Key Concepts
Identifying the Source of Conflict
To craft a compelling narrative, it's crucial to pinpoint the specific source of conflict. Methods are more than just templates--they pinpoint the origin of conflict in your story.
In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge's MC Throughline is in Mind. It is not enough then to just illustrate this Domain of Mind as "having a bad attitude."
To effectively illustrate his MC Throughline in Mind, one must show how his "having a bad attitude" is a source of conflict for him personally and creating conflict in and around him.
One way to establish regardless of whether you have effectively illustrated a source of conflict for your story is to ask, “If I remove this, would there still be a problem?” If the answer is yes, then you likely have not identified the true source of conflict for this aspect of your narrative.
If yes, then you know you are on your way towards effectively illustrating this aspect.
In the above example with Scrooge, if he were to suddenly have a more altruistic and nicer attitude (effectively removing the "having a bad attitude"), he would no longer suffer anymore of the isloation issues that affect him personally.
This is a good indication that the source of conflict in Scrooge's MC Throughline is Mind.