Search Party

When I help emerging authors with their manuscripts — or revise my own wonky drafts — one of the main issues I notice is a lack of conflict. If the hero is too comfortable and has nothing to lose, the story is boring. This is true of non-fiction too. Send out a search party, I joke with clients (and myself). Find the conflict and strong-arm it back into the narrative.

Stakes

A pre-requisite of conflict is stakes. What does the character have to lose? There are three types:

Physical stakes: life and limb are the obvious ones but don’t forget about financial crises, professional embarrassment, minor kitchen fires, falling off a bicycle, and arachnophobia.

Emotional Stakes: romantic rejection, sibling rivalry, a tricky friendship, any risk, however major or minor, however real or imagined, to the character’s feelings.

Philosophical Stakes: these are the most difficult stakes to find because they are about core values, like morality and self-identity. They might interrogate society at large (who counts as an insider? can giving ever be truly altruistic? is individualism better than communalism? is democracy impossible?). Philosophical stakes force the reader to grapple with their own values, putting something in peril for them. These tend to be the narratives readers ponder long after reading. Again, this applies to fiction and non-fiction, short and long-form.

A story need not have all three stakes and you can divvy them up among characters. The best narratives, of course, include all three.

What does the character have to lose? Answer that and you’ve found the story’s stakes. How far will they go, what will they do, what will they sacrifice to hang onto those things? Answer that and you’ll discover the plot.

Tension/ Conflict

There are many ways to weave in tension. The obvious way is through a fight, argument, or battle. You can also make your character physically uncomfortable and introduce interpersonal conflict by putting characters at odds with each other.

Dialogue is an excellent vehicle for tension. You can introduce conflict through speech (what is said) and how it is revealed (ie. through summary, indirect, and direct). Summary is a quick summation, vibes only. Indirect gives you a hint of the words. Direct is word-for-word.

Each type of dialogue has a different level of reliability. Any time the character is uncertain or unsure or skeptical of what is being said, they become uncomfortable. That discomfort is tension.

Text is what is spoken. Subtext is everything that’s roiling under the surface, the unspoken words and sentiments that are far more freighted.

Here’s a writing prompt for adding tension: write a scene where one character wants something and the other one won’t give it. And the next time you’re reading something, pay attention to the stakes and conflict. Finding the stakes and conflict in the stories you read is the first step to discovering it in your own.

Need More Help?

Here’s a little extra advice on conflict and a multi-part series on dialogue.

If you’re in or near St. John’s, I’m the Writer-in-Residence at the AC Hunter Library until November 20th and am offering 1:1 consults, running workshops, and hosting write-togethers. There are only a few spots left for individual consults so email me at achunterwir@gmail.com to book yours now.

I moonlight as a writing mentor and manuscript evaluator which means I give constructive feedback on works-in-progress. I’m taking bookings for the spring so get in touch for more info or a quote.