it is. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Often in cyberpunk there is no solution or resolution given. It is merely that the society is bad but some people succeed anyway. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Some post apocalyptic stories are about the characters against the society that replaces our society after the fall. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Some prison stories are here. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Examples[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Underworld Trilogy, The Postman, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Godfather Trilogy, V for Vendetta, Shawshank Redemption, [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Protagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Part of an Oppressed Group, Part of the Oppressive Group that changes sides[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Antagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Those who want the status quo to continue, those in charge, or guardians of that society.[/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Character vs Circumstances[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Character is trying to deal with or overcome their circumstances, usually that they were born with, or possibly with a change of circumstances. Many standard tv dramas are here. This usually includes an internal struggle of character vs his Type or even the opposite of a character trying to get back to where they feel comfortable. [/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Examples[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Cinderella, Good Times, Cinderella Man, Seabiscut, Greatest Game Ever Played, Bagger Vance, [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Protagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Someone overcoming difficulty[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Antagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] People who want to keep them down [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Character vs Events[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Character is trying to change the direction of events to prevent an outcome. This could be trying to stop a plague from spreading, trying to stop an invasion, etc. Time travel stories are often here. They are trying to change some event so that something else will or will not happen later. These are fairly common for science fiction. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Examples[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Doctor Who, Time Tunnel, 7 Days, Infection, 12 Monkeys, Back to the Future, The One, [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Protagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] There are those that are defensively trying to stop something from coming and those that are actively trying to change something that they have special knowledge of. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Antagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Some are people who want the outcome to occur, some are people that don't believe that this will occur. [/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Character vs Destructive Force[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Character is trying to survival against a destructive force such as the forces of nature or a monster of some kind. This can be versus a storm or harsh environment. It can also be a struggle to colonize a new place. Usually this would include trying to help or protect other characters. This can also be a disaster story and how some people survive it. Some invasion stories would actually fall into this. Many ghost stories are also here. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Examples[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Armageddon, Deep Impact, The Perfect Storm, Godzilla, 28 Days Later, Alien, Aliens, Predator, Mad Max, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Stand[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Protagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] They can be just a regular character that exists all the way through the story. They are often someone with special knowledge relating to it that allows them to combat it or survive it. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Antagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Antagonists in this are usually people that don't believe in the threat or someone who doesn't want to be blamed for it and much shut them up. Antagonists in this kind of story are usually just obstacles more then the actual problem. Sometimes they are just the catalyst for the Destructive Force instead of a direct Antagonist to the Protagonist. [/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Character vs Character[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Character is trying to oppose the actions of another character or eliminate that other character. This could also be struggles with other characters and their relationships with each other or another. This can include most dramas as well as vengeance stories. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Rivals [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The characters are rivals with each other and want to get the same kinds of things, first or in spite of each other. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Vengeance [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] One character wants to destroy another character because of some past crime or wrong. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Opposing Forces[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Character's natures are opposing to the point that they are always in conflict. [/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Character as Guardian [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Character places themselves in the defense of others. Many supernatural stories fall into this because the character has some ability or insight that gives them the power and responsibility to fight the supernatural. This is also the basis of cop stories, detective stories, and superhero stories. The reasons that the character has set themselves up as a guardian can be important or just glossed over. It can even change. If their guardianship and authority are not recognized by society then there will be an element of Character vs Society in it as well. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Examples[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Dresden Files, CSI, Law and Order, Smallville, Supernatural, Buffy, Angel, [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Protagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Protagonists are more iconic here. They are usually driven by a set of morals to help others instead of just use their power or authority for gain. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Antagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Lots of antagonists here. Usually they are set to the type of protagonist. [/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Character vs Unknown [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Character is an Explorer trying to add to our knowledge and classify new things as for or against us. This could be true space exploration, going out into space, finding aliens or the relics of aliens, or finding new planets, or strange objects. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Examples[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Star Treks, X-Files, Ringworld Series, [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Protagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Explorers are usually have a greater curiosity then fear about the unknown. They will often be excited by it even if it also scares them. It could be an astronaut. It could even be a farmer with a pitch fork going towards the green light in his back field. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Antagonists[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Some antagonists will be those that want it for themselves. Others will be people that are scared of the unknown and are afraid that the protagonist will bring the unknown down on them. [/FONT]
 

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This is very, very, VERY good. This has been well thought out, and with some editing would make an excellent probe into the nature of adversity. I found it very insightful; it's stuff that people already know, but can't really see until it's laid out before them in the right way. I haven't seen it done so elegantly before.

It's obviously been written just for you, but I agree that other people will find this helpful. I know I did.

-Dave
 



You must spread some Experience Points around before giving it to garrowolf again.
This is great stuff. Hopefully I'll come back in a few days and be able to give you some XP for this.

For the other posters in this thread: if you liked this so much, why didn't you give garrowolf XP? Click the green "thumbs up" icon at the bottom of his post. That's how the system works. :)
 

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