Two fires...

[khiemtran]

I've been thinking lately about "two fires" plots, where the character is trapped between two conflicting internal motivations. Love for a brother versus doing the right thing. Ambition versus honour. The hatred for something versus the lure of becoming it. The good thing about these plots is that they're all strong, simple stories. Once you get the starting conditions right, you can just sit back and watch what happens. Then, if you like, you can reset things and let it all happen again, only this time it will be different.

It's also something that I notice I rarely do, perhaps because I'm too kind to my characters, perhaps because I hate seeing them make the "wrong" decisions. But, the more I think about it, the more it feels like real "grown-up" writing, with the sort of strong story behind that I like the best.

Comments

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

Welcome to the concept of 'conflict' as driving engine. Choosing between 'right' and 'wrong' is easy, choosing between betraying your friend or your country is... interesting, in the Chinese sense of the word.