Conflict has caused
more than its fair share of writer frustrations.
Like many writers, I’ve spent countless hours creating
conflict in my novels. I’ve thrown exciting obstacles in my protagonists’
paths, I’ve developed sinister antagonists to thwart my heroes, I’ve devised
cruel ways to put my characters through mental anguish—and my beta readers still told me, “This scene needs more
conflict.”
Because what we “know” about conflict is often wrong.
It’s not about the obstacles in the path, or the bad guy
with the evil plan, or the mental anguish of the hero. It’s not the plot or the
character arc, even though we often talk about it like it is (me included).
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