Photo by Reba Bear , via Flickr Whether intuitively or formally, creative writers learn early on that conflict drives story. Ignore this at your peril. I once edited a political thriller whose central character was homosexual and autistic (I’ve changed a few details here). While our country has made strides as concerns tolerance, even today the notion of living openly gay is rife with conflict. But the author chose not to explore it; to him the topic felt clichéd. And I’m thinking, huh. But he still has that autism angle, right? Again, societal acceptance has grown as we learn more about this condition, but still—to actively participate in the plot, this character will be fighting an uphill battle that most would consider heroic. The stuff of great story! But this author swung wide—he decided he wants the autism to be completely accepted in the world of his story. And I’m thinking, huh. And I'm concluding: Where’s the story? Authors love their characters, I ...