The way I see it, there is a lack of exterior conflict in the story. The main character's conflict is essentially "desire for acceptance" vs. "self-identity." But the way the story is currently being set up, this conflict seems largely internal. There is no external forces that oppose this character.

My concern is that trying to externalize this conflict, if it can be done at all, would seem too contrived. This has bothered me enough for the last few days (even to the point of keeping me up late last night thinking about the problem) that I'm tempted to simply abandon the whole story.

But I don't want to abandon it. It's a story that I think is worth telling. But I'm afraid that it's a story that won't grab enough readers due to the lack of exterior conflict.

For the story I'm writing, I started with a few characters that I was really entranced by... then I had a basic conflict (external). But before I really planned out that conflict or even stopped to really consider my characters, I created my external world and filled it with all kinds of "history." I knew my world, and what was happening in it, long before I really got to know my characters. Then I thrusted my characters and their objectives onto the world, and am watching the world react to that. Not sure if that will help you at all, but...

*Man vs. man*

This is the most common kind, because we come into conflict with other people everyday. So, when you've got man vs. man, and you do to an extent from what I'm hearing, it's important to show what both people want and need and why they want it and need it.

*Man vs. nature*

ala Castaway or any modern Californian I'm kidding.

*Man vs. himself*

This sounds like what you're dealing with.

Internal conflict can be interesting, but I've found that most internal conflict has an external source.

Okay, the character is facing a crisis of self-identity vs. social acceptance.

So, that means the people around him that he wants to accept him are coming into conflict with who he feels he is. That means their actions, words, thoughts, and feelings are going to be very interesting and vital.

That's very external.

Also, what's caused him to realize that's who he is? Because it's likely some external source at least partially. Very rarely does a person have a deep, inner revelation without someone or something else setting it off.

If it's a person, say a teacher, that's brought this sense of identity about, then that teacher and the social acceptance he wants are going to be in an indirect conflict.

I'm not sure that'll work for you novel, but it illustrates my point.

Plus, internal conflict can be VERY interesting, especially when it results in actions.

Why does something have to be opposing this character? Maybe two sides are at war and he's caught in the middle. Neither side is opposing him, but because he has an attachment to both, it's conflict. Lotsa conflict.

E-mail me at frostjaunt@hotmail.com, I want to see this work.

-Meg

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"They must have great construction technique in Japan, since they're rebuilding Tokyo -- daily."
- Steve, at a Godzilla movie festival

The story is set in the near future, perhaps a few generations hence. Through the use of nanotechnology, a new procedure has been developed that would effectively cure all forms of hearing loss, even severe to profound deafness. It would render that person's hearing virtually indistinguishable from that of a person with normal hearing.

This new technology is experimental, and when it is ready for human trials, the calls go out for research subjects.

The main character is a bright teenager (I haven't decided firmly what age) who was born with a severe to profound hearing loss. He feels that his deafness isolates him from his peers, for he has always been the only student in the school with this kind of hearing loss.

This main character does know another deaf person, though, but this person attends a school for deaf children, where sign language is used.

In Deaf Culture, deafness is not considered a medical problem, but rather a social identifier, a foundation for their culture. The main character's exposure to these ideas through his deaf acquaintence causes him to wonder if he considers his hearing loss a fundamental part of who he is, or if it is something that he can readily part with.

The character's parents want him to consider doing the procedure, for they feel that it will help expand the character's possibilites. They feel some guilt because the hearing loss is genetic in origin, and the parents declined genetic therapy due to their personal moral objections to genetic manipulation, which is now prevalent in this future society.

Since I was born severely-to-profoundly deaf, some of these ideas are based upon my experiences growing up. I'm an audiologist today.

I understood that there were those in Deaf Culture who considered such scientific advances as bordering on genocide in the sense that curing deafness would obliterate the culture.

I would think that you would have plenty of external conflict right there if you had someone close to the friend that attends the school for the deaf who is deeply and militantly involved in fighting this kind of procedure. (Compare to "pro-life" groups who use terrorist tactics against abortion clinics.)

You wouldn't need to bring in such blatantly negative characters for an external conflict, but you could have some with such attitudes who argue articulartely and well for their side (confusing your character about his parents' wish for him to be healed).

There is a wide range of possibilities here that you could explore, and plenty of potential for external conflict.

I had already had planned on having a character in the story that is about the main character's age...this other character would be Deaf and uses ASL as her primary language. She would essentially try to dissuade the main character from considering participation in this study, and try to get him to accept himself for who he is. I have no intention of making this a negative character.

The main character's two conflicting goals would thus be boiled down to this: he wants to gain greater acceptance by his peers, but as the story goes on, he wonders if this goal could only be achieved at the cost of some part of his fundamental nature.

This group of deaf people are going to come into conflict with the parents and peers.

It's going to be very interesting to see the parents feelings and motives.

Also it's going to be interesting to see how you handle it since you're going to be writing to an audience that unfortunately doesn't know that much about deaf culture.

Why is it that the deaf people in the novel are so against this character regaining his hearing? What is that upsets them so much?

And his peers, how would they react if he could hear?

You're going to have a lot of interesting characterizations, characters, and plots going on.

This isn't really an action piece, but there's a lot of emotion going on.

-Meg

****
"So, you gonna blow my mind or shall I blow yours?"
-Adam Newman
"The Rameses Connection"
The Tomorrow People