Something
quick for you. I’m trying to finish some
rewrites.
I’ve
mentioned conflict once or thrice.
Usually I prefer the term challenge, which has also shown up here
a few times. Challenges are what make a
story. When my character deals with
problems, obstacles, and unexpected twists, that’s what makes him or her
interesting and keeps the audience engaged.
Yeah, there
are a few character-heavy stories out there that manage to have no challenges
at all and still be interesting. Believe
me when I say that they are very, very few and far between. Much, much rarer than some of our college
writing instructors and chosen gurus would have us believe.
And really,
at the end of the day, readers want to see challenges. They want to read about characters who are
doing something active—physically, emotionally, spiritually. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred,
characters who never face any sort of challenge are boring as hell.
And that
hundredth time is a coin toss.
So here’s a
simple test to see if my story has any kind of challenge in it.
 |
| "Who knows? In a thousand years, even you may be worth something! |
Back when I
was talking about expanding ideas, I mentioned that I should be using a
lot of conjunctions when I explain my plot to someone. If you look back at the example I gave (the
first half of Raiders of the Lost Ark) you’ll notice that but
accounted for almost half the conjunctions I used. This is because but represents
conflicts and setbacks. Indy finds the
Ark of the Covenant, but Belloq and the Nazis steal it out from under
him. I would’ve had a great time at the
party, but my ex was there.
Congress says they want to accomplish a lot, but the House and
Senate never agree on anything.
Take your
novel, screenplay, or short story. Try
to summarize it one page. This isn’t a
sales-pitch summary like you’d find on the inside flap of the dust jacket or on
the back of the DVD. Write up an honest
summary from beginning to end with all the beats and plot points. Don’t hold back, include as much as you can,
but keep it at one page.
Now let’s
take a look at it. How many times did
you end up using but as a conjunction?
You can count however if it shows up, and maybe though, as
well.
If I can
summarize my whole story without using the word but, I have a problem. Because but is where my challenges
are. No but means no conflicts,
and no conflicts means my characters aren’t doing anything worthwhile.
And that
means they’re boring as hell.
Hopefully
you see my point. But I’m sure some
folks won’t.
Next
time... hmmmm, not really sure what I’ll do next time. Open to suggestions as always. If none appear... well, I’m sure I’ll think
of something really interesting.
Until then,
go write.
