I'm So Conflicted . . . .

In real life, conflict is something you probably want to avoid, but in fiction writing, the more conflict the better.  New writers often hear, “conflict is story.”  But why is it so important?  And how can you achieve conflict that feels decisive rather than angsty?

Most people don’t read a whole story if they already know how it is going to end.  It’s like when you go to a baseball game and the score is so uneven by the seventh inning that half the crowd, having had their fill of nachos and soda, decides to leave.  But have you ever noticed that that never happens in little league?  The parents are so emotionally invested in the players that no matter if their kid fell down during his last three at bats, they are going to stay.  Who knows?  This bat, he might hit a home run.  You can do the same thing by getting the reader emotionally invested in your characters.  Help them to connect with your hero by making him feel like a real person, emotional scars and all.  Then when you put that character up against impossible odds, or give him a moral choice with no easy answers, the reader vicariously faces that situation too.  And who knows?  He might think of a genius way out of it.  This is why we love a good underdog story.

To focus the conflict, give the character a goal, then let plot events and other characters stand in her way.  The character can even stumble over her own internal flaws.  Have her be able to say, “I could get what I want, if only I wasn’t so proud/stubborn/scared/lazy/broken.”  Then, instead of saying it, use plot events to show the reader how this is true.   The trick is to have the goal matter.  If the character were to fail and there would be no significant consequences, then the conflict becomes watery, and the reader ceases to care whether or not she succeeds.  That doesn't mean you have to put the character’s life on the line every time, or that your character has to save the entire world.  As long as the stakes truly matter to your character, they could be something as small as earning bragging rights, salvaging a friendship or maintaining the moral high ground.   

Everything in your story – including character, plot, setting and dialogue – gets tied together with conflict.  Learn how to keep these elements moving together to create a cohesive whole in Creative Writing: Beginner’s Fiction, a five-session class that focuses on structuring scenes for emotional impact.  Class starts on March 16, so sign up soon by calling (817) 272-2581 or register here.

Getting to the Heart of Your Characters

When you start a new novel or short story, sometimes it can be hard to tell your reader the right things about your characters to make them care enough to keep reading, without bogging everything down with an overwhelming amount of detail.  Sometimes, it can be helpful to work out a few things before you start.  Think about your character’s defining moment in the story.  What is the biggest dilemma they will face?  What one thought or piece of dialogue encapsulates the character’s role within your narrative?  Write out this scene first, then you will be able to pull from it to plant seeds (a.k.a. foreshadowing) of this idea or conflict from the very beginning.

Think about defining moments in your own life, when you have had to make hard choices that put you on a certain path or set half-formed moral boundaries down in stone.  What you found out about yourself may have surprised you.  A 2006 article from the Harvard Business Review explains the difference between an ethical dilemma and a defining moment:  “An ethical decision typically involves choosing between two options: one we know to be right and another we know to be wrong.  A defining moment, however, challenges us in a deeper way by asking us to choose between two or more ideals in which we deeply believe.”  Just because your characters are fictional, that doesn’t mean they should get off any easier.

While a defining moment can come at a number of different points in your story (and in a longer work, your character may face more than one), most plot arcs lead toward a dark moment, or black spot, where the reader should believe that your character may fail.  You can amp up the tension by combining the black spot with a defining moment.  Give your character the opportunity to have what they think they wanted for the entire story, or to achieve the story goal.  They can’t have both.  What are they willing to sacrifice?

Want more ideas on creating three dimensional characters, right from the start of your novel?  Sign up for Novel Preparation: What to Do Before You Start To Write, a five-session class that will also cover techniques for outlining and creating consistent worlds for your characters to inhabit.  Class starts on January 26, so sign up soon by calling (817) 272-2581 or register here.