How To WRITE Awesomely

How to WRITE CONFLICT/DRAMA

How to WRITE CONFLICT/DRAMA

Conflict! The part of the story that turns our heads and makes our hearts beat faster. As we get to the very top of the pyramid; as we're battling dragons; we are enamored by what we read.

Conflict is what makes us READ the story. Drama is what keeps it interesting.

To begin this segment of Absolutely_Positive's How to: WRITE, I want to describe what conflict is.

Conflict: Conflict is a problem. A disagreement. A war. A quarrel. A clash. A fued.

All of the above.

So how do we create the perfect conflict for our books?

What's the secret for creating conflicts in the first place? I'm going to show an article that gives you the secret to creating a problem. (External link http://thewritepractice.com/creating-conflict/)

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We often think that to create conflict we need to show spectacular events. For example, a car chase, an argument between lovers, a fistfight, or the threat of a nuclear explosion. Or we think of conflict as some kind of internal suffering: depression, longing, or pain.

But the truth is that if events and emotions were the only elements of conflict in our stories, we'd have some pretty flat stories.

Conflict, in good stories, is not about spectacular events or painful emotions. Good conflict is about values.

What is a value?

When you hear the word value in this context, you might think of "family values," or in other words, morals. While morality is crucial to storytelling, morals aren't what I mean by value.

Let's simplify it. A value is something you admire, something you want. If I value something, it means I think it's good.

Here are some examples of things you might value:

• Money

• Wealth

• Friends

• Your little brother

• Getting good grades

• Organization

• Justice

• Compassion

• The environment

Think about a few of your favorite protagonists. What do they value?

For example, Elizabeth Bennet, our heroine from Pride & Prejudice, values honesty, humility, intelligence, kindness, and her family (am I missing any?). Her conflict with Mr. Darcy was on the basis of these values. She thought he was dishonest, prideful, rude, and worst of all, he "ruined the happiness of a most beloved sister."

When good people create conflict

You don't need a villain to create conflict. Most conflict comes about between two positive values that conflict.

In our example of Pride & Prejudice, looming above the whole story is the value of marriage and love. Mrs. Bennet wants all her daughters to get married. The daughters want to get married too, but only if they're in love... and preferably in love with someone wealthy (another central value in the story).

Marriage, love, and wealth are all positive values. They're values most of us would agree with! However, figuring out how to adhere to all of those values at once is incredibly difficult, and in Pride & Prejudice, we get to watch the characters try, fail, and then finally succeed at achieving all of these good but conflicting values.