More on Conflict in Writing

In my previous writing craft blog post I talked about external and internal conflict and hinted that I might have more to say about conflict in a future post.

Turns out, I do.

I have two things to say about it.

First, think of conflict in terms of a character wanting something and then put obstacles in the way of her getting it.  She wants to climb Mt. Fuji but she’s thirty pounds overweight and hasn’t exercised in ten years.  She decides to get in shape but she can’t stop eating hot fudge sundaes every day and when she signs up at a gym the other people laugh at her as she fumbles her way through a workout.

It’s an easy formula: desireobstacleconflictstory.

Of course, there’s a ton more to it than that when you start putting the story together, but start with a good conflict for your character and you’ll be well on your way.

The other bit of advice I have for you today is this: when looking for conflict, look no further than your own life. Okay, maybe you’re not trying to get in shape to climb Mt. Fuji, but you probably have conflicts large and small in your own life. And story characters need a ton of conflict, large and small, in their lives. (Remember the famous Kurt Vonnegut quote, “Always have your characters want something, even if it’s a glass of water.” Because desire fuels conflict.)

Here’s one small example. One conflict every writer I know confronts in their life is time, as in time to write. Right? And this conflict has many related tentacles. Perhaps you don’t have time to write because you have family relying on you. There you have it: conflict in relationships. Or you can’t write often because you have a demanding job. Conflict in career. There’s more, so much more, embedded in this simple desireobstacle pairing. You can’t write because you’re blocked and you’re blocked because you don’t think you’re good enough. Internal conflict (see last week’s post). You can’t write because your best friend just got a mega-book deal and you’re so jealous you could spit and now you’re certain you’ll never make it. More internal conflict. I could go on and on but I’ll let you go forth and find your own conflict for your characters.