Digging down to Conflict

Update: I spend a half hour or an hour every day sorting through old weblog posts in an effort to bring some order to the chaos (for example, if you care to have a look, the FAQ section is actually starting to come together). But every once in a while there's a post that's been culled somehow from the herd, so I have to either do some research to figure out where it originated, or repost it. Today time is short, so I'm reposting this, after some editing. The nature of conflict in a story is so complex it's hard to talk about. I've rarely run into a teacher or book that does a good job of laying out the very subtle manouevering that goes into establishing and building on conflict. There's a good chance I won't pull it off either, but I'm going to try. People who are just getting started with writing fiction often take things too literally. Yes, you need a major conflict. A couple married seventy years who are thinking about divorce? Yes, excellent conflict. But how do you put that idea into actions, into a story that makes the reader want to turn the page? You might set the whole story at the breakfast table, your two characters arguing and fighting — but that's very restrictive for you as a writer, and really hard to pull off well. Your characters will give you an idea of where to start. Imagine them sitting at a table with you. You are interviewing them. Writer: Sam, can you tell me why after seventy years of marriage you want a divorce? Sam: She's too damn picky. She never lets up. I'm ninety-two, I think […]