Quoted By:
I've seen a lot of talk of personified villains being the source of the protagonists conflict, but I've never really been drawn to writing stories with that kind of set up. My characters, overwhelmingly, go up against life in general.
For example, one starts their journey earlier than recommended and is afraid that if they appear in public too much, they'll be found and dragged back home. There are of course people at the root of this fear, but they are not these deep, evolving antags. In fact, they are not nearly as scary as this small child's imagination makes them out to be.
Another protag is just poor as dirt and struggling to afford the mon they desperately want because of its potential to add joy to their joyless life. No evil bad guy is forcing them to live in poverty--their own life choices are the reason for their misery. I could even go on to say that this character's is a struggle against their own self-defeating behavior and victim complex.
So I ask you, anons, how would you define a conflict for plots that don't have a Big Bad Mr. Evil at the end of the protag's journey? I expected this to be a more popular topic, but somehow most regulars here know how to make engaging villains without making them transparent smarmy fucks.
