Developing Conflict...Before You Write

by Sherry Davis

The following article first appeared in Windy City's fall/winter issue of Blowing Kisses. Permission granted to forward to sister RWA chapters with proper credit. Fredericka Meiners, co-editor, Blowing Kisses, Windy City RWA

Have you ever received a comment from an Editor, Agent or Contest Judge that said your conflict wasn't deep enough? How about they didn't believe your conflict was strong enough to sustain the story? Or it was superficial? Maybe you've been writing along in your wonderfully creative organic or linear way and realized the story fell flat in the middle? You lost interest. You couldn't finish the story because you just didn't care what happened to the characters.

Ho-hum. Been there. Done that. Unfortunately, I wasn't an experienced enough writer at the time to fix the problem. Mainly, because I couldn't put my finger on the problem. I had conflict. He wanted something and couldn't have it. She wanted something she couldn't get without his help. Conflict is conflict. Right? Wrong.

All conflict is not created equal!

Conflict is one of the hardest elements of writing fiction to grasp. At least it is for me. (Notice the present tense verb.) It seems so simplistic in theory. You want something. You can't have it because this or that. But this isn't conflict. It's a force of opposition. It can be dealt with or ignored. Wanting something isn't a conflict. Needing something on the other hand, is.

A need signifies imminent change in the status quo if it isn't fulfilled.

So how do you ratchet up the conflict before you start writing? By choosing characters who have conflict on every possible level. Some characters will have light conflict, others will be deep. But every character has to have conflict. Even the secondary character, whether you as the writer ever play out their conflict on paper, must have conflict.

Characters in Conflict

Start with a good personality interview of each of your major characters. You don't have to use anything formal, but you need to be able to lay the sketches down side by side to analyze where each character's conflict is weak. I recommend The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes & Heroines by Cowden/LaFever/Viders. It has a great section on Archetype Interactions which shows how the characters clash and mesh.

After you've decided on the two major characters, sit down and compare the sketches. Look for the following areas of conflict.

(Internal) With Self = Fear

Fear has a tendency to bring out a human's natural instinct of Fight or Flight. If you haven't studied this reflex, it's the body's way of protecting us from death, either physical or emotional. We either stay to fight, (face the fear) or we run or ignore the problem (flight).

So ask yourself, what is your character afraid of? What gives him/her the cold sweats? What makes them hide in the closet? Make sure you've chosen an opposing character who forces the character to face their internal conflict, either overtly or covertly.

Notice this is an internal conflict. Internal is something the character could actually overcome, if they have enough motivation to do so. (Ah, motivation. We'll save that for another article.)

(Internal/External)With Significant Other = Unrealistic Expectations

How many relationships and marriages have failed because of unrealistic expectations? This is a big-ticket item. If your hero and heroine start playing nice, the reader will close the book. They have to repel and attract each other at the same time. They're both right about the other not being worthy. But there's something about the other that elicits a begrudging respect. Where one is weak, the other is strong and vice versa. This realization forces them to trust each other. And from their trust comes a lasting love. Commitment is another issue. (We'll get there, but not today. Why? Because we have all this other conflict to deal with!)

*Notice this conflict deals with issues both external and internal. Not one or the other, but both, that is, she expects him to take out the garbage when he gets home from work.

He thinks: He's tired. This is menial labor. He's the king of the house! She's trying to take him down a peg (usurp his authority). To avoid a confrontation he says "He forgot."

She thinks: If he loved me, he wouldn't leave the trash for me to do. I'm the queen of the house! His "forgetful" attitude implies she and her needs are at the bottom of the totem pole.

(Internal/External) With Society: Conformity = Possible Loss of Self and Sacrifice

This is most important for those Archetypes of the Lost Soul and the Outcast. Their conformity involves rejoining the world. Most historical writers have a really great grasp on this concept. There are certain mores and traditions of the day one simply cannot bypass and survive.

Contemporary stories must rely on the internal over the external (though one doesn't have to be exclusive of the other). What I'm talking about is compromise. This is a choice your characters must make, a conscious decision to sacrifice a piece of themselves for the good of the other. This requires a physical (external) and an emotional (internal) conformity.

External forces require an internal revision of life's plan so that both may occupy the same space. (That's the HEA!)

Make certain your conflicts are true "needs" and not just "wants". Remember, need is a survival instinct. A need is that which the protagonist believes (mistakenly?) will return their world to normalcy (status quo.) Needs can also change. Sometimes the character will outgrow one of their external needs and replace it with something more mature or worthy of their changed selves. (See Evolving Archetypes)

You'll notice I haven't talked a lot about plotting. The reason is that once you've developed these three basic areas of conflict, (you may have more) you'll know which plotting devices to use to ensure your story addresses and deals with the issues of each character. I usually develop three "lines" of plot, the Internal, External and the Romance. I leave little markers or Post-Its to show where the high points of each plot happen and to ensure my middle doesn't sag (no Post-Its, no conflict).

If you are an organic writer, this may be too much of the story locked in to place. It may be too confining for those brilliant flashes of inspiration at the eleventh hour deadline. Remember, this is a mutable outline. It's meant to encourage great, fully-developed conflict, which is what is what those Editors, Agents and Contest Judges want to see.

Happy Writing!

Sherry Davis is a member of North Texas Romance Writers of America and is currently serving as the chapter Pro Liason. She's been writing and teaching for ten years and has completed six books and numerous partials. She's currently writing full time and is looking for an agent for her single title, Fool Me Once

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