What makes good conflict? By good, I don’t actually mean positive or joyful. I am referring to quality conflict, which shows your character, builds momentum, and pushes the story forward. It’s value-added conflict vs. false conflict. (False conflict frustrates readers. Examples include conflict that doesn’t make sense or relate to the character’s personality, environment, or depiction. It can also be a minor or unrelatable obstacle that throws the reader out of the action or immersion into the character’s world).
Good, value-added conflict should do one or more the following:
- Show the protagonist making a choice or decision. Often, the choice or decision is needed for later in the story. Keep that in mind.
- Expose a weakness, misunderstanding, flaw, doubt, underdeveloped skill, or incomplete interpretation that may haunt the protagonist later.
- Push the protagonist to be uncomfortable, strained, rushed, a fish out of water, or to upset the plan the protagonist had. This should connect to later scenes, as well. This shouldn’t be stand-alone.
- Test what the protagonist believes or has been brought up to believe. This helps with character growth and deep POV.
- Interrupt the protagonist’s mission and goals. Rarely in real-life do people achieve their goals without hard work and tests of patience, being told no, or random surprises.
What are some types of conflict?
Quiet Conflict: Examples include disagreements, multiple sides to a story or issue (dialogue can be applied successfully here), misinterpretation of an event (works well for foreshadowing), or recalling an incorrect history (think the telephone game or how one person’s version is slightly different than another’s).
Emotional Conflict: Sometimes known as hurt feelings. This can be done through an action by or to the protagonist. Another great way to show this is the protagonist sparing someone’s feelings (through actions and decisions). Remember to bring this back later in the novel. Show how the hurt feelings or sparing the hurt feelings has impacted one or more characters. In real-life, most people don’t intend to hurt someone’s feelings, but often do. Many people shelter others from the truth. This is great for a protagonist holding back a secret, too.
Personal Conflict: A personal character trait, an internal struggle (such as an OCD), or something the protagonist is holding onto from the past or prior experiences can be examples of personal conflicts that get in the way.
People, Rivalries and Friendships: Family dynamics, partner/spousal misunderstandings, adult relationships, and friendly but not-so-friendly competitors (e.g. classmate at school or college, co-workers, or even stranger parking space fights during the holidays) cause a lot of conflict in every day life. Writers can pull from personal relationships to create great conflict here.
Societal Conflict: Certain laws, rules, or norms can contribute to conflict or disruption to a protagonist’s life. This type of conflict can be big like Prohibition in the 1920s or small like a new roundabout at a busy intersection.
Nature’s Conflict: Also known as Mother Nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.” Nature forces conflict. Consider how rainy, slick roads interrupt driving, snowstorms cancel plans, or darkness yields sneakier and suspicious activity or fear.
While the above is a short list of types of conflicts, they provide an overview of how to think of conflict as you plot the obstacles in your protagonist’s way. Varying the types of conflict can help bring different angles of character growth. Life should never be smooth for too long.
Below are two articles to help with editing conflict and evaluating whether the conflict supports your story or is hindering the story’s movement. Every scene should lead into the next, build momentum, and creep up to the ending. Don’t add random conflict that may distract or postpone the story. Remember conflict should never be used to add word count. Non-value added conflict can often lead to the ‘sagging middle’ as well as unsatisfying endings.
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