McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

Conflict on multiple levels?

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arianne:
Okay, so this may be a stupid question, but most of the "writing craft" books I've read deal with conflict on a one-to-one basis; by that I mean they assume that there are only A and B in one scene, A wants to do this, B wants to stop him.

A pokes B's defenses
B defends himself
A attacks
B attacks back (aka rising conflict)
Climax
B surrenders
A raises fist in victory

Volia, conflict!

My question is, can someone explain briefly about how to deal with conflict on multiple levels? Such as, when there are four or five people in the room, A wants to do something, B wants to stop him, C is in love with A but disagrees with A's idea, D hates C and agrees with B's idea etc etc.

I mean, one can't do a directly rising conflict sequence like the one above when there are so many people involved. A and B fight, but before they can get to the climax, C cuts in with a comment that dissolves the tension and we're back to square one. D jumps in with a remark, and B starts to fight with him....

Anyway, hope you guys get what it is I'm trying to ask! :) Thanks in advance for any advice.

the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:

--- Quote from: arianne on July 06, 2010, 04:11:54 PM ---My question is, can someone explain briefly about how to deal with conflict on multiple levels? Such as, when there are four or five people in the room, A wants to do something, B wants to stop him, C is in love with A but disagrees with A's idea, D hates C and agrees with B's idea etc etc.
I mean, one can't do a directly rising conflict sequence like the one above when there are so many people involved. A and B fight, but before they can get to the climax, C cuts in with a comment that dissolves the tension and we're back to square one. D jumps in with a remark, and B starts to fight with him....

--- End quote ---

I think that what you are describing is a perfectly reasonable way to answer, if you are trying to do it all in one scene, which is hard. When I try to think of multidimensional conflicts I like they are all quite a bit longer than that, and you get different people's interactions as pairs or as smaller groups before they get pushed into a multidirectional clash.

Scenes don't have to build the way you describe your two-person example, if you're writing for anything more subtle and realistic than an argument between Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Particularly if your viewpoint is inside the head of one of the characters and you have them figuring out consequences and worrying about pushing things too far and figuring out smarter solutions than a fistfight.

LizW65:
I'm sure there are as many ways to do this as there are writers, but I tend to do it in stages, as I have a hard enough time keeping track of my own characters and all their varied motivations as it is.  First I write the "A" conflict:  Bob and Carol are arguing about X, which happens to be the main conflict that furthers the plot. I get the gist of their argument written; then I go back and add Ted, who has his own agenda, to the conversation, creating a "B" conflict as well as a bit of character development for Ted.  Meanwhile, Alice, on the sidelines, just wants to find the ladies'--that's "C".  Then Tom chimes in--he really, really needs to talk to Carol about something RIGHT AWAY, and it can't wait; that's "D".  Dick tries to get Ted, who's had a few too many, to calm down, and you have your "E".  Meanwhile, Harry insists upon playing the background music at concert level, and they all have to scream over it, until somebody suggests taking the whole thing outside.  And so on.

the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
I wonder what the distinction between calling the first four characters in such an example Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice, rather than, say, John and Paul and George and Ringo, says about a writer ?

(If they were Bob and Carol and Ted and Ringo,  it would mean you were a Judge Dredd fan from the 1980s.)

LizW65:

--- Quote from: neurovore on July 06, 2010, 06:43:45 PM ---I wonder what the distinction between calling the first four characters in such an example Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice, rather than, say, John and Paul and George and Ringo, says about a writer ?

(If they were Bob and Carol and Ted and Ringo,  it would mean you were a Judge Dredd fan from the 1980s.)

--- End quote ---

In my case, it means that I've been spending far too much time on TV Tropes lately, as they tend to use those names when giving hypothetical examples of anything.  (I never saw the 1969 film or the sitcom based on it, so I can't comment.)

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