BY MCKENNA GARDNER
Writing Conflict
The best conflict in literature stems from genuine human desire and motivation. When you have two primary characters, presumably the hero and the villain, or the hero and the heroine, with opposing outlooks on life, an inevitable clash occurs. Without each character fully believing in their own viewpoint, regardless of how insane it may indeed be, the disharmony could be resolved with a nice chat over tea—thus ending your story prematurely.
Therefore, it is imperative that you portray characters as set in their ways, even if that means a character is determined not to settle into routine. Unless a hero, heroine, or villain has a solid foundation to start from, their character arc could wind up flimsy and unbelievable to a reader. Conflict must be strong between a romantic pair, otherwise you have them committing to each other on page six . . . unless the conflict begins after that.
Consider the ludicrous bad guy you’ve seen in movies or read in books where he’s a perfect good guy until something sets him off and it’s like he just flips a switch. I declare that is not reality. Either he had a darker side to begin with (which must be shown through small clues), or by engaging in a few rebellious whims at first, he perhaps falls prey to the appeal of escape from whatever trauma he experienced. The more realistic the desires and motivations, the more easily the reader will empathize with a character, even the bad ones. They don’t even have to be human to be relatable.
Have you ever read about an alien or demon that did not have human attributes? It isn’t possible. A human imagined them. And therein lies the challenge—how do you be original with your conflict? How do you make it strong and interesting and unique?
Not to fear, there are limitless ways in which characters can become at odds with one another. The more depth you give them, the more avenues you can explore. What does your hero want? What does he lack? What does he have already that disrupts the peace in his life? Question this with each character and make sure they don’t all want the same thing. Even a like-minded group of magically gifted children, who all wanted a certain someone who shall not be named dead, had unique talents and desires.
Find a way to convince the reader of the value to both sides of an argument so they, themselves, are just as torn. That is good conflict. That will keep your reader in the pages of your awesome story so they can discover just how you master the resolution in the end.
In addition to the crazy workload Managing Editor McKenna Gardner performs at the X. she is also an accomplished author. Under the pseudonym of M. Irish Gardner, she has published two short stories in our anthologies: “Invested Charm” in Mechanized Masterpieces 2: An American Anthology to be released on February 28, 2015; and “Reformation” in A Dash of Madness: A Thriller Anthology (2013).
McKenna’s most recent editorial works include The Toll of Another Bell: A Fantasy Anthology with its official releaseJanuary 31, 2015; Blondes, Books & Bourbon: A White Dragon Black Anthology by R.M. Ridley, with a release date of March 13, 2015; and Joanne Kershaw’s third installment of the Vanguard Legacy franchise, Foretold, slated for release in April 2015. She is also supervising editor of Hohenstein by Didi Lawson, May 2015.
