Conflicts of Stress, Part 1 of 4

Stress is usually a bad thing. Stress encourages people to do things they ordinarily wouldn’t. Deadlines and obstacles inspire some of your characters to push harder and some of them to fall apart.

SBB II introduced sixteen mannequins. We will pan away from Sally, Dick, and Jane to explore this topic more thoroughly. Each character has a natural tendency to deal with things. Natural tendencies can be shifted by life events from balanced to severely unbalanced.

Stress can stem from a mild annoyance, such as delayed traffic. It can stem from a direct, perhaps mortal, threat. Whether the stimulus is mild or monstrous, your characters react initially based on their natural tendencies. Circumstances can force them to move past this innate response, but their initial reaction is true to their nature.

Wynn is the responsible, practical type who thrives on order and plans. It doesn’t take much to upset his apple cart. His natural inclination is to withdraw and avoid conflict. He becomes rigid in the face of opposition or criticism. He shuts down and turns away. Getting him to face the threat will be a challenge. The motivation level needs to be high.

Francis is responsible, practical, and thrives on order and plans. He becomes controlling when anxious. He has no problem confronting other people and believes he is always right. He annoys some and infuriates others (ruining any chance he had of cooperation) when he takes over the efforts to solve the scene or overall story goal. Less decisive characters might look up to Francis at a time of crisis, putting their faith in someone who professes to know what he is doing. It could work or fail miserably.

Nevada is responsible, practical, and thrives on order and plans. His natural inclination is to gather consensus and get people to cooperate. He becomes hypercritical and controlling when things don’t go his way and people refuse to work together. He irritates some of the people he attempts to manage. The less they cooperate, the more livid Nevada grows. He’s trying to save you! Why won’t you listen? If the person doesn't want or need Nevada to save him, or points out that Nevada's efforts are misdirected, the conflict heats up.

Arden works hard and is a stand-up guy. He likes being in control. He becomes hypercritical and controlling when stressed. The more he imposes his will, the harder others fight him, which feeds the cycle. He offers more criticism and imposes more limitations. His methods may be needed, but often are not appreciated.

Next time, we continue the topic of how your characters might react to stress.



 

Conflicts of Jealousy

Jealously is not reserved for romantic relationships. It affects the relationships between siblings, coworkers, and total strangers. Jealousy works as a great motivational tool in fiction. It is normally an ugly thing, inspiring good people to do, or at least, think bad things. It could inspire your character to try harder to succeed.

Dick could be jealous of the time Jane spends at work, with their kids, with her best friend, or with her co-workers.

Jane could be jealous of the leggy blonde the guys at work jokingly refer to as “Dick’s work wife.”

Sally could be jealous of Jane’s five bestsellers.

Jane could be jealous of Sally’s Lexus and designer shoes.

It’s worse when Dick actually likes the person he is jealous of. Jealousy may keep him from feeling happy when his hardworking buddy gets the promotion or when his wife, Jane, gets a raise that puts her salary higher than his.

Jealousy is a reminder of what your character doesn’t have. It is coveting that one thing Dick so desperately wants that someone else gets. It can make Jane perform a little happy dance when someone (even someone she likes) fails to get the very thing she craves, whether it be fame, recognition at work, a corner office, or a five-figure publishing deal.

A character motivated by jealously will most likely express it in passive-aggressive ways. Dick might undermine someone’s efforts to achieve something at work. He might perform petty acts around the house he knows will annoy Jane. He might spread malicious gossip, or just trash talk on Facebook.

Jealousy is worse than a bad case of indigestion. It can be momentary or last for years, decades even. It mixes fear, anger, and disgust. Try having all three of those micro-expressions at once. Dick’s facial muscles won’t know what to do. When in the presence of the person Dick is jealous of, Dick can feel physical pain in his chest or gut. Everything tastes like paper. The sky looks gray instead of blue. Dick’s mood plummets. His optimism shifts to pessimism. He stares at his rival, looking for that indefinable thing that resulted in success. Every time he is in the room with that person, his pulse races, his heart pounds, adrenaline courses through his veins. He leaves the encounter feeling shaky and nauseated.

Jealousy can be used as a motivating factor at the overall story level, such as two cons trying to pull of the same heist.

Jealousy can be used as a complicating factor at the internal dilemma level for your protagonist as he wrestles with the overall story problem.

Jealousy can be used at the interpersonal level as a disunity obstacle.

Have fun with it.

Next time, we explore Dick’s response to stressful situations.

Dick as a New Adult

As a young adult, if Dick wanders the wider world, he is exposed to influences that are dramatically different from what he has known. Although high school is the time of life explored in most Young Adult fiction, the college years offer more fertile ground for conflict and transformation. A new genre of fiction is targeting “new adults.” 

For Dick, like most North American children, at the end of high school comes the nudge to leave the nest. He must support himself financially. This leads to additional education in the form of technical school, local community college, the move to a larger college and dorm life, joining the military, or entering the work force. His transition is influenced by his physical health, mental health, how he was raised, and whether he can continue to live at home.

Different cultures have different approaches to tossing their little darlings from the nest. The level of attachment and alienation play a part too. How eager is Dick to leave the nest? How frightened is he? It’s scary to live alone for the first time. For some, it is scarier to live alone for the first time far from home.

