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Search Results for: conflict in every scene

How to Uncover Your Character’s Inner Conflict

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Conflict is a powerful element within the story and can be loosely categorized as either Outer (external) Conflict or Inner (internal) Conflict. The difference is that outer conflict is something external keeping the character from his goal, while inner conflict is a mental struggle over wanting … [Read more...] about How to Uncover Your Character’s Inner Conflict

Use Conflict to Target a Character’s Soft Spots

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Conflict is a key story ingredient, one we need a lot of, but this doesn't mean quantity is better than quality. Fiction isn’t a video game; waves of bad guys with guns won't keep readers tuned in for long. They expect to see a variety of conflict, including meaningful problems that deepen the … [Read more...] about Use Conflict to Target a Character’s Soft Spots

THE CONFLICT THESAURUS, Volume 2: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles

A story where the character gets exactly what they want doesn’t make for good reading. But add villainous clashes, lost advantages, power struggles, and menacing threats…well, now we have the makings of a page-turner. Conflict is the golden thread that binds plot to arc, providing the complications, … [Read more...] about THE CONFLICT THESAURUS, Volume 2: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles

Coming Soon: The Conflict Thesaurus (Volume 2)

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Some things are harder than others: getting up to work out rather than sleeping in. Not eating that entire container of salted caramel gelato. But one of the hardest? Waiting for a sequel. When it comes to finishing off an amazing novel, your brain goes into fourth of July mode: The characters, … [Read more...] about Coming Soon: The Conflict Thesaurus (Volume 2)

Scenes vs. Sequels: What’s a Good Balance?

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By Jami Gold We use the terms scene and sequel for so many definitions when it comes to writing that it can be difficult (not to mention confusing) to discuss Dwight Swain’s ideas of “scenes and sequels” (from his Techniques of the Selling Writer). But if we understand his insights, we can take a … [Read more...] about Scenes vs. Sequels: What’s a Good Balance?

Stoking Your Story’s Fire: Three Considerations for Revising Scene by Scene

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By David G. Brown The Two Pillars of Storytelling After my first couple years as a fiction editor, I realized that all of my developmental feedback for clients fit into one of two categories. The first is immersion: the quality of a narrative that transports readers to another time and place. … [Read more...] about Stoking Your Story’s Fire: Three Considerations for Revising Scene by Scene

The Mother Lode of Conflict Resources

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With the recent release of the 2nd Volume of The Conflict Thesaurus, Angela and I have been here, there, and everywhere, sharing everything we've learned about what conflict can do for your stories and characters. Because we don't want you to miss a thing, we've collected them here, into one … [Read more...] about The Mother Lode of Conflict Resources

Need Compelling Conflict? Choose A Variety of Kinds

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All right, hands up: What’s the one thing we can’t get enough of in fiction but we avoid like a screaming toddler in real life? Conflict.  It's ironic that something we try to avoid in the real world is the very thing we can’t get enough of in books. Psychologically speaking, though, it … [Read more...] about Need Compelling Conflict? Choose A Variety of Kinds

Does Your Story Need More Conflict? Tap this Powerful Source

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Conflict is such a versatile storytelling element. Not only will obstacles, adversaries, and stressors keep tension high and readers focused, they also provide characters with valuable opportunities to prove themselves, chances to reexamine what they believe and want, and even failures that teach … [Read more...] about Does Your Story Need More Conflict? Tap this Powerful Source