You’re Not Paid to Be Nice

Somewhere between “once upon a time” and “they lived happily ever after,” you’ll find conflict. Conflict keeps the story interesting. If a boy finds a lamp, rubs it, a genie pops out and grants him his heart’s desire, and the boy lives out the rest of his days in splendor and peace, well…it’s a nice story, but it’s BORING!

As a writer, especially if you’re writing fiction, you’re not paid to be nice. Remember that. Your job is to stack grief upon grief, challenge upon challenge, and worry upon worry on your main character. Conflict drives the plot, keeps the reader emotionally involved, and creates a page-turner.

We’ve discussed in previous posts that each scene should have a question (not necessarily blatantly stated), a piece of the puzzle to place. How we answer this question develops conflict (or lack thereof). If you’ve read Dwight Swain’s Techniques of the Selling Writer, you’re familiar with the terms “Yes, but,” and “No, and furthermore.” When we add to the hero’s problems, the reader worries more and loses a night’s sleep reading on to see the outcome.

Most stories have two types of conflict: internal and external. Casablanca provides an excellent example of internal conflict. Rick wants Ilsa, but knows it would be wrong to keep her. For one, she’s married. Plus, her physical safety is at stake. He wants her to stay with him and she begs him to stay, which increases his internal conflict. External conflict can range from an antagonist, setting (weather, wildlife, haunted mansion, etc.), circumstances (car wreck, getting lost), choices (who to date, where to work, where to live, etc.), health issues – the list is almost infinite.

Exhibit caution when building conflict. Have you ever seen an action or horror movie where every time the heroine takes a breath, she’s faced with another challenge? Soon, this becomes almost comical and doesn’t build emotion or concern, just annoyance. Believable, emotional conflict derives when the author attacks what is near to the hero’s heart-his dreams & goals, his inner values, his loves. When you block his path to a goal he’s worked toward most of his life, the reader will keep reading.

This is why it’s important to have a lead character, or protagonist. The reader needs someone to cheer for. Some stories have been published without one, but the successful (and memorable) ones, give the reader a hero or heroine.

So, how can we heighten the conflict without becoming cliched or comical?

Place your character in an unfamiliar environment. Against his or her will.

Place your character in an unlikely setting for the genre. Instead of a romance set on a sunny beach, what about … Siberia?

Use Point of View to enhance a scene’s conflict. Which character has the most to lose at this point? Is it the lead? His or her romantic interest? The villain? Write the scene in the POV of the character who has the most at stake.

Speaking of villains … give your hero/heroine one worthy of their time. If the bad guy is so bad, the reader will hate him. What if we had reason to wonder whether or not the antagonist’s cause was a worthy one? Create ambivalence in the reader. In the end, of course, you will reveal information that shows yes, the good guy should win, but it won’t hurt to keep the reader concerned for a while.

There are countless ways to “up the stakes” of your story. And most of them begin with the question, “What if?”

Until next time,
Happy Writing!

(The posts in this series are tagged Creating Compelling Content.)