Finding the narrative

I’ve discovered I can’t start writing a novel—even if I know how it should begin and end—until I find the narrative thread. Characters can develop on the page as I write, even plot to a certain extent, but I have to have a basic idea of what’s going to tie everything together as a compelling story.

What makes a story? In a word, conflict. Not conflict as in fight necessarily. A conflict between two characters. A conflict within a character between his desires and his duty. A conflict between...