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Conflict

Two Craft-Boosting Black Friday Deals for Writers

November 16, 2025

Two Craft-Boosting Black Friday Deals for Writers

November 16, 2025

The best thing about Black Friday sales is how creative folk can finally put themselves first, picking up affordable resources that will make a huge impact on their writing success.…

8 Qualities that Will Help Your Protagonist on Their Journey

November 13, 2025

8 Qualities that Will Help Your Protagonist on Their Journey

November 13, 2025

Every writer strives to create protagonists with unique qualities that make them compelling, fully-formed people. We spend hours, days, and sometimes years to make them believable. Recently, I attended a…

Coping Mechanism Thesaurus Entry: Altruism

November 1, 2025

Coping Mechanism Thesaurus Entry: Altruism

November 1, 2025

When a character suffers emotional pain, the brain’s response is to stop the discomfort, and often this results in a coping mechanism being deployed. Whether it’s an automatic response or…

Coping Mechanism Thesaurus Entry: Asking for Help

October 18, 2025

Coping Mechanism Thesaurus Entry: Asking for Help

October 18, 2025

When a character suffers emotional pain, the brain’s response is to stop the discomfort, and often this results in a coping mechanism being deployed. Whether it’s an automatic response or…

How to Use the Four Levels of Conflict to Strengthen Your Story

August 14, 2025

How to Use the Four Levels of Conflict to Strengthen Your Story

August 14, 2025

A cardinal sin of storytelling is to skimp on conflict, and no wonder. Those problems, challenges, obstacles, and inner struggles help keep readers engaged, casting doubt on the character’s ability…

Three Strategies for Creating Progressively Escalating Complications

June 3, 2025

Three Strategies for Creating Progressively Escalating Complications

June 3, 2025

Unputdownable stories keep readers off balance, as one scene tips into another, and another, and the next. Each scene’s challenge demands a response, and each response spirals into fresh complications.…

Workshop: How to Write Compelling Inner Conflict with Angela Ackerman

May 9, 2025

Workshop: How to Write Compelling Inner Conflict with Angela Ackerman

May 9, 2025

Ready to dive into your character’s internal struggle and put all that incredible gut-twisting conflict on the page? If so, don’t miss this upcoming Zoom workshop on Saturday, May 24th,…

Using a Character’s Personality Traits to Generate Conflict

April 10, 2025

Using a Character’s Personality Traits to Generate Conflict

April 10, 2025

When it comes to generating conflict, your character’s personality can help ensure that sparks fly, especially when their traits clash with someone else’s. When people grate on one another their…

6 First Page Inclusions for Drawing Readers In

March 1, 2025

6 First Page Inclusions for Drawing Readers In

March 1, 2025

There are a lot of Dos and Don’ts for a story’s first pages. Do introduce the protagonist(s). Do start in medias res. Don’t start with a dream sequence. Don’t info…

How to Avoid Flat Characters in Your Story

February 25, 2025

How to Avoid Flat Characters in Your Story

February 25, 2025

Has an editor or critique partner said, “Your character is flat” when offering feedback on your story? Or perhaps they worded it another way: “Your protagonist didn’t grab me,” or…