The Internal Conflict is more important than the Dragon � Advice for Epic Fantasy Writers

When writing fantasy it is very easy to let your imagination soar and to create amazing worlds and incredible creatures; and while you may give your reader something to enjoy you won’t really make a connection with him or her. The thing that will make the connection with your reader is the internal conflict your protagonist has to go through. This is what makes him or her human and this is where you have a memorable impact on your reader.

There is one steadfast rule when writing fiction and you probably know this rule. Your character has to grow. There has to be an internal path that is taken. And even if your writing takes place on an exotic world with a stable of wondrous creatures the main character is still human - and even if your main character is not human your reader is!

Your main character may have to rescue a damsel in distress, slay a dragon, or find the magical sword and all of this is good fun but it is not where the real power of epic fantasy lies. The power lies in how your main character must change in order to accomplish his goals. The real strength and the impelling part of the story isn’t the slaying of the dragon, it’s in the story of the main character’s development of the courage to try.

A good example of this conflict comes from the ultimate work in the realm of epic fantasy: The Lord of the Rings. In it, Frodo Baggins has a ring that whisks him off into a nether world and makes him invisible in this one. But we don’t actually see a whole lot of that very flashy idea. It only happens, very briefly, a few times. What we do get a lot of is the conflict that Frodo has, within himself, to stay centered in what he believes and to resist the temptations of the ring. This is a very major theme in the story and it is where we connect with Frodo. We can identify with his struggle to maintain what he believes and his struggle toward growth and development. The part about the powerful ring is albeit fun and one of the best things about fantasy but the reader can’t really relate and make a real emotional connection. After all, how many people that you know who own a magical ring?

As you are writing your epic fantasy novel remember that all the wondrous worlds, scenes, and creatures are just in addition to the real meaning of epic fantasy –the struggle within us as humans.

 

Will Kalif is the author of two epic fantasy novels. For more insights and articles about epic fantasy visit his site at: <a href="http://www.epic-fantasy.com"><b>epic-fantasy.com</b></a> - The webs only epic fantasy site.

For a daily dose of all things Fantasy and Medieval visit his blog at: <a href="http://www.castlefiction.com/heroicdreams/"><b>Heroic Dreams</b> – All Things Medieval and Fantasy Blog</a>

Reviews

[Dave "Doc" Rogers]

This a good review of basic story crafting. I know I have read this before, but looking below, I did not comment on it at the time. This is good perspective. It would work great in Story Craft group. Do consider joining and bringing you insight to the group.

Thanks!

Doc.

[William W. Wraith]

Thanks Will. How right you are. All the action in the world is not going to compel an ounce of emotion from a reader if the characters have faces as blank as chess pieces. The writer must make characters sympathetic, before readers can identify them. Only when that identity is established can reader truly begin to get wrapped up in the goals, the dreams, and the actions of the characters toward their fulfillment.

I would add that, even the antagonists should be made sympathetic to the reader. They need to be protrayed as right by their own reasoning. By building antagonists whose goals reader understands, it is possible to have two goods in conflict, which is infinitely more interesting and gripping for a reader, especially if we can even cause reader to question whether evil isn't in the eye of the beholder.

Fine work.

William Wraith

[Mishel Rosario Reyes]

Thank you Will, enjoyed the advice very much, always looking for a way to better my writing; I have one story that is fantasy and I want it to be powerful, and inner conflict seems like a thing I should use though I seldom do; I usually focus on conflict of circumstances but not inner conflict, :)

----Mishel