We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated. It may even be necessary to encounter the defeat so that we can know who we are. So that we can see, "Oh, that happened, and I rose. I did get knocked down flat in front of the whole world, and I rose. I didn't run away; I rose right where I'd been knocked down." That's how you get to know yourself. --Maya Angelou

Protagonist: Exploring Her Conflicts

You’ve imagined your protagonist at the beginning of her story at at the end. What is the transformative path that connects those two different women? Today’s exercise will help you start to lay that out. What you discover here will make up a big chunk of the middle of your story.

Use the photo from yesterday if you found that helpful. I’d like for you to brainstorm on each of these topics for her. Please skip the ones where nothing comes up for you (but give at least a momentary thought to each to see if something comes up). You can stop and start on this exercise if that works better for you than nonstop free writing. Remember, you are not writing your story yet, but using the free writing to explore her and the specific conflicts in her life. We will start the exercise of writing out the plot later. Please remember to hold an attitude of compassion, interest, and care as you consider her conflicts.

• Her biggest obstacle to achieving her goal is...
• The people in her life with whom she has conflicts or challenges are...
• She feels torn over...
• The reason she can't achieve her goal is...
• If a miracle occurred and her problems were solved, then she would be...
• Her God/fate/spiritual/cosmic beliefs are... Her relationship to those beliefs is... (eg., anger, destined, confusion, blessed, etc)
• She feels that she different than the people around her because... She is... and they are....
• Other situations in her life which she experiences conflict are... (these can be large or very small incidents)
• If only...

Your responses will help you formulate the large and small conflicts that make up the bulk of your story. Don't worry if this part feels incomplete or unfinished. We are just taking a first pass at these questions. Your sense of these will get deeper and richer as you write more.

There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm. - Willa Cather