Story Grid Objects Of Desire: 7 Ways To Inject Conflict In A Narrative With AI

Hey there!

Story Grid creator and 25-year book-publishing veteran Shawn Coyne says there are six questions every story must answer.

Shawn calls them the Editor’s Six Core Questions.

Here they are:

1. What is the genre?

2. What are the conventions and obligatory scenes for the genre?

3. What is the point of view narrative device?

4. What are the objects of desire?

5. What is the controlling idea or theme?

6. What are the story’s beginning hook, middle build, and ending payoff?

And today, we are going to focus on question 4: Objects of Desire

Because according to Shawn:

“Focusing on the struggle to get objects of desire will make up for almost every other kind of story misstep. The reader/viewer/listener has to attach and invest themselves in the story’s protagonist(s). And the way he attaches is through the fictional character’s pursuit of objects of desire.”

What Are Objects Of Desire

Objects of Desire are what the protagonist in your story wants or needs—consciously or unconsciously.

For example:

• A Conscious Desire: A girl wants a new bike. These are tangible things the character recognizes they want such as money, fame, power, romance etc.

• An Unconscious Desire: The girl thinks it’s just a bike, but deep down she misses her brother and the days the spent exploring the city on their bikes. These are intangible things the character unknowingly craves such as respect, belonging, or independence.

• A Recognized Need: The girl’s current bike is broken and she needs transportation. It’s a plot goal like catching the killer, winning the competition, or taking down the enemy.

• An Unrecognized Need: The girl needs a sense of independence and ownership. This is the emotional goal like overcoming grief, letting go of anger, or building confidence.

Without these Objects of Desire, and the struggle to get them, you don’t have a story.

Why? Because there’s no conflict.

So, your job as the storyteller is to identify what it is that your character wants and needs. And then (and only then) can you help them overcome the obstacles to win the girl, save the day, or find the treasure. A strong desire in a story keeps readers engaged and turning the pages.

Let’s take a look some examples first.

Conflict Conventions: Obligatory Objects Of Desire

Objects of Desire are handled differently across genres.

This is important because you need to make sure you are “obliging” the reader’s expectations in that genre. And as you will see each genre is different. You know this because literally every story follows these major themes.

For example:

Action/Adventure

In action/adventure stories, the desires are often external and mission-driven.

• Discovery of lost treasure or artifacts

• Stopping the bad guy from destroying the world

• Revenge against an evil oppressor

The fate of the world or a group is at stake, pushing the protagonist into motion.

Romance

Romance heavily focuses on the interpersonal desire between two characters.

A romance story is a journey to finding true love. Characters face various challenges and obstacles in their quest to be with their beloved. These trials serve to test and prove their worthiness as a suitable partner

And their “union” is the primary object that drives the plot.

Mystery/Crime

The curiosity of solving a mystery or righting a wrong tends to be the force that propels these stories

• Uncovering the truth behind a crime or puzzling event

• Bringing a criminal to justice

• Protecting or avenging victims

Justice and truth for all!

Horror

Horror draw on the instinct to survive in the face of fear.

Characters go through scary situations and try to survive. They work to stop bad things from hurting others. And the characters try to figure out why the scary things are happening in the first place.

Protecting oneself or loved ones is a visceral desire.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Sci-fi and fantasy settings allow creative metaphorical desires, from seeking lost magical artifacts, to exploring alien civilizations, to understanding metaphysical phenomena.

• Exploring brave new worlds

• Gaining knowledge, wisdom or power

• Defeating magical or alien foes

Core human desires manifest in different forms across genres, according to reader expectations.

But in every case, there must be a desire to drive the story forward.

7 Ways To Raise Stakes And Drive Your Story Forward With Conflict

Stronger desires inherently raise the stakes in a story.

The more a character wants something, the harder they'll fight for it. The harder the fight, the higher the stakes. As the storyteller, you need to make your characters' desires powerful enough to justify the conflict and stakes of the story.

Here are 7 techniques:

1. Show why the desire matters. Don't just state what the character wants, show why it's meaningful to them through backstory, relationships, inner monologue etc. Help the audience understand the emotional weight behind the desire.

2. Increase urgency. Shorten the timeframe, add a ticking clock element, reveal impending consequences—anything to make obtaining the desire more urgent for the character.

3. Make it a need, not just a want. Needs inherently evoke more urgency than wants. Show how obtaining or not obtaining the desire will impact core human needs like safety, belonging, esteem.

4. Create roadblocks. The more obstacles in the character's path, the harder they'll have to work. Roadblocks, antagonists and complications all raise the stakes.

5. Make the stakes personal. The strongest stakes for a character involve their inner self-identity, values, purpose. Threaten these on the path to their desire.

6. Raise the relational stakes. Our connections with others also provide high stakes. Show how not obtaining the desire threatens key relationships.

7. Increase what's at risk. Make it clear what the character stands to lose if they fail. The more they have to lose, the higher the stakes.

Using these techniques, you can intensify a character's desires and make the conflict in your story as impactful as possible for the audience.

Let’s see if we can use AI to help.

Create Your Objects Of Desire With AI

We are going to use two prompts to help us with this task.