Welcome to A Novel Approach. If this is your first issue, I encourage you to check out my back issues for more tips on how to write a novel. It's my fondest hope that I can help other writers do the best they can do.

If you have any specific aspects about novel writing you'd like me to address in future issues, please feel free to contact me and let me know what those are. Thank you for your interest, and here's to better writing!

Writing a First Novel Part 3 -
Plotting: The Main Conflict

You start with your main conflict. Then you tangle a lot of smaller conflicts around it until your poor protagonist trips and falls flat on his face at nearly every step.

Sound awful?

It's what makes good fiction. Conflict. Drama. S-u-s-p-e-n-s-e.

Without it your book falls flat on its face. And your readers run away in droves.

Here's how to keep them turning the page.


How Much Conflict Do You Need?

Depending on what genre you're writing a first novel in (or second or tenth), you may need deeper conflict or lighter conflict to carry an entire book.

Romance novel conflicts tend to be between the female lead and male lead, and may or may not be "life threatening", so to speak.

Thrillers, on the other hand, better have you gripping the edge of your seat with both hands (oh, wait, you need one free to hold the book), and holding your breath while your heart pounds for the hero in jeopardy.

So choose the strength of you conflict - and the type of conflict - based on what kind of story you're writing.

Here's an example from one of my book series.


A Conflict That Lasts An Entire Novel

My series hero has a last name that makes him known immediately. And not benignly. He's mistrusted by many, hated by plenty and feared by most others. But he's also supposed to be a "hero" to his realm.

From one book to the next, the main conflict changes, (as do the antagonists part of the time). But one of the main conflicts in the earliest books is him trying to hide his last name from everyone. But that's not the main conflict. Just an additional one.

In the first book, the main conflict is that the hero is foreseen joining the music guild in a specific place and specific time. The leader of the guild hates people of the hero's heritage, and refuses to let them join. My hero has to figure out how to get around this, even though it's very dangerous for him to do so. He has to act this way or ruin an entire realm (so the prophecy goes).

That's a pretty big conflict. And it supports an entire novel.

So the first step in plotting your novel is to find a conflict large enough to carry from page one to page 301 (or however long your novel goes).


Coming Up With The Idea

So, how do you come up with a plot conflict that works for your kind of novel? Great question!

I don't have a magic formula. But... I use a couple of techniques that might help you out.

The first thing I do is get to know my characters a bit - the main ones. I enjoy writing back-story: things that happen before the main book. Sometimes this is a conversation between two or more characters that gives me glimpses into their personalities.

Other times it short scenes (or longer ones when the characters just won't stop "doing"!). This may sound both impossible and contradictory, but for me, it works. I learn what my heroine fears, what her strengths are and who is the best person to pit her against in my next book.

Then I play "what if?". This is one of my favorite games. It helps me create great plots and helps me get past spots where I'm stuck on what happens next.

How do you play? Pick a character (it doesn't have to be your main one, but should be one close enough to the main one to effect his actions). Ask "what's the worst that can happen to this character?" or "what's the least expected action for this character to take?"

If you do this with your antagonist, you may find how devious he or she can truly be, confounding your protagonist repeatedly. That's good. That's how plot goes. Every small victory for your heroine leads to another roadblock in her path.

If you're having trouble with back-story and what if, try interviewing your characters. Ask them where they live, how they like living there. Where do they work? Do they like their bosses? Or are they the bosses?

Ask what he likes to do to relax, what she does for fun. Where does the hero go on vacation?

All of these questions (and any other ones that occur to you during the process) let you begin to understand your main characters. And once you understand them, you can play "what if?" to create your main conflict.


The Next Step

Once you have a main conflict for your plot, you can move on to minor conflicts that will only add to the mess your heroine seems to be in from page one to page 301. I'll show you how to tangle her up completely in another issue about writing a first novel.

In the meantime, take your story idea and create some characters to go with it. (See last month's issue on the back issues page.) Or take some characters and poke them to life. Ask them what's the biggest challenge they could possibly face. Them make them face it.

I hope this helps you get your first (or fifth) novel going at full tilt!


More Tips on Plot

For more information about developing a plot, click on any of the links below for my other web pages about plotting.


Plot
Action
Book Themes
Developing a Plot
Drama
Novel Outline
Novel Structure

Here's a great way to think about creating your plot while letting your characters drive it.

Humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are worst for them. ~ J. K. Rowling