Congratulations! You know your characters backward and forward and maybe a little sideways. It’s now time for the next step in crafting your story. Let’s talk about creating conflict for those characters. Now that you know what makes your people tick, the next question you should be asking yourself is: “How can I really mess them up?” You want to start brainstorming ideas and scenes that will keep the reader on the edge of their seat.
This is where creating conflict comes in. Conflict drives the narrative; pulls readers in; and tests your characters, forcing them to grow, change, or reveal their true nature. The deeper and more intense the conflict, the more emotionally invested readers become. Here are some strategies to help you do that:
- Understand Your Characters: I believe we have this one down. (Please see previous five posts on characterization.) For those of you just joining us, understanding your characters allows you to create conflicts that are deeply personal and challenging.
- Prioritize Internal vs. External Conflicts: Depending on the story you’re writing, you may have more of one than the other. For example, in a suspense or a thriller or action-adventure, you’ll most likely have more of the external conflicts. In a romance, the internal conflict may be more pronounced. But in all stories, there must be both types of conflict. External conflicts (man vs. man, man vs. nature) and internal conflicts (man vs. self).
- Set High Stakes: Make sure something significant is at risk. When characters readers care about have a lot to lose, it puts the tension on the page and keeps the reader closely engaged in what happens to those characters.
- Throw Them into a Moral Dilemma: Force your characters to make choices that compromise their beliefs or values. When a character must choose between two equally undesirable outcomes (so I save my wife or my child?), the internal turmoil can be gut-wrenching for both the character and the reader. And, of course, since the hero/heroine is amazing and brave and smart, he/she figures out a way to save both in the end. But getting there should have readers chewing their nails and doing deep-breathing exercises to destress.
- Deepen Relationship Tension: Personal relationships are a goldmine for conflict. Betrayals, unspoken feelings, misunderstandings (one thing about misunderstandings—make sure they can’t be solved with a simply conversation; misunderstandings have to be deep and complex to keep the reader from rolling her eyes) and clashing goals or values between characters are all ways to ramp up the tension.
- Take Away Their Control: Boy, this one really hits home! Characters, like real people, want control over their lives, their futures, etc. Stripping them of this control—whether through circumstances, other characters, or their own mistakes—will push them to their limits. Think about a parent with a sick child; a husband who loves his wife, but she continues to cheat on him, apologize and swear to never do it again, then does; a blackmail situation. One wrong decision leads to a lifetime of hiding that shame, but someone knows and uses it to profit from it. Lack of control is horrible and can really have the reader flipping the pages to see how it all turns out.
- Work with Setting and Environment: Here’s another reason why it’s so important to know your characters right off the bat. You want to know what their greatest fear is so you can put them in settings that bring out their fears or test their weaknesses. For example, someone with claustrophobia might be trapped in a coffin. (Ahem, yes, I might have used this one. Read No Place to Hide to see how that turned out.)
- Bring in Unpredictable Twists: Just when things seem to be settling down, introduce an unforeseen complication. This keeps your narrative fresh and readers on their toes.
- Let the Past Haunt Them: Backstory! Every character has a history. Using elements from their past—like old rivals, past mistakes, or traumatic events—can add depth to the conflict, making it feel more layered and complex. This is the whole knowing your characters’ MPLM (Most Painful Life Moment) comes in handy and can help you take your conflict to another level.
- Avoid Easy Resolutions: Once you’ve thrown your characters into the deep end, don’t be too quick to pull them out. Let them struggle, flounder, and fight their way out. And it’s okay if they have a I’m-giving-up moment. That’s real life. Real people sometimes want to surrender and say, “I can’t fight anymore.” But real heroes and heroines pull themselves up and jump back into the fray. Because, in the end, fighting is the only choice they can make. This not only heightens tension but also makes eventual resolutions more satisfying.
Deep conflict stems from a razor-sharp understanding of your characters and a willingness to put them through the wringer, both externally and internally. By integrating these strategies into your storytelling, you can craft a narrative that’s emotionally resonant, gripping, and unforgettable. Remember, it’s through trials and tribulations that characters—and their stories—truly come alive and keep the reader flipping the pages long into the night when they should be sleeping. Nothing pleases me more than to have a reader accuse me of lost sleep!
