Conflict seems like such an easy concept that many writers think they’re doing it right, even when they’re doing it wrong. This happens because of the illusion that if two characters argue on the page or that if the protagonist and antagonist are facing off, it means conflict. Many writers also tend to confuse tension with conflict. However, the two terms are very different. Tension is the build up, while conflict is the payoff. Tension can be built in numerous ways – through the protagonist’s thoughts and memories, tension can be build lyrically, using language as a tool to engage the readers’ sense, and many other myriad ways that are not connected to conflict. Tension invariably leads to conflict, but tension is not conflict. There are also other mistakes writers tend to make when writing conflict, and we have shown some of those mistakes below.

1. Scenes without conflict

A scene is defined by conflict. The protagonist has a goal in mind, a goal that will get him closer to achieving his major goal, but needs to overcome an obstacle in order to achieve it. Overcoming the obstacle, however, leads to more trouble instead, and the protagonist needs to reflect where he went wrong, face a dilemma about what to do next, weigh his options, and in the end, make a decision. This means that at the end of the scene, the character has a new goal in mind, and has moved the plot forward. This can only be achieved via conflict. The second part of the scene, commonly called sequel, where the protagonist reflects and makes a new decision, also revolves around conflict, but of a different kind. He faces inner conflict, and at the end of the scene, the protagonist has made progress both in plot and in his character’s arc. The inner conflict is what helps add dimension to the character, and it shows how the events of the plot are changing him as a person.

2. Redundant conflict

For fear of not having conflict in a story, many writers tend to create conflict that is not only redundant, but out of character as well. We’re talking about the kind of conflict that is inexplicable to the readers, and quite often, the writer doesn’t answer the question of why this conflict happened. Often, this is represented by two characters arguing about something so inessential to the plot, something that surely does not matter to them at all, that at the end of the scene, there is no reflection. There is no need to make a new decision, because the previous decision has yet to be acted upon. This kind of conflict leads nowhere, and is just page filler.

3. Easy solution

Redundant conflicts can be recognized by the easy way they’re solved. Two characters argue, one of them either apologizes or realizes that the argument is not really about something important, and the conflict is solved. Or, the protagonist faces an obstacle, jumps over it like an athlete, and moves on. These types of obstacles create conflict that is not necessary. It can be easily skipped, because it doesn’t move the plot forward, and it doesn’t deepen the protagonist’s and other characters’ personalities.

4. Lack of inner conflict

Lack of inner conflict means lack of characterization. If your protagonist never needs to feel conflicted about a decision he’s taken, never reflects on anything that happens while the plot resolves, then you have a two dimensional character that is flat, unchangeable, and not realistic. In real life, things that happen to us can change us. When you tell a story, the events that happen to the protagonist, his choices and his decisions need to have an effect on his personality as well. Too many things need to be at stake for the story to be worthwhile, and the change in the protagonist needs to have its own consequences. In fact, the protagonist is not perfect, and if he is, you need to find the flaws in him, his short comings and his past demons, and bring them out into the light via the events of the plot, which in turn will cause the change in him, fueled by his inner conflict.

5. Anticlimactic climax

The previous mistakes were largely mistakes that happen on the level of scene and sequel. However, there is a mistake that happens on a major level – and that is anticlimactic climax. The resolution of the plot is so easy that the protagonist could have resolved this supposedly big problem in the first hour upon facing it, but you’ve written a whole novel before that. When the resolution and the climax, are easy, everything that came before them is redundant. Every scene, every conflict, and every moment of reflection is rendered meaningless because the major problem could have been easily solved without them, and the protagonist could have achieved his goal without undergoing a major psychological change. The climax needs to stem directly from every scene that came before it, building up until the end. When you remove one scene, the climax should change. When the solution was right there all along, it’s not a surprising twist, it’s a twist that makes the story pointless.

Image credit: Pixabay[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/photo.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Georgina Roy wants to live in a world filled with magic. As an art student, she’s moonlighting as a writer and is content to fill notebooks and sketchbooks with magical creatures and amazing new worlds. When she is not at school, or scribbling away in a notebook, you can usually find her curled up, reading a good urban fantasy novel, or writing on her laptop, trying to create her own.
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