How to WRITE CONFLICT/DRAMA

Conflict! The part of the story that turns our heads and makes our hearts beat faster. As we get to the very top of the pyramid; as we're battling dragons; we are enamored by what we read.

Conflict is what makes us READ the story. Drama is what keeps it interesting.

To begin this segment of Absolutely_Positive's How to: WRITE, I want to describe what conflict is.

Conflict: Conflict is a problem. A disagreement. A war. A quarrel. A clash. A fued.

All of the above.

So how do we create the perfect conflict for our books?

What's the secret for creating conflicts in the first place? I'm going to show an article that gives you the secret to creating a problem. (External link http://thewritepractice.com/creating-conflict/)

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We often think that to create conflict we need to show spectacular events. For example, a car chase, an argument between lovers, a fistfight, or the threat of a nuclear explosion. Or we think of conflict as some kind of internal suffering: depression, longing, or pain.

But the truth is that if events and emotions were the only elements of conflict in our stories, we'd have some pretty flat stories.

Conflict, in good stories, is not about spectacular events or painful emotions. Good conflict is about values.

What is a value?

When you hear the word value in this context, you might think of "family values," or in other words, morals. While morality is crucial to storytelling, morals aren't what I mean by value.

Let's simplify it. A value is something you admire, something you want. If I value something, it means I think it's good.

Here are some examples of things you might value:

• Money

• Wealth

• Friends

• Your little brother

• Getting good grades

• Organization

• Justice

• Compassion

• The environment

Think about a few of your favorite protagonists. What do they value?

For example, Elizabeth Bennet, our heroine from Pride & Prejudice, values honesty, humility, intelligence, kindness, and her family (am I missing any?). Her conflict with Mr. Darcy was on the basis of these values. She thought he was dishonest, prideful, rude, and worst of all, he "ruined the happiness of a most beloved sister."

When good people create conflict

You don't need a villain to create conflict. Most conflict comes about between two positive values that conflict.

In our example of Pride & Prejudice, looming above the whole story is the value of marriage and love. Mrs. Bennet wants all her daughters to get married. The daughters want to get married too, but only if they're in love... and preferably in love with someone wealthy (another central value in the story).

Marriage, love, and wealth are all positive values. They're values most of us would agree with! However, figuring out how to adhere to all of those values at once is incredibly difficult, and in Pride & Prejudice, we get to watch the characters try, fail, and then finally succeed at achieving all of these good but conflicting values.

There can even be conflicts within a single value.

All of the Bennet daughters value love, but what does love even mean? Does it count when the object of your affection isn't respectable? Is foolish passion still love? What if you love knowledge and books more than people? What if you make a marriage of convenience and end up loving your lifestyle but not your spouse? Is that okay? Those are all conflicts raised within the single value of love.

How to create conflict in your story

To create conflict within your own story, ask yourself the following questions:

What does your main character value?

Do any of his values potentially conflict?

How can you reveal the conflicts in those values?

Do any of his values conflict with themselves?

How can you delve into the complications of that single value?

While your story may not need a villain to have conflict, it's always fun to have one. A villain is a character who has the opposite values as those of your main character.

A note about Villains

For example, Batman values justice and order. Joker values crime and chaos. Frodo values his friends and the peace of the Shire. Sauron values power at the cost of relationship and beauty.

To create the perfect villain, figure out what your main character values. Then, twist those values into some hideous shape and set the characters loose on each other.

Good luck!

• • •

Now, did that help? I would hope so.

But for those of you who didn't quite get it, let me rephrase what the author was trying to tell you. She was trying to explain that something you care about can cause conflict, or create the perfect VILLAIN.

Say you absolutely adore your beautiful baby sister. Perhaps one day she is taken by the evil overlord, Francis, because he needs little girls to become his slaves. You would go after Francis right?

That would create a CONFLICT. Going after Francis and stealing your sister back and freeing all the other little girls would make him mad and thus, you two are having a wee bit of a problem.

Next, is drama.

Oh how I loath drama. But also, I adore it.

// I'm not going to copy the whole article, but give you an idea of what it's trying to say (External link http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/drama/) //

Drama: When we describe a situation or a person's behavior as "dramatic," we usually mean that it is intense, exciting (or excited), striking, or vivid.

For example, if you are watching a play in a theatre, feelings of tension and anticipation often arise because you are wondering what will happen between the characters on stage. Will they shoot each other? Will they finally confess their undying love for one another?

Playwrights often distinguish their characters with idiosyncratic or at least individualized manners of speaking. The same goes for writing as well. Take this example from Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest:

ALGERNON: Did you hear what I was playing, Lane?

LANE: I didn't think it polite to listen, sir.

ALGERNON: I'm sorry for that, for your sake. I don't play accurately-anyone can play accurately-but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for Life.

LANE: Yes, sir.

ALGERNON: And, speaking of the science of Life, have you got the cucumber sandwiches cut for Lady Bracknell?

This early moment in the play contributes enormously to what the audience thinks about the aristocratic Algernon and his servant, Lane. If you were to talk about language in this scene, you could discuss Lane's reserved replies: Are they funny? Do they indicate familiarity or sarcasm? How do you react to a servant who replies in that way? Or you could focus on Algernon's witty responses. Does Algernon really care what Lane thinks? Is he talking more to hear himself? What does that say about how the audience is supposed to see Algernon? Algernon's manner of speech is part of who his character is.

Now for my OWN twist!

I think drama is all of the above, OR NONE of the above.

If you want a part of your story to be dramatic, the way you write also contributes to it. Read this piece and tell me if it is dramatic:

I opened the door. When I looked in I saw my boyfriend kissing my best friend. I gasped. Oh no!

That is bland beyond belief. But if I write it another way, it may be more dramatic:

I walked home from work, grumbling under my breath on what a horrible day it had been. All day I've had that sickening feeling in my gut that it was going to turn out this way. First, I was late to work. Then, my car broke down and here I was, sopping wet and home. As I trudged up the steps I felt another pang in my gut. It made me pause. I bit my lip and continued, trying to figure out why. I walked towards my bedroom door and stopped once again, biting down harder on my lip, drawing blood.

I had the worst feeling in my stomach, as if I was going to puke. I wiped my sweaty palms on my pant legs and gripped the doorknob, ready to open it any second...

Now that, my friends, is DRAMA!

Thank you so much for reading my How to, next time it'll be How to START A STORY!

~ ABSOLUTELY_POSITVE ♥

EDITED (2|13|17)