 Dating takes on new meaning. Is this my forever match? Do I want one? Do I have to? What am I looking for? What will I tolerate? The dating pool in a small home town limits Dick to those he grew up with. Relocating for college, work, or the military broadens his options. Depending on the world he lives in, he experiments with relationships. He falls for fusers and isolators. He falls for partners he is not temperamentally compatible with. His heart is broken at least once. Every temperament type has a particular approach to sex and dating that makes the exploration phase fraught with danger. You choose which personality you want Dick to have.

Dick could pass through this second forge unchanged. If he leaves home for a while, he can return the same person that left, perhaps with a new hairdo and a few added skills. If nothing major comes along to send Dick for a loop, he muddles through young adulthood much like he did at home and in high school. Nah, that would be boring. Shake him, stir him, spin him around a few times. Make his young adult passage full of conflict and tension. You can find out how in Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict, now available through Nook, Kindle, and in print.

Next time, we explore the green-eyed monster: jealousy.

Is Jane Addicted to Love?

Can a person become addicted to love? To another person? The answer is yes.

Jane's deepest unmet needs are the key. Whatever Jane was denied as a child (be it safety, connection, praise, etc) becomes a little patch of desert in her soul. If someone comes along and sprinkles rain on that patch, Jane wants more rain. She may want it so much, she is willing to do anything to get it, or tolerate anything to keep it.

Let's say Jane grew up feeling unwanted. Along comes Dick who makes her feel wanted. Dick's loving affirmations and attention become the drug. Jane becomes mentally, emotionally, and physically addicted to his attention. It won't matter if Dick later treats her badly. His image has already been imbedded in the positive reward brain system. She feels desperate at the idea of losing him. As Dick's behavior worsens, causing more pain than pleasure, his image still lights up her reward center. Just as drug users know drugs are bad for them but rationalize the use anyway, Jane  rationalizes staying with Dick. She may go to therapy and end her addiction, but her brain retains fond memories of Dick. That's why women return to horrible boyfriends even after they've broken up and moved on. Reward becomes entangled with pain and the cycle repeats.

Jane could also be addicted to falling in love. At no other time of life, other than the birth of a baby, does the brain concoct such a neurochemical high. The sun shines brighter. Food tastes richer. Senses are on high alert. In fact, life is a giant Technicolor dream powered by endorphins. Jane could get hooked on that sensation. Since the high can't last indefinitely, Jane eventually returns to earth. The sun isn't as shiny. Food doesn't taste as rich. Sex isn't quite as exciting. Most couples are happy to rely on the fond memories of that initial high. They do small things to try to keep the flame at least a flicker. At some point, Jane could decide that routine drudgery isn't enough. She wants another fix, perhaps another and another. She keeps switching partners to ride that high, or she breaks up and makes up to trick the endorphins into returning. It makes her partners crazy.

When you use this plot device, it helps to know the mechanics of why Jane behaves in this way, especially if you are writing from her point of view. You won't show her thinking, "Wow, I really need the next fix." You show Jane being excited by Dick. When the excitement fades, Jane thinks, I don't really love him. So she trades Dick in for Ted. She is all excited by Ted, at first. The initial excitement fades with him, too. She may go back to Dick. She may break up and make up with Ted. She may move on to Harry. If you want to show character growth, Jane could come to grips with the fact that the Technicolor dream can't last forever. She embraces commitment and learns to love the one she is with. If she is the antagonist and Dick is the protagonist, Dick resolves to be a little more selective next time by paying attention to his romantic partner's dating history.

An addicted Jane might be a frequent user of dating services to get her next fix. If she turns preying mantis and starts knocking off those who disappoint her, you have a plausible serial killer tale.

Next week, we explore Dick as a New Adult

Internal Obstacles

I've neglected my blog for a few months to finish Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict and Story Building Blocks III: The Revision Layers. Both are available on Kindle, Nook, and in print. Story Building Blocks II: The Companion, the Mannequins Face Off will be released later this year.

Here's a sneak peak at SBB II:

Internal obstacles are supplied by the protagonist’s own mind. They are difficult to overcome because most characters lack objectivity and insight into their subconscious motivations. Rarely are characters self-aware enough to know their strengths, weaknesses, and triggers. Friends and foes hold up mirrors so the character can see himself better. Friends and foes reinforce these obstacles or help overcome them. All characters have emotional triggers and cause explosions by pulling other people’s emotional triggers.

Internal obstacles prevent a character from achieving his overall story or scene goal due to:

[ Internal resistance based on temperament to things that go against his natural inclinations.

[ Fears and phobias that keep him from going where he needs to go or taking the action he needs to take.

[ Desire for a personal currency that tempts him to do the wrong thing or sidelines his efforts.

[ Low self esteem, arrogance, or pride that keeps him from doing what needs to be done or makes him do things that are better left untried.

 [ Psychological factors, such as conditioning, belief systems, mental illness, anxiety, depression, and addiction keep a character from seeing the situation clearly or keep him from making healthy decisions about what needs to be done or said.

In Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict, we explore six types of obstacles, and different types of responses, that help you craft believable conflict. We meet and warp sixteen characters and take them from cradle to grave. We will continue to explore the concepts from the Story Building Blocks Books in this blog.