How does every story start? An inciting incident. An author lures you into a sense of normality and understanding of a world only long enough to then change it dramatically with conflict. Without conflict, literature would be boring. What we’re here for is to watch a protagonist overcome the odds or die trying. But getting conflict right can be a real balancing act. Here are some tips to help you get it right:
The Seven Conflicts of Literature
You’ve probably heard about these building blocks of stories in your early education. Though, some schools only focus on the first three. But in case you haven’t, here are all seven naturally occurring conflicts in literature:
Person v. Self – When your protagonist is fighting their own nature. This typically relies upon first person POV and internal thoughts as dialogue.
Person v. Person – When your protagonist is fighting against another person or a group of people either physically or intellectually.
Person v. Nature – When your protagonist is fighting against the elements to survive.
Person v. Technology – When your antagonist is somehow personified technology. The effect is similar to a blend between person v. nature and person v. person.
Person v. Society – When your protagonist is fighting against injustice in their society. This can sometimes appear similar as person v. person. The distinction is that in person v. society, the protagonist will reject the entire system or way of life.
Person v. Deity – Also sometimes called person v. fate, this conflict arises when your protagonist fights against an inevitable destiny set out by a more-powerful-than-human force.
Person v. Supernatural – When your protagonist fights an unknown antagonist, including but not limited to aliens, ghosts, demons, etc. Can also appear as person v. person.
Layer the Conflict in Your Novel
It’s very likely you have a clear sense of what your main plot will be as it carries your main character through the story. What can be more difficult, however, is integrating subplots that survive on similar conflicts. The more conflicts of the same type (ex. person v. person), the more difficult it can be to keep readers engaged because each battle feels similar.
But even in our own lives we are confronting more than one conflict at a time. One great way to mimic this in our stories is by layering in several types of conflict in one story. It’s captivating to read about a teenager who is arguing with their friend (person v. person) about something while fighting a new school policy (person v. society) and coming to terms with their struggles with perfectionism (person v. self) or a huge number of other combinations. It’s also a great way to get your story to stand out from a crowd if you’re writing for a very saturated subgenre.
Raise the Stakes
Sometimes the solution to fixing your conflict imbalance is something as simple as raising the stakes to give the situation a little more drama. Here are some easy ways to create depth in your plot:
Make It Personal
Instead of giving your big bad a bus full of children he’s hanging over the river, make sure your protagonist has a personal connection at stake like a niece who is on that bus, and make sure your readers meet her and fall in love with her well before it happens to tug on their heartstrings.
Create Consequences
Your characters probably aren’t perfect beings. Perfect beings make for pretty uninteresting stories. So they should make mistakes along the way, and they should suffer the consequences of them. By establishing consequences early on in your narrative, you automatically raise the stakes for the next time they’re going off book as they near the climax of your story.
Put a Clock on It
Creating a countdown to when something, anything happens automatically creates tension. Even something as blasé as making dinner can become high stakes when there’s a limited amount of time to get to soccer practice. Hamburger Helper depends upon it to boost sales.
Know Your Stakes Scene by Scene
If a scene falls flat, it’s likely because the conflict isn’t calibrated quite right. Taking the time to sit down with each of your scenes and outlining the conflicts and the stakes for each conflict can help you identify dead spots in your manuscript.
Having little conflict quickly turns boring. More than one conflict is bound to arise with the inclusion of subplots, but too many conflicts can create chaos that will overwhelm readers. If you’re still having trouble getting that balance correct, a quick plot tracking exercise with a book coach to help you get back on track. But no matter your means of getting there, keep in sight your goal of engaging your readers by giving them something to be invested in.
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