My Writing Guide for PHR Part 4: CONFLICT

Dahil medyo naging abala ako sa mga CONFLICTS ng buhay ko, ngayon ko lang maa-update ang Part 4 ng My Writing Guide for PHR series (may ganon talaga?). 

Yes. 

CONFLICT.

Maikli lang `to. Read on...


 

"Hidden within the unconscious is an insatiable desire for conflict." —Prof. James Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Without conflict, there's no plot. No plot means no story. 

CONFLICT

: a struggle for power, property, etc.
: strong disagreement between people, groups, etc., that results in often angry argument

: a difference that prevents agreement : disagreement between ideas, feelings, etc.

— merriam-webster.com

TWO TYPES OF CONFLICT

• EXTERNAL CONFLICT
• INTERNAL CONFLICT

EXTERNAL CONFLICT. Happens between a character and outside force. Can be categorized into three:

• MAN vs. MAN - character struggles with another character; protagonist vs. antagonist
• MAN vs. NATURE - character struggles with calamity, animals, etc.
• MAN vs. SOCIETY - character struggles against society; fight for rights, certain cause, etc.

INTERNAL CONFLICT. Character's struggle with herself.

• MAN vs. SELF - right or wrong; overcoming emotional struggles

An effective conflict makes your heroine "react" to it. She has no choice. She has to face the problem and solve it to make a story. 

 

EXTERNAL or INTERNAL CONFLICT?

 

I use both in writing romance, but I make the inner conflict shine, because:

“The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself.” —William Faulkner

Even if you achieve the perfect chain of action-packed events, if they don't give the heroine the change, the lesson in life, that she needs, it will feel hollow. 

Start by creating conflict internally, then add the appropriate amount of external circumstances to take the heroine's struggle to another level.

TEN CLASSIC ROMANCE CONFLICTS

1. Marriage of Convenience
2. Arranged Marriage
3. Refusal to Fall In Love Again
4. Reversal of Social Status
5. Cinderella Story
6. Amnesia
7. Split Loyalties (to families or friends)
8. Baby/Secret Pregnancy from One Night Stand
9. Love at First Sight
10. Unattainable Crush

Conflict is the FIRST THING I think about before starting a novel. Regardless of how perfect the idea or dialogue that inspired me to write that story, without an effective conflict, it will come out spineless and boring.

 

With all the typical conflicts in romance, it's important to apply twists and turns to make them more interesting.

...

With this, I end my how-I-write-romance experience. Parang lecture ko na rin ito sa sarili ko kapag nakakalimot ako. :D

I hope you gained something from this mess. 

Keep writing. ;)