Writing Tip #2: Adding Conflict

[theinkwell]

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Growing as a writer is a long process, a bit like starting out as a cute little worm and then forming a chrysalis and eventually emerging as a butterfly. We have to transform over time.

One of the things that writers sometimes overlook when they are new to writing and still building that chrysalis, is the importance of conflict in a story.

Conflict is what gets your reader to sit up and pay attention. The longer it takes to get to the conflict, the more likely we are to lose the reader to a YouTube video or the need for a snack. Let’s explore this.

Let’s say you are writing a story about Sally. Sally could walk into a store and buy something very nice that she wants to serve for dinner. Perhaps she has never made steak au poivre. So she buys all the ingredients she needs, and is very excited about her plan to make this dinner. As the author of this story, you might spend several paragraphs describing Sally and her interest in making steak au poivre for the first time. She might have lovely brown hair and an impish nose. And you could write about the store and how it is a wonderful place to shop that smells of baked goods and brown paper bags. All is well and good.

But wait -- something is missing. As you write these opening paragraphs, perhaps you start to lose interest in your own story. It seemed so good! What happened? Why does it seem to be kind of boring?

The problem is, you haven’t given us anything to worry about. Everything is all too nice. I’m sorry to tell you this, but for us to keep reading, something bad might have to happen to Sally. We need conflict.

Now, you don’t have to start right out with the central conflict of the story. That can come later as your plot builds. But we need at least a hint that things are not all well and good. Sally could get a run in her stocking, right before she walks into the store. (Evidently this story takes place in the 1960s!) Or the butcher could be out of the type of meat that she needs for steak au poivre. Oh no!

Or perhaps the store telephone rings. It’s her husband.

Why is her husband calling her at the store? This can’t be good.

The look on the butcher’s face suggests something worrisome - maybe because her husband was speaking with an angry tone. Or maybe he said to the butcher, “Is my wife there? Something’s happened. I need to speak to her right away please.” And maybe she could hear him say these words through the receiver in the butcher’s hand. She thinks of the children. What has happened to her children?

We would have to keep reading to find out.

Hopefully, if you are fairly new to writing you can see from this example how important conflict is for engaging the reader. As soon as there is trouble, we are interested. We want to know more. And we will therefore keep reading.

If you are working on a story and you feel strongly that something is missing, take a hard look at how you are integrating conflict. It just may be the missing piece!

Happy writing!

@jayna, writer and moderator at The Ink Well.

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Comments

[carolkean]

Great sample of prose that's too nice to hold a reader's attention - tension, conflict, obstacles, challenges, complications, problems to solve - that's what keeps us turning pages. Donald Maas is one of many authors who write whole books just about how to write conflict. E.g.

A Goodreads reviewer writes,

Most of the information here is the standard stuff you would find in any good how-to book on writing. But there are also some innovative techniques that make a lot of sense and give a deeper understanding of how to make fiction work. The description of techniques is good, how other authors employ them is clearly chown, but how to use them in your own writing gets a bit woolly.
....The most useful concept, in my opinion, was that of micro-tension. Every piece of dialogue or action or narrative needs to suggest more than basic facts and information. In order to do this you can simply adjust the tone of delivery to become slightly more antagonistic and that will create tension. For example:
Jack stood at the bus stop. The buses arrived every 15 min and the journey to work took half an hour.

..The information is straightforward exposition. However, you can add tension by doing something like this:

*Jack stood at the bus stop. Supposedly the buses came every 15 min but that was a joke. And they were always crammed full.

By creating a sense of dissatisfaction, even if it's within the character's own mind, we create conflict between the idea of the bus coming and his issues with the service. That's where the tension comes from, opposing ideas within a single thought.

For more examples of how to use micro-tension go HERE.

[jayna]

That's awesome, @carolkean. Yes, great points. Conflict can be very cerebral. It can be as simple as dissatisfaction or anything along the spectrum to post apocalyptic nightmarish worlds involving wars with zombies. It all depends on your genre, sensibilities as a writer and the flavor you want for your story.

Thank you so much for providing that great resource. I'm definitely going to check it out!

[theinkwell]

@ocd @ocdb #posh toast with mashed avocado, a drizzle of balsamic and roasted peppers on twitter:

[c-squared]

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[riverflows]

I always tell my students that if there was no conflict, the character would simply stay in the same room and nothing would ever happen. Something has to happen to propel the story forward! Great explanation. I am worrying about who called and what the message was though - come home, the children are coughing and have a fever?

[wems]

CONFLICT IS CRUCIAL IN YOUR STORIES.

I have to bookmark all your tips. Thanks @jayna

[jayna]

Thank you, @wems! I'm so glad you are reading through them and finding them useful. The good news is that a new one comes out each week, and it always includes all of the ones that came before. I suppose when it gets to 50 or 60 tips I will need a better way to organize them than in one long list. :-)

[wems]

Yeah! They are.
They are gems really.
And I don't think I will be reading them just this once,I will come back to it from time to time.

Thank you again.

[safari-bangz]

I'm learning a lot from your tips on writing. I'm reading through them all. Thanks for providing these tips for us.