Character Misbelief And Internal Conflict

 

Hello there readers, good day, wherever you may be, and apologies for not posting for so long. Can you believe it will be ONE year since I started this blog on September 19? 

So here's today's topic, character misbelief and internal conflict. The thing is, I never realised what this was until I began watching Abbie Emmons, an author-tuber, whatever you might call it. 

I was so shocked to realise that I had missed so much as a writer and knew so much lesser than I actually thought I did. Here's one thing, Character misbelief. I never knew such a thing existed, that was until Abbie kept repeating it and soon I could hear it over and over in my head. 

So what is character misbelief? you may ask. Character misbelief is something the character believes that is NOT true that makes the perspective of their life different. This is one of the things that has to change in the character nearing the end of the story, at least a little. 

As many writers believe, a story is not about What happens, it's about how it happens and why it matters. 

In Act 3 of a story, the character experiences something called the "Aha!" moment or the "Eureka!" which as Abbie Emmons states in her Character Arc Template, 

After your protagonist has been brought to their knees by the disaster, they have a revelation — an aha moment. They can suddenly see how their fear and misbelief has led them to make the wrong decisions about everything. So how is your protagonist going to overcome their fear and continue to the climax, therefore developing as a character? What lesson are they going to learn (and simultaneously teach the audience?)

What is internal conflict? 

Desire + Fear = Internal conflict. 

Here are some questions to ask yourself while developing your internal conflict (also from one of Abbie Emmons character guides).

1. How is your character dissatisfied with their life?
2. What does your character believe will bring them true happiness or contentment? What definitive step could they take to turn their dream into a reality?
3. How has their fear kept them from taking this action already?
4. How does your protagonist feel they can accomplish their goal while still steering clear of the thing they are afraid of?

That's basically it! I will link down some of some SUPER helpful videos that I benifitted from,

Until Next Time, 

Naba. 

Useful Resources:

Internal Conflict: https://youtu.be/oiR42apkOy4?si=_FowhKUPy7WzIopt

https://youtu.be/VaNWS1UrzTI?si=Ej5r_2jKjk55d8dP

Misbelief: https://youtu.be/Ij39HSbLCXo?si=2IA33irlHPh3ppHn

How to write a novel, start to finish: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV6pMftb_QTkVqGM5Q_WrF0XC9YH9KJWU&si=X0_xz8RXXEmF03lh