Conflict

Peter de Vries, novelist and satirist, said, "Every novel should have a beginning, a muddle, and an end." The muddle is the conflict. It’s what drives the plot and turns a recitation of facts into a story.

Conflict arises when forces or desires are in opposition. It can be man against man, man against nature, man against himself, or man against God, with all kinds of variations. The purpose of fiction is to arouse the reader’s emotions. This requires conflict. The reader must care. Put a character the reader likes or cares about in a bad situation and it will create interest. The great writers know this. Elmore Leonard said, “Aim for the heart.” William Faulkner (Nobel prize acceptance speech) said, “The only thing worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat, is the heart in conflict with itself.”

Conflict may also be called the problem, thwarted desire, opposition, or similar names. Without it, the story will be boring. Without conflict, there is no story.

Conflict requires three things:

• Dissatisfaction (with the status quo)

• Desire/Aspiration (must want something badly/aspire to something, such escaping an intolerable situation, finding the truth, clearing a loved one's name, saving a life)

• Choice (every character must be faced with a choice)

The major conflict is the big, overriding problem that isn’t solved until the last possible minute in the story, but there are smaller ones to be solved along the way. Depending on the length of the story, there may be one or many. Avoid solving even the minor conflicts until another one is introduced—a sort of leapfrog effect. This creates the cliffhanger at the end of the chapter.

Every scene should have a purpose. The reader may not be consciously aware of the purpose, but she will be interested in seeing what happens if the character has a problem to resolve. The main character in the scene should want or need to accomplish something. It can be as subtle as receiving (but not opening) a mysterious envelope, or it can be heart-pounding dramatic action, such as trying to elude a psychotic killer. Throw in obstacles. Before a conflict is resolved in the scene, another problem should surface.

If the story sags, add more conflict. Think what the reader or main character would most like to happen; then take it away or deny it.

Strong conflict is based on strong motivation. Why does your character react in a certain way? Whatever it is, the motivation has to be worthy of the struggle. Would your protagonist rob a friend because she wants new shoes? What if her child was being held by a madman?

Before beginning the story, plan the conflicts and give the characters strong motivations. If the motivations are weak, it’s much harder to maintain the conflict in a believable manner. If the conflict drags, introduce a new problem—a car wreck on the way to the hospital, mustard on the shirt just before the big event. Determine what the reader wants most, and then take it away; give the opposing character or force the means to prevent it from happening.

Without conflict, there is no suspense. Suspense, according to Sol Stein in Stein on Writing (one of my favorite books), is achieved by arousing the reader's curiosity and keeping it aroused as long as possible. Keeping it aroused means not relieving the suspense by telling what happens until the last possible minute. Don't give the outcome away before it happens. Keep the conflict alive.

Ellis Vidler dreams in Technicolor of characters in fraught situations. She studied English and art and now does her own covers, sometimes before the book is written. A former editor and fiction teacher, Ellis now directs most of her effort to writing, where she aims for action, adventure, and heart. The McGuire women series features members of a family with a psychic streak. In the Maleantes & More series, a team of security consultants tackle a range of cases. Her short stories are southern fiction. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter, and her website is EllisVidler.net.