Okay Writers, time for number three…that all important CONFLICT!

Without conflict there would be no story, right? That’s a ‘no brainer’, but time and time again, writers in our critique group— myself especially— have been seriously lacking in the conflict department. “Amp it up!” they tell me weekly.

One of my children was afraid of the Sea Witch in The Little Mermaid. I told her, “Without the Sea Witch, there would be no story; nothing for Ariel to do.” She thought about it and then said she’d just cover her eyes.

As much as we love the well-thought-out, descriptive passages we forge as we build our worlds, what keeps the reader engaged is the conflict. In fact, I have a friend that professes to (on a regular basis) skip passages of narrative to get to the action and dialogue…where the conflict usually occurs.

We live in a fast-paced world. The action has to keep up with the average mindset. Gone are the days of Dickens, Hemingway, and Tolstoy. Most novels of today open with a car chase and don’t let you breathe until the end.

Why do we love conflict? Sheesh! Don’t our lives have enough already? Why do people choose to entertain themselves with more problems to solve? The only answer I could find for that was…maybe solving the problems in a book or movie gives them closure, resolution, and hope their problems will also be resolved. It’s like playing seven notes of a scale. Musicians go insane if you don’t play the last note. It resolves everything. It just feels good to finish it.

One way to amp up conflict in your story is to think ‘opposites’. If you drastically contrast everything, the dialogue and plot will nearly write themselves. They will naturally scream opposition to one another.

For example: If your main character is environmentally conscientious to a fault, then you could offset their ‘green’ passion with a character who doesn’t recycle, drives an old gas-hog, and uses paper plates at every meal.

When I have a strong thread of conflict, I try to follow it through to the end. Perhaps I would have the gas-hog owner drive-up in a Prius. Or the ‘green’ character could use their paper towels only once before throwing them away. This could show how the opposing character has smoothed out their hard edges a bit; had an influence on their choices.

The biggest advice I’ve ever read or heard about conflict is… just when you think it can’t get any worse for the character…make it worse. Create situations they could not possibly get out of, amp it up even more, and then watch them find their way out.

If you want to try outlandish scenarios without too much of a commitment of length or word count, try using writing prompts. Give yourself a time limit and slather on the conflict as thick as you can. It’s even more fun when you do this in a group. We’ve had some wild characters struggle through outrageous predicaments.

In the end, don’t shy away from conflict like most do in real life. In your writing, embrace it, welcome it, and amp it up!