Directory Writing Workshops

Writers Workshop: Conflict in Fiction

Dancing Word Writers Workshop

with Rosey Dow

November 16, 2000

Hosted by: Anne McDonald

Dancing Word Publisher/Editor

*This chat has been edited for clarity

Anne McDonald: Let's go ahead and open in prayer. Lord, thank You for safety and for Your love. Please be with each of us tonight during this workshop. Please keep Rosey online (electricity and all) and keep the shooters away from my neighborhood. Bless Rosey as she speaks, and help each of us learn new techniques that will glorify you in our writing. In Jesus' name, Amen

Rosey Dow is back by popular demand.

Lera: applause, applause

Anne McDonald:   Thank you for coming back to teach, Rosey. The floor is now yours.

Rosey Dow: Thanks, Annie! I'm glad I made it, electric notwithstanding. How many were here for our last conflict chat? Just say yes or no.

Gail S: I think I read the log....

* Annie raises her hand

ingie: I'm new

KiwiElle: this is my first time here, so I'd have to say no :-)

Lera: no

Rosey Dow: Okay, great.

Anne McDonald:   new crowd, Rosey

Rosey Dow: Let's get going.  When someone desperately needs something that he cannot get, he feels stress. That is conflict. The greater the motivation and more powerful the obstacle, the greater the strain. Dorothy wanted to go home to Kansas. She felt an urgency to meet the goal, but it seemed impossible-no road went there.

In fiction, conflict must be strong enough to maintain tension to the story's end, however long that may be. Small conflicts are best for short stories while novel-length works need stronger conflicts that sustain stress through hundreds of pages--until the goal is met and the hero's world rights on its axis. Dorothy has to get back to Kansas.

When a story sags, it's because the conflict is loosing it's umph. Most high school literature teachers categorize conflict as man vs. himself -- Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. Anyone care to comment on this conflict? How did Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde oppose himself?

ingie: Good vs. evil

Rosey Dow: Right. He showed the struggle each man has within himself to do good or evil.

A Christmas Carol? What were the conflicts? man vs. himself Scrooge was miserable, wasn't he? He thought money would satisfy him, but it didn't.

Next we have man vs. man. A Study in Scarlet with Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is vying with the villain.

The Hunt for Red October . What was the man vs man conflict there? Anyone read the book?

ingie: Political oppression

Lera: Loyalty to country verses freedom.

Rosey Dow: Yes, both right. Also, the two captains playing that cat and mouse game.

Then there's man vs. a powerful force such as nature or a system. The Godfather , The Old Man and the Sea. Many tales employ all three types. In Randy Alcorn's best-seller, Deadline, Jake battles himself in his spiritual struggle; he engages in a war of the minds while tracking down the saboteur who killed his friend, and he fights to expose a corrupt medical system. All three types of conflict in one story.

Actually, the more types, the more layered and complex the story. The key is to have enough without too much. In Deadline , Jake had all these while dealing with family pressures--his divorce from a woman he still loves and coping with his wounded child who is in dire trouble. The more powerful the conflicts, the more powerful the story becomes. If you haven't read Deadline I highly recommend it. It's no wonder Deadline is over 400 pages long.

Now to another form of conflict: In order to have the layers that make a story compelling, its central characters must have both inner and outer conflicts. The outer conflict is the visible goal seen as man vs. man or man vs. a powerful force—Tarzan’s need to rescue Jane or the Count of Monte Cristo's battle of wits with the aristocracy.

Inner conflict falls under the man vs. himself category. It's the psychological or spiritual needs of the character--the desire to feel wanted, the need to prove himself, the hunger for a fulfilling marriage. Without the below-the-surface struggle, the story becomes a two-dimensional photograph instead of a living, breathing slice of life that pulls the reader deep into its pages.

The outer conflict is the coat hanger that the jacket of the story wraps around. The inner conflict is the point of growth in the character's life. Both inner and outer conflicts must aim toward a definite goal. The character may be unaware of the goal, but it still exists, powerful and relentless.

The work of the writer is to SHOW the conflict so well that there's not need to TELL the reader what it is. Ebenezer Scrooge had no inkling that he needed a dramatic change in his life. However, the need was there, and thanks to his good friend, Marley, Scrooge attained it in the end. Any questions about inner and outer conflict?

Rosey Dow