Hey all, I have two characters in my WIP that I would like to have had a past feud of some sort. Both characters have quite contrasting personalities, but enough interests in common (e.g, hobbies and a mutual friend or two) to give them something to argue over. I can't - for the life of me - seem to think of a good way to make two contrasting characters have a feud that could be resolved down the line as the plot develops. I do have a great affection for both characters, so I think there is a genuine fear of making the characters too problematic and immoral that makes it difficult to walk back as a writer and create a redemption arc. So I ask, how do you guys come up with an engaging point of conflict that would make a reader understand both sides of the argument, and reach an inevitable resolution?
Perhaps a misunderstanding? Or miscommunication can be the source of the feud, that way both can remain moral. Or a subject where both want to help someone or something, but disagree about the way to help?
You might try looking at it a different way. People have a tendency to take refuge in the ego, to become petty, vindictive and childish and snap at others. Especially if they've been hurt recently or feel vulnerable. The ego is like a safe haven that some people fortify until it becomes a stone fortress where they seal themselves in and take pot-shots at anyone venturing nearby. Maybe they're both that way, but when they were younger they had times when they were courageous enough to venture out of the shelter of the ego now and then. The problem with that is if one person does it the other might see vulnerability and attack. But one person needs to drop the ego defenses first before the other one might feel safe enough to follow suit. And of course even if they both do it, any sign of danger can easily make one of them retreat and armor up again in a heartbeat.
I know this is going to sound messed up, but the cause of the feud is rarely important, what matters is how it escalates. I once handed someone a drink that was about to be knocked over, they took offense at me picking up their drink, I tried to explain the reason I picked it up, but the person started to yell at me, my friend heard the yelling and started to yell at them, I tried to explain to my friend, but before I could the drink owner had called them the b-word, so now they're insulting each other, then my friend grabs the aforementioned drink and intentionally spills it on the floor (literally what I was trying to avoid happening). So now the drink owner is getting their friends for a fight and my friend is also gathering people for a fight.... so I'm sitting there thinking, I'm about to be in a rumble all because I picked up a drink and couldn't explain why. For anyone who cares, the bartender kicked us all out and somehow in the crowd both parties lost track of each other. The point is, it was at worst a simple misunderstanding, but once something escalates it can be hard to deescalate. Your two character's feud could be over anything even a perceived slight or misunderstanding, but once one character escalates the conflict, the escalation can become bigger than the cause of the feud. Just my 2 cents.
I'm watching Cobra Kai at the moment on Netflix. The two senseis have a lot in common (not least karate) and mutual friends, plus they're both sympathetic characters, but misunderstandings and other people stop them from overcoming their differences. I suggest watching it for ideas.
It's hard to answer without knowing anything about the characters, but perhaps you can devise a competition between them. It might be to see who is the best at something, or it might be to see who wins the significant other they are both in love with.
@prettyvisitors would be helpful to know the context of their current relationship. You could go with something super tragic, like one caused the death of another’s loved one through negligence, or something more petty that only bubbles up once in a while, like competing political views.
I, too, would like a little more context... just to help gauge what we are dealing with. Maybe one made a bad choice the other couldn't accept or got into the wrong crowd or ran off with someone who was "an enemy" like the sister of a guy who did some real crap to their friend or something. It's always easy to bring love into it... people get into all sorts of trouble when emotions and libido can in the picture. Maybe they cheated in a competition or or lied? Maybe... one was going through some stuff and the other one was not there for them, turned their back, and later down the road they come through for them despite the bad blood? As mentioned above. pretty much anything where ego and pride get in the picture, too, should do it. What do they do for a living? How did they meet? As a side note, I struggle a bit what what you are struggling with in the fear of making a character you really love immoral, etc. I am desperately trying to come to terms with my main character's infidelity against this lady- and how to develop this in such a way so that readers can relate to his conflicted feelings of being caught between two people without writing him off instantly as an asshole and feel sorry for his battle. It would be easier to make the gf not likable but life is not always that easy lol Maybe there needs to be some fair level of immorality in there, maybe just a little, and maybe the redemption is your characters' over their past or compensating for their failings, later.