How about you? Think about your WIP (Work in Progress). Do you have heart-gripping conflict? Will your readers lose sleep over your story? If not, you might take another look at your characters and see how and where you can focus to bring out the conflict. More next time!
I wonder if Lord God might sit
at His laptop in the sky,
and wonder at just how to pit
my inner man against the ‘I’
who would build a monument
to Potemkin village of his pride,
and from correcting angels sent,
would in foolish erudition hide.
What conflicts might God thus create,
outer first, to drive the soul
from loved darkness into light
that inner strife might well make whole
that fragmented and rebel land
to which I hold with desp’rate hand?
Wonderfully penned, Andrew!
This is great! I’m mentally checking things off in my own manuscript as I read this post. 😊 Challenging, but encouraging at the same time!
Thank you so much! Glad you’re finding it helpful. 🙂
Great poem! You’re so very clever!
Considering that within the first few chapters my MC has already had her brother kidnapped, parents arrested, and entire life turned upside down and is now fleeing for her life at 30k, I’m off to a good start!
WOW! You truly are off to an AMAZING start! LOL. Keep it going. 🙂
I appreciate the distinction between suspense, thriller, and action-adventure, which includes more external conflicts than romance, where internal competition may be more pronounced. Thank you!
Very welcome. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Excellent article, Lynette! Thank you for this deep dive. Now I can really mess up my characters….in the best possible way of course!
Of course!! Have a blast!
Lynette, you practice all these techniques with your riveting novels. Thank you for sharing pointers how to deepen characterization!
Thank you so much, Tracy. Have a blessed day!
This has been such a great series. I love brainstorming ways to mess up my characters.
Thank you so much, Ruth, I appreciate that you’re enjoying the series. 🙂 I love to brainstorm too!
I’ve heard it said what we hate in real life, we love in novels! haha!
I never have problem getting my characters in trouble. What takes more thought and creativity is how I get them out.
I’ve heard it said often, “Get your main character up a tree, and then throw stones at him.” I love it.
Very good advice, Lynette. I’ll share it with my Facebook Group Forum, Christian Writers & Readers.
Thank you so much!
Great ideas, Lynette! Thank you!!!
One minute I think I have a workable conflict–and in the next week, I discover new possibilities on how to ramp it up. It’s a wonder I get anything done around here! Thank you for keeping me on track, Lynette!
You’re so very welcome! Looking forward to seeing that story come to life. 🙂
Thanks for this post, Lynette! Your information on characterization is incredibly helpful and motivating. As I consider the internal and external conflict surfacing in my WIP, I’m wondering if there can be too much conflict? If you’re not reaching a point of resolution until the final chapter (or two), will that frustrate the reader to the extent of putting the book down, or do you think they are invested enough that they’ll read to discover the resolution?
What a great question. I think some people may say there can never be enough conflict, but I disagree with that. I believe there absolutely CAN be too much conflict. Readers do like to be able to breathe occasionally. They like that short lull where the characters regroup and map out a plan to regain their footing, etc. They like a splash of hope in there amongst the conflict. But then feel free to throw in another twist at the end of that. ha. TBH, I’ve noticed that when movies drag out LONG fight scenes, I start scrolling on my phone. LOL. I just get bored when it goes on and on. I watched the first two Equalizer movies this past weekend in preparation to see the third and again, tuned out when the fight scenes went too long. I believe this can happen in books as well. Thank you so much for asking. Hope this helps.
Hi Lynette,
This is helpful! I tend to do the same when a movie or TV show drags out a scene for too long. It’s fascinating to calculate the balance of conflict and hope…and that balance will definitely be at the forefront of my mind with my WIP. Thank you!
Putting my protagonists in perilous situations comes naturally to me. How I extract them, though, requires more ingenuity and planning.
I can totally relate!
You can always go back and rework the parts of your novel that don’t fit.