Hellooo, everybody!
Today we're talking about the one thing that literally every novel thrives on, conflict!
Conflict is the crux of storytelling and plotting. It is the root of every TV show, movie,
comic book, book—whatever. Which basically means that if you can't write conflict,
you can't write a story, no pressure. A lot of writers feel intimidated
at the prospect of writing conflict, which is kind of weird. We experience conflict in our everyday
lives. We are surrounded by chaos and turmoil. Or is that just me? The point is conflict isn't
difficult to master, at least when you understand its basic parts. Today I am breaking down the ten
best tips for writing conflict. I'm telling you how to break it down to its key parts,
how to make it last throughout your novel, and how to use it to surprise your readers. If you
want to nail storytelling and craft a conflict that absolutely hooks your readers, stick around.
(The sound of a pen scratching. LOGO.)
Before we get started, thank you so much to Milanote for sponsoring today's video. Milanote
is an easy to use tool that allows you to organize your projects and ideas into visual boards.
It's not the same as traditional software. Most software exists as a linear document, but Milanote
allows you to move your ideas all over the place, like a studio wall or a poster board. This makes
a lot more sense because creativity is anything but linear. Milanote allows you to take your big
mess of ideas and move them around however you please, which is perfect for mapping out ideas,
organizing, and planning your novel and its plot. It serves as a creative hub for whatever you're
working on. Like planning your author platform, creating characters, structuring your novel,
world building, or any other facet of planning your book. On top of that you can share your work
with critique partners if you want comments or feedback. Personally, I'm a big fan of Milanote.
I use this platform every single day. I use it to plan out my YouTube content. I use it to work on
my newsletter. And of course, I use it to map out my writing, including crafting conflicts.
And even better, you can use Milanote for free! $0. If you're ready to start planning your book,
including its kick ass conflict, check out Milanote for free using the link below. And
if you're super hyped about Milanote like I am, upgrade to their pro subscription.
It is amazing. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays,
and if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload, ring that bell. The Savior's Champion and The
Savior’s Sister are available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audiobook. They're available at all
major retailers. So if you like yourself some dark fantasy romance with tons of conflict, check them
out. They're linked below. Now I'm breaking down the ten best tips for writing conflict. These
tips are pivotal to crafting a compelling story and you definitely need them in your arsenal.
Number One (1): It's mandatory. Conflict is the basis of plot, without conflict you
don't have a story, period. “But Jennaaa, my book is light hearted and fluffy!” Big
fucking deal. Conflict simply means a struggle, disagreement, or incompatibility that lasts for
a long period of time. A conflict can be as serious as the end of the world,
or as frivolous as which teen queen is gonna rule the school. Examine books, TV shows and
movies from completely different genres. No matter if it's romance, sci-fi, or horror you
will notice one common denominator. Conflict! The basis of storytelling revolves around one
or more conflicts that the characters have to overcome. So basically, there's no getting around
this. You don't need life or death stakes, but your books gotta feature some kind of struggle.
Number Two (2): What does your character care about? If you're struggling to pin down a
conflict? Take a look at your main characters and ask yourself, what do they care about most? At
the start of The Savior's Champion, Tobias cares about his family's well being. At the start of The
Savior’s Sister, Leila cares about her sisters, as well as the protection of her realm. Thus it makes
sense for their conflicts to revolve around these elements. If the characters cared deeply about
something, any issue involving those things is going to matter a lot to them. They'll be invested
in resolving this conflict, and so will the reader because they're following this character's
experience, their thoughts and emotions. It's also important to note that what your characters care
about can change throughout the story. This is especially relevant if there are relationships,
whether they're romantic, familial, or platonic that develop throughout the course of the story.
The more complicated the plot becomes, the more avenues for care and conflict you can explore.
Number Three (3): Give your goal and obstacle. This is the easiest way to
create conflict. Take the thing your character cares about and put an obstacle in front of it.
They care about getting into Harvard, but a handful of their peers are standing in the
way. Two characters care about one another, but their communities come from rival gangs.
They care about supporting their family, but they have to enter a deadly tournament
in order to do so. Take a look at what your character cares about, or what their goal is,
and put an obstacle in front of it that makes it hard to achieve. It's that simple.
Number Four (4): Genre matters. You already know that conflict is mandatory in all genres,
but not all genres treat conflict the same way. In certain genres, conflict needs to
be life and death. But in other genres, the conflict needs to be light or even funny. This
is why it's important to understand your genre. Especially if you're writing a multi genre story,
or a story that fits into a sub genre. Say you're writing a murder mystery, obviously in this case,
the stakes need to be life and death. But if you're writing a romantic comedy,
the stakes need to be much lighter because your goal is to make the reader laugh. A lot
of romantic comedies include stakes like losing your job, or getting a crush to like you. Sure
these are very real stakes, but they're not the end of the world. Compare this to sci-fi,
which often boasts stakes that are literally the end of the world. Creating a conflict that
fits your genre will help ensure that you're meeting your target audience's expectations.
Number Five (5): Every chapter matters. Each chapter needs to move the conflict
forward in some way. It doesn't have to be huge, like a plot twist or a cliffhanger.
It can be the tiniest inch forward. So long as the conflict is evolving,
you're on the right track. This is a problem that's often overlooked.
Writers will devote an entire chapter to nothing but character development,
or a tiny funny moment that totally deviates from the plot, but gosh darn it, isn't it cute?
It really isn't. The conflict, whatever it is, needs to remain relevant from chapter to chapter.
Which brings us to, Number Six (6): For every answer, create a question. This is one of the
easiest ways to see if your conflict is relevant from chapter to chapter. Conflicts usually create
questions. Will they survive? What's her SAT score good enough? Who's the father? It's fine to answer
questions throughout your story. In fact, you absolutely should. Otherwise readers are gonna
get bored or confused. But for every question you answer, try to create at least one new question.
They don't have to be back to back or related to one another. But every chapter should end
with some questions still lingering. Because if all the questions are answered, there's no
reason to keep reading. And quite often, answering questions will automatically create new questions.
Number Seven (7): Avoid sagging middle syndrome. Sagging middle syndrome is when the middle of
your novel meanders. The plot is abandoned, the stakes remain the same, and nothing important
happens. Often sagging middle syndrome comes down to abandoning the conflict. The conflict has been
put on the back burner while the author explores subplots or filler, for pages upon pages. Don't
do this. Remember what we just talked about. Every chapter needs to move the story forward,
even a small bit. You can do this by intensifying the conflict, answering questions, and creating
new questions. The point is the middle of your novel has to be engaging. You can't just abandon
the conflict, because the readers will get bored and put the book down. I may or may not have an
entire chapter about sagging middle syndrome in Shut Up and Write the Book. Just saying.
Number Eight (8): Conflicts can change. A lot of writers overthink conflict. They're worried that
they can't make it last throughout the entirety of a novel. The thing is, it's super common for
conflicts to evolve over time. This happens across all genres. The conflict at the start of the novel
doesn't have to be the same as the conflict at the end. Take the Savior's Champion, the
conflict at the start of the novel is that Tobias really needs to find a way to financially support
his family. This conflict is resolved by chapter three. He enters The Sovereign’s Tournament which
guarantees his family income for life. But now we have a new conflict. Tobias is stuck in this
tournament and his goal is to not die. Then he develops feelings for a woman he's not supposed
to fall for, which puts his life in greater jeopardy. And then he learns that she doesn't
wanna be associated with the tournament either, which creates a new goal. Escape the tournament
and take her with him. This is the case for a lot of stories. I encourage you to examine TV shows,
movies, books, comics—whatever else, and you will notice this happening a lot. Even if the goal
remains the same, the obstacles may change, and that's a great way to keep your readers engaged.
On a related note, Number Nine (9): Raise the stakes. In order to keep the story engaging you
need to make sure the conflict remains engaging. A conflict that stays the same isn't engaging. Thus,
we have to constantly raise the stakes. You can do this in multiple ways. As we already
covered you can change the conflict itself. But you can also keep the goal the same,
and simply worsen the obstacle. Say the obstacle is an evil wizard. But now he
has super deadly magic at his disposal. Instantly the stakes have been raised
even if the conflict remains the same. On the flip side we can keep the obstacle the same,
but intensify the goal. Maybe originally your character just wanted to save their family,
but now they have to save the whole world. This is your job as a writer, as the story progresses
think of ways to make the conflict even more dire. This also applies to lighter stories. Sure,
a job promotion isn't life or death stakes, but if new competition rolls in, that's clearly going to
raise the stakes. Ask yourself what can I do to fuck over my character, and do just that.
And Number Ten (10): One of my favorite tips, subvert expectations. Certain conflicts are
expected in certain stories and that's fine. There's always going to be a murder in a murder
mystery. There's always going to be a haunting in a ghost story. But subverting expectations
is a great way to surprise the reader, and put a spin on a particular conflict. This doesn't
mean you betray the genre. That is the last thing you wanna do. But provided you don't
break genre rules, you can still put your own spin on certain tropes or cliches. For example,
in the romance genre, miscommunication is a very common conflict. One character only hears
part of a conversation and assumes the worst, or they witnessed something and misinterpret
what happened. Miscommunication is a real thing that happens in real relationships,
so it makes sense to include it in romance. But usually this conflict lasts for the whole damn
novel, which can really annoy readers. This is a perfect opportunity to subvert a common cliche,
and surprise your readers. In The Savior's Champion, Tobias and Leila
have a miscommunication that leaves Leila pissed off for no reason. Based on reader expectation
I could have allowed this miscommunication to continue for the entire book, but instead, I had
it resolved in the very next chapter. They have an adult conversation, Leila listens to Tobias,
and then she apologizes for overreacting. This is how subverting expectation works. You take
a conflict that typically occurs in a certain way, and then you write it differently. It's
a great way to move the overall conflict forward while still surprising the reader.
So that's all I got for you today. Thank you so much to Milanote for sponsoring today's video.
Like I said, I use this platform every day. I am a huge fan, and even better you can use
them for free! $0. Nothing! I got Milanote linked below. Definitely check them out, and if you are
a big fan of them like I am, upgrade to their pro subscription. It's amazing. Don't forget
to subscribe to my channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays, and if you wanna be alerted as SOON as
upload, ring that bell. The Savior’s Champion and The Savior’s Sister available in ebook, paperback,
hardback and audiobooks. So if you'd like yourself some dark fantasy romance with a whole lot of
conflict, definitely check ‘em out. They're linked below. And be sure to follow me on social media.
I'm on Instagram, TikTok, BookBub and Facebook. And of course you can tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!
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