Every writer and reader knows that the very essence of successful fiction is conflict. No conflict, no story. The main characters have to be challenged, confronted. We have to see them grow under pressure. They must have something big to lose and equally big to gain.
Many writers are naturals at conflict. Plot-driven, they start their process imagining a story into which they fit characters. Not me. I’m a character writer. And since i love romance, i generally start by creating two characters who will be lovers. (Or sometimes three). What kind of people are they? True, there is usually something about their characters that puts them into natural conflict — one is “in the closet” and the other blatantly gay, one is older the other younger, they want things that are opposite. That part all comes easy. But then what? What HAPPENS in the story that makes it hard for them to get together? What rips their hearts and makes us believe that maybe, just maybe this time they won’t live happily ever after? That is the rub.
You see i WANT them to be together. My natural disposition is optimistic, sunny and romantic. I don’t look for conflict in daily life and so find it hard to search for it in my books. I don’t even love conflict in other writer’s stories. Often if things get too tough, i have to stop reading for awhile because i hate the conflict so much.
The conflict i do like is often something that grows out of the nature of the character rather than an external problem. Because i like to read m/m or m/m/f romances as much as write them, the plot conflict that often attracts me is the man who hasn’t yet come to grips with his attraction for other men, or the man or woman who can’t come out or commit to the romance due to his/her life circumstances. My two current works in progress involve plot conflicts like that.
BUT, i’m always looking for conflict ideas. Got any suggestions? What kind of conflicts do you like to see in books? Is there something you’ve always wanted to see in a story? I promise to give it serious consideration, and if i use it, you’ll get the book dedicated to you, oh plot master. : )