Conflict and Tension – The Spice of Story Writing

Conflict and Tension – The Spice of Story Writing





Tension and conflict are known as the catalysts of the story. A catalyst is a driving force – something that makes things happen. Even the simplest stories need conflict and tension to retain the interest of the reader. Think back to the last book you read or television show/film you watched; in it, there was undoubtedly conflict and tension. Let’s step back for a minute and define the terms since they are often used interchangeably but aren’t really quite the same thing. Related, but not identical.

Conflict indicates some kind of actual confrontation. This can be between individual people, governments, armies, or it can be more abstract, like a character falling seriously ill. The US television show “House”, for example, uses this almost exclusively as the main conflict of every show. There are also conflicts between the characters, but at the heart of each episode’s story the main conflict is abstract in nature.

Tension could be described as the threat of conflict. It’s the feeling you get knowing something is going to happen and that it might not be good. It’s excitement, anticipation, dread, concern – it’s the stuff that gets the reader invested in your story and wanting to find out what happens. It’s an emotional connection to your character. It’s not the actual conflict happening, but the tense moments leading up to and immediately before conflict breaks out.

Context is important to both tension and conflict. Back to the television show “House”: The main conflict fits the premise of the show, which is set in a hospital. The main characters are doctors. Your main conflict should fit the premise of your character’s story line. My character, for example, is a deity; falling seriously ill would be a very unlikely event and therefore would not serve as a good conflict for a story for him. Conflict needs to make sense. Fighting just for the sake of fighting isn’t very exciting because there’s nothing at stake.

Having something at stake is part of building tension. Tension can also be your release valve between conflicts. If your story is nothing but conflict, you are also going to find it monotonous to write and to read. Tension lets you back off but keep things exciting. Tension describes and sets the stage for conflict. Conflict then creates opportunity for action and for consequences. Without these two things, we have no character growth or story movement. Consider the two following stories, one with tension and conflict, and one without.

Without

Mary left the house and went to the store. They were having an excellent sale. She chose all her items and checked out. Loading the bags into the back of her car, she drove home. When she got home, she unpacked her purchases and put them away. It was a good day.

I think we would all agree that’s not a particularly interesting story. Nothing really happens, there’s no challenge or growth. Compare that to this version:

With

Mary left the house and went to the store. When she walked in, there was nobody in sight. All the cashier lanes were empty. There were no employees and no customers. Mary wondered where everyone was and called out. “Anybody here?” From the back of the store, there was a loud crash and the sound of heavy footsteps rushed toward her. She looked around quickly for a place to hide, but there was nothing nearby.


Clearly a big difference in tone. Which story would you prefer to read? Which one grabbed your interest more? Which one would you most like to roleplay? If you’re like most people, the one with tension and conflict is more appealing.

This is important to remember in your own plotting and writing. To keep things interesting, be sure to use both tension and conflict in your stories. Use them wisely and appropriately as fitting to your character and your story line and you will have captivating roleplays that people can’t stop reading. As a bonus, I find that conflict and tension-building keep the muse fresh and active, helping to eliminate episodes of writer’s block. It’s actually easier to write when you have a clear idea of the main conflict of both your character arc and your particular scene.


A few tips for tension and conflict:

• Don’t make things too easy for your character, whether they are a hero or a villain or somewhere in between.
• Let your character struggle through obstacles, fail, and even lose battles.
• Don’t let your character get along with everybody all the time.
• Let your character fight, dislike, and mistrust others.
• Don’t resolve all of your conflicts too early.
• Introduce new conflicts as others are resolved so the story doesn’t lose momentum.

Think of tension and conflict as a roller coaster ride: tension is the climbs and the dips, conflict is the peak and the drop. Without all of those things, a roller coaster is just a flat ride around in a circle. Structure your stories to be roller coaster rides: you will attract more writing partners and your readers will want to come along on your character’s journey.



Questions? Comments? My inbox is open to all or you can leave a comment below. Constructive criticism and thoughtful debate welcome. Thanks for reading!