The Trendsetter

I have previously discussed how coincidence can be used to make or break your plot. Now, I will continue to write about developing your plot by having your characters face conflict. Conflict is the center of the plot that moves the main characters forward in the story.

I define conflict in fiction as problem(s) faced by the main characters (or other significant characters) that forces them to seek solutions. As a writer, how do you build conflict for your main characters? One way is through adversarial dialogue. Sol Stein in his best seller, How to Grow a Novel: The Most Common Mistakes Writers Make