Kate Walker's Blog, page 93

A Special Day

I have some more posts about Conflict coming up but I'm pretty busy today with something special to celebrate . Two special things really. Two special birthdays.

One I'm a bit late - a day late - with so I have to say sorry to my lovely 'twin' Holly Jacobs for that. Holly's birthday was yesterday. So Happy Birthday for yesterday Holly! I hope you had a very special day.

And today's birthday? Well that's really special - to me anyway.

Some years ago (quite a few of them!) in Leeds, West Yorkshir...

Conflicted and New Voices

I hope that my posts on Conflict are helping you grasp this topic. Thank you to everyone who has commented or sent me private thanks for the internet 'workshop' - I'm really happy it's giving you the information you need. I'll be coming back to the final posts, and to answering some more of your questions about conflict in the next few days. But, as the title of this post says, I'm conflicted about what to give my attention to as I am so very very busy right now (nothing new there!)

And I'm...

CONFLICT - Emotions

Conflict is all about the EMOTIONS. You need to use the way your characters are feeling about each other, about the problems that come between them, to build the emotional tension and so build the sense of conflict in the book - even at the time when your Hero and heroine are not really fighting each other but that worry, tension, conflict is still in their minds.

FEEL THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY

Even if a conflict is not one you are likely to face you can imagine what your H or h would feel...

CONFLICT - Turning up the heat

The important thing to remember about creating an effective and emotionally affecting conflict is that the key to a conflict that has your reader emotionally involved is to focus on the characters.

With characters that your reader cares about then they will be cheering for your hero and heroine and wanting them to win through, to get together and to reach that happy ever after ending.

Without that emotional involvement, you can create the most violent, intense, tragic conflict and the reader wi...

CONFLICT - Intensifying

FACTORS AFFECTING THE DEGREE OF CONFLICT

1. How much character desires the goal
- characters will fight hardest for what they desire most intensely
2. How confident the character is of achieving the goal
- If a character is confident, they may be slow to see a threat
- If character fears it won't happen, they may fight over much smaller signs of opposition
3. How flexible the character is about how and when the goal is achieved
- Needing it today/next week will mean they will fight harder than if t...

CONFLICT - Anne McAllister

Another quote on Conflict from another of my fabourite authors - Anne McAllister :

What I would say, I guess, is that the conflict has to exist on at least two if not three levels in a romance.

There can be external imposed conflict from outside -- like the family or father who objects to a marriage. External conflict is more important in other kinds of fiction than it is in romance. Sometimes in other kinds of fiction -- mysteries, thrillers -- it carries much of the story. In romance it may b...

CONFLICT - Julie Cohen

I'm going to pause for a moment from my personal opinions on Conflict because as I've always said there are no rules.

And equally there isn't only one opinion on any subject for writing.

So when I was planning my talk on Conflict for the RNA, I asked some friends to give me quotes on conflict. I put these on handout for the people at the workshop, and with the permission of the authors I've quoted, I'm posting them here as well for you to see and get the benefit of their expertise.
First, is

CONFLICT - Goals

I said yesterday that goals, particularly goals that oppose each other can generate intense conflict, Here are some possible GOALS that either of your characters might aspire to:

Romantic love
Internal – We form strong emotional bonds which makes us vulnerable
- we fear being hurt, not being lovable enough

- External – differences between your h&H affect their goal of emotional love. How they show their feelings which causes pain and anger to the other

Keeping or winning possessions
- house
- car
...

CONFLICT

External makes internal worse
Internal makes eternal worse

Characters in conflict – under stress are instinctive not logical
They revert to 'default position', the most emotional, most basic, most instinctive and automatic response.Only if something or someone forces them to pause and think, to face what they are doing do things change

With strong internal conflict and strong interlinking external conflict, the stakes rise .
And to add more emotion and more conflict you need to the stakes.The...

CONFLICT Q&A

Coming back to the Q&A on Conflict, having covered the basics of External and Internal conflict, it's time to look at one of the questions I've been asked about it -


Lacey said:

I really struggle with balancing internal and external conflicts and I tend to lean toward external. While I understand the principles of letting the internal drive the external I'm still not getting it right. I'm sure I'm missing something... Where's the magic formula ;)

My simple answer is - Don't balance them!


The...