The other day, my wife and I were building a raised garden bed with a fence around it (take that, stupid deer). It was an incredibly windy day here in Wisconsin. And we were shoveling some dry and dusty dirt into the raised garden beds. Those two elements do not play well together.
As I lifted a shovelful of dirt over the top of the fence and poured it into the garden bed, the wind whipped past me and blew the falling dirt into the eyes of my wife. She was working on the other side of the garden from me, unfortunately downwind.
A lot of spitting and rubbing-of-eyes later, we went back to work. I felt bad. Especially because both of us were trying to do our jobs. There was no ill-will intended (I promise!) and the result was one person being set back while the other was unaffected.
Shut Up and Get To The Point
After apologizing many times and getting back to work (with the wind under more consideration), something about the event wormed into my brain.
Unintentionality.
A mouthful of a word that simply means that neither of us intended to conflict with the other. Yet, we did. We were two people working similar goals with similar intent. Yet, the achieving those goals in the way we did caused conflict.
Applying
This To WritingThis can be a great source of conflict in your story. It is a way to provide realistic conflict between characters without the need of an antagonist. Two characters working towards their goals causes conflict between them. Conflict without animosity. Trouble without a true trouble-maker.
Some Examples
- The most simple example of this unintentionality is when a goal can only be achieved by one character, but is desired by more characters. Two coworkers both want the same promotion. Both characters are working hard towards that advancement, but one character achieving their goal means that the other fails. Conflict without a villain. Tension between friends.
- A more complex example follows two characters with perpendicular goals. Batman is fighting to rid the city of Gotham of crime, yet in the eyes of Gotham he is as violent and dangerous as the crime he tackles. The more he fights in the city, the more aware the city becomes to his danger. As Batman achieves his goal, the tension that Gotham feels becomes harder to ignore. In the eyes of Gotham, his progress is just as notable, dangerous, and alarming as the crime he addresses.
- Unintentionality at the core can also be due to acts of nature. In my case, it was the wind. Another example could be two characters exploring a dilapidated mansion. The movement of one character on the upper floor causes a collapse that wounds the character in the lower floor. The two characters had no ill-will, yet the actions of one character directly resulted in conflict for another. Especially in this case, irrationality and fear can cause the harmed character to push the conflict even larger.
Takeaways
Consider how one character achieving their goals can conflict with another character. This sort of conflict can be an enriching experience for the reader because there are no true “villains” or “antagonists” in this situation. Both characters are trying to achieve their goals without the intent of harming another.
That being said, this could also be the driving force of conflict between a protagonist and an antagonist. Especially if your story leans into the “rival” trope in storytelling. A string of situations where both protagonist and antagonist are vying for a single achievement, whether it be champion, promotion, king, valedictorian, or any single-position goal.