Conflict

Stories are about conflict. We often avoid conflict in real life, but conflict is good for storytelling! We would not be interested in reading about a character who has a normal day, brushes their teeth, goes to school, and receives a good grade on a test. We have mundane days in life, but a story warrants more. We should meet a character on a special day when something out of the ordinary happens and they choose a different action, especially if it is caused by an event outside of their control.

A great way to create conflict is to decide what your main character wants and then put an obstacle in their way of getting it. Say your character has an online interview for their top college, but the internet stops working just before they are supposed to join the call. Or a running back is about to score the winning touchdown of the final football game of the season but gets knocked out and taken to the hospital.

Conflict can be internal (like a character struggling with a decision or their identity) or external (a character having an issue with their best friend or enemy).

It can be helpful to create a list of everything that is in opposition to what your protagonist wants and use it to build your story.

PROMPT:

• What were you scared of when you were a little kid?

• What did you want that you couldn’t have?

• What is your first memory of conflict?

Using inspiration from your answers, write about your earliest childhood memory of conflict. Set the scene. Make it feel like we are in the room or on the playground with you. Let us understand how it felt to be you, what you wanted, and what was in your way of getting it – you can make things up or embellish reality if it creates a more interesting scene.

PROMPT:

• What is an internal conflict that you have? (It could be an insecurity about your appearance or your inability to speak up in class or around a certain group of friends because you are shy or don’t feel like you can be yourself.)

• What superpower would help you overcome it?

• Choose a setting, other characters, and place yourself in a scene where your internal conflict is intensified because of what is happening around you.

Write about this moment of internal conflict and use your superpower to help you overcome it.

For more writing instruction and prompts, THE YOUNG WRITER’S FICTION WORKBOOK is a fantastic resource!