Open Questions and Characters Again: Conflict

My character sheets -- the ones from Scrivener -- have two categories on them that I'm not happy with: Character's internal conflicts, and Character's external conflicts. I fill them with short, telegraphic statements:

William's conflicts: Internally -- because he deserted his lover, who was killed 18 years later; Externally -- With his employer, Free White State; with Jude, who he feels is hiding something.

Jude's conflicts: Internally -- For not fitting in with other Archetypes/Folk; Externally: With his Archetype parents, for deserting him; With the Commune, for sheltering humans and Nephilim; With Free White State, for moving slowly with their plan.

One of these is a flawed good guy; the other is a sympathetic bad guy. How can you tell?

Conflicts can cause anger, fear, fury, hopelessness; sadness; and many other emotions. Can you tell what emotions come up with each conflict? You can assume, and you might be wrong, even if they're your characters.

Conflicts can stir up desires for reconciliation, revenge, murder, wallowing in self-pity, petty bickering and passive-aggressive snapping -- and more. Do any of the segments above give this impression? No!

I want to feel my characters -- their loves, their dislikes, their conflicts -- so I'm about to take another approach: Open-ended questions.

*****

Me: Jude, tell me about your conflict with your parents.

Jude: I understand that in InterSpace, engendered children seldom have contact with their parents after engendering. But they're quickly apprised of their purpose -- or were, until the Council of the Oldest gave the humans their cultural memories back. Archetypes engendered Earthside -- that is, from the renegades -- have contact with their parents and other Archetypes, at least occasionally. I was left in a privy, the abandoned result of unauthorized intercourse between two Archetypes. There I was, a freak who served no purpose and who was born fully adult. I would kill my father if he hadn't already died saving the humans. I don't know why they deserved more than I did.


Now, for a similar situation with William:

Me: Tell me about your conflict with your parents.

William: My situation was interesting. Six thousand years ago. the Archetypes calling themselves the Triumvirate staged the Garden of Eden in order to control society's women, and thus the entire society, through religion. The Triumvirate engendered a male Archetype called Adam and a female Nephilim -- half-human -- called Eve. You may know the story.  What you probably don't know is that a couple Archetypes -- Su and her apprentice Luke -- engendered a female Archetype named after an older legend than Adam and Eve, called Lilith. Adam chose Lilith, not Eve, as his consort, and the Triumvirate tried to get Lilith, but not Adam, killed. Adam and Lilith went into hiding Earthside.

At that point, my parents, the female Norwegian Archetype and the male Bering Strait Archetype, decided to subtly go rogue, vowing to stand against the Triumvirate just as Luke and Su had. They had me in defiance, and placed me among the Aleut. What I discovered was that parentage among Archetypes was as nothing, the humans held parentage in great esteem. Not only did I not know my parents, but I couldn't speak of them because Archetypes were not open to the humans.

Someday I will demand an explanation from my parents.

****


So different, huh? It's a lot of work, but I'm getting a good idea of the characters, their conflicts, and how they intend to deal with things. I may not do this for all the characters, but the main ones: Anna, Daniel, Jude (listed above), MariJo, and William. Especially Daniel, because all he is right now is aLove Interest. (Although it would be a nice way to counter all those useless female love interests endemic in fantasy, comics, and damn near everything else written, I will not put Daniel into that spot.)

I have my work cut out for me today, and what I really need is to hole up in a coffee shop and start talking to my characters.