No story is complete without interpersonal conflict between characters. Every person is different, and some people just don’t get along. Usually, those people just avoid each other, but good stories are full of conflict. So what do you do if you want to write about two characters who clash? You can’t allow them to avoid each other (or there will be no story), but they can’t put up with each other for no reason. Today, I want to discuss how crucibles can keep characters together even when they don’t like each other.
Crucible Definition
Traditionally, a crucible is a container that can withstand extremely high temperatures. It’s used to hold substances that need to be liquified but have a high melting point. For instance, gold has to be put into a crucible to be melted down. As time has passed, the term has grown to mean a circumstance of severe trial where something new is created. Like gold has to undergo extreme temperatures to be shaped into something else, so do people. So do your characters.
Crucibles In Stories
James Frey was the first person to coin the idea that crucibles in stories help create tension between characters. He said:
“Think of the crucible as the container that holds the characters together as things heat up.”
If two characters don’t get along, they could just walk away from each other. Yet that would make a boring story. As would a tale where all the characters who stay together always get along. Instead, you need to create characters who differ and contrast while making sure they have a good reason to stay together. Enter the crucible.
5 Types Of Crucibles
Crucibles are physical, social, or internal reasons why opposing characters are forced together. But while what holds them together may differ, all crucibles are there for the same reason: to force proximity. Below are five different types of crucibles that you can put in your story to force proximity between two clashing characters and keep tension high.
Setting
Setting is the most obvious choice for a crucible in a story. It’s a physical crucible that holds the characters in the same space. They are stuck in a cabin together during a snow storm. On the way to their own vacations, they have to sit on the same plane together. There is only one hotel room left, and they have to share. These crucibles can exist the entire story or for just a scene, but they are very effective in creating forced interactions between two conflicting characters.
Society
A social crucible is society itself. There are restrictions placed on people based on the understood expectations of a society. We call these social norms. For example, apologizing and making amends for your wrongs. If we have a character who made a mistake at the beginning of the story, she would feel obligated to make it up to the person she’s wronged. Even if she doesn’t get along with the other person, she would be forced to interact with the character in order to keep to the social norm. Another popular example of this is the idea of chivalry among men. If a man doesn’t get along with a woman but knows he’s supposed to be chivalrous, he may end up assisting her when he’d rather not. Every society has different social norms, though, so make sure you’re writing about ones that your ideal readers would understand.
Relationships
Another social crucible is a relationship. There are some ties in life that you can’t cut. One with a family member. A boss (if you want to keep your job). A fellow soldier. Your character may not get along with the person, but her relationship will force her to find a way to make it work.
Common Causes
Common causes are a mixture of social and internal crucibles. These are when two characters want the same goal and must work together to achieve it. Maybe it’s to start an orphanage since they both believe that’ll be good for the community. Or, it could be to find a common friend who was abducted; the mutual relationship is forcing them together. Regardless, they have a common goal that brings them together whether they like each other or not.
Beliefs
Beliefs are internal crucibles. They’re something your character holds dear and lives by each day. These can often be tied to religious beliefs, but they can just be morals. Maybe your character doesn’t get along with a homeless person, but she can’t get away from him unless she throws him out on the street. That goes against her beliefs to help the less fortunate so she doesn’t kick him out. These crucibles aren’t about how others will think of her like the society crucibles, but they’re about how the character will view herself. It’s a question of if she can live with herself if she goes against her core beliefs.
Final Thoughts
Of course, all of these crucibles can be walked away from if the character really wants. She can walk out of that cabin into the snow storm and freeze to death. She can choose not to make amends with her coworker and let society think she’s an awful person. She can walk away from her family and live her life alone. She can decide the orphanage isn’t worth having to interact with the other person. She can even abandon her belief to help the less fortunate.
These are all possible, but they don’t make good stories. Plus, your job is to write the character so she cares so much about something that she endures the crucible and comes out the other side as a new person. Readers want to see the protagonist endure the severe trial and come out shaped as something new. Something better. Therefore, make sure your characters are forced together by some crucible so they can sharpen each other and become better.
Thanks for reading!
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