NaNoWriMo Prep, Part Four: Adding Conflict
One of the perks of being an author is you can be mean to people without actually being mean to people. You get to pick on your characters as much as you want, and if they're modeled after someone you don't like in real life it's a bonus.
But we don't usually like to do mean things to our main characters. They're usually some of our favorites, and we like them, so we want life to be easy for them. The problem with that is if we're too nice to them, there's no conflict, and if there's no conflict, there's no story.Imagine if you read a book where everything went right for the main character. Pretty boring, right? If your characters always make the best decisions and everything goes the way they want it to, it's unrealistic, and people are not likely to enjoy it much.
So, add conflict.
Step One
Evaluate your plot graph. If you found one that had points on it that were labeled "obstacles" then you have some guidance already. Those are places you can put difficulties for your character. Go through the whole plot graph (or whatever kind of outline you have), and find all the places where you can add difficulties or conflict.
Pick places to add conflict where your story may be boring or slow, or where you're approaching a climax of some kind. If you're building toward the climax of your story, then the conflict should be more extreme than if it's right at the beginning. The stakes should be increasing.
Step Two
Decide what conflicts work best with the plot you have. Keep in mind that these can't be easy for your character. It's okay to embarrass them or hurt their feelings. It can be hard to do that if you empathize with them, but remember - you need conflict for a good story.
If you're writing a romance, then you might decide to put in a love triangle (I despise these, but they must be liked by some people or there wouldn't be so crazy many of them) or a complication in the main romantic relationship. Perhaps a misunderstanding, or a secret that's discovered. If one of your plots is man vs. nature, then perhaps the weather prevents something your character needs to do.
Step Three
Make it worse. If you think it's bad enough for your character, then you probably need to make it even harder for them. If you need to, add more conflict, or up the ante on the conflict you already have. If you have a secret that's been discovered, then perhaps it would make it more dramatic if more than one person found out at the same time.
Step Four
Resolve the conflict. How is this conflict going to be resolved? Happily? Unhappily? You're going to want to resolve most of the conflict in your story at some point so that it's a satisfying read. This might be a little different if you're working on a series, but some of the conflict should still be resolved or you might end up with irritated readers. This resolution should be part of your plot graph, too. It comes after the climax, and before the end (there are exceptions, like resolving a minor conflict before the climax).
But we don't usually like to do mean things to our main characters. They're usually some of our favorites, and we like them, so we want life to be easy for them. The problem with that is if we're too nice to them, there's no conflict, and if there's no conflict, there's no story.Imagine if you read a book where everything went right for the main character. Pretty boring, right? If your characters always make the best decisions and everything goes the way they want it to, it's unrealistic, and people are not likely to enjoy it much.
So, add conflict.
Step One
Evaluate your plot graph. If you found one that had points on it that were labeled "obstacles" then you have some guidance already. Those are places you can put difficulties for your character. Go through the whole plot graph (or whatever kind of outline you have), and find all the places where you can add difficulties or conflict.
Pick places to add conflict where your story may be boring or slow, or where you're approaching a climax of some kind. If you're building toward the climax of your story, then the conflict should be more extreme than if it's right at the beginning. The stakes should be increasing.
Step Two
Decide what conflicts work best with the plot you have. Keep in mind that these can't be easy for your character. It's okay to embarrass them or hurt their feelings. It can be hard to do that if you empathize with them, but remember - you need conflict for a good story.
If you're writing a romance, then you might decide to put in a love triangle (I despise these, but they must be liked by some people or there wouldn't be so crazy many of them) or a complication in the main romantic relationship. Perhaps a misunderstanding, or a secret that's discovered. If one of your plots is man vs. nature, then perhaps the weather prevents something your character needs to do.
Step Three
Make it worse. If you think it's bad enough for your character, then you probably need to make it even harder for them. If you need to, add more conflict, or up the ante on the conflict you already have. If you have a secret that's been discovered, then perhaps it would make it more dramatic if more than one person found out at the same time.
Step Four
Resolve the conflict. How is this conflict going to be resolved? Happily? Unhappily? You're going to want to resolve most of the conflict in your story at some point so that it's a satisfying read. This might be a little different if you're working on a series, but some of the conflict should still be resolved or you might end up with irritated readers. This resolution should be part of your plot graph, too. It comes after the climax, and before the end (there are exceptions, like resolving a minor conflict before the climax).
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