scary stuff, huh kids

Today I took a class on Conflict in writing, a system that describes four types of conflict:

• central – major conflict or central question of the book




• underlying – ongoing problem for the protagonist




• internal – character flaw or mindset that the readers want to see the character struggle with and, if suitable prevail over




• transient – temporary, brief, and not brought on by the protagonist

She suggested we study scenes and look for conflict so, during our break, I pulled out Octavia Butler's novel, Clay's Ark, and looked for conflict. Boy, did I find it.

The ship had been destroyed five days before. He did not remember how. He knew he was alone now, knew he had returned home instead of to the station as planned or to the emergency base on Luna. He knew it was night. For long stretches of time, he knew nothing else.

He walked and climbed automatically, hardly seeing the sand, the rock, the mountains, noticing only those plants that could be useful to him. Hunger and thirst kept him moving. If he did not find water soon, he would die.

He had hidden for five days and two nights, had wandered for nearly three nights with no destination, no goal but food, water, and human companionship. During this time he killed jack rabbits, snakes, even a coyote, with his bare hands or with stones. These he ate raw, splashing their blood over his ragged coverall, drinking as much of it as he could. But he had found little water.

Now he could smell water the way a dog or a horse might. This was no longer a new sensation. He had become accustomed to using his senses in ways not normally thought human. In his own mind, his humanity had been in question for some time.

• Underlying conflict: his ship has been destroyed, leaving him alone in a desolate area.




• Underlying conflict: he's having memory problems.




• Underlying or transient conflict: the ship wasn't supposed to return to Earth although we don't know why yet.




• Underlying conflict: if he doesn't find food and water, he will die.




• Underlying conflict: he's hiding from someone.




• Underlying conflict: he's not quite human anymore, and this is a recent change. Since I'm familiar with the novel, I know this ties closely to the central conflict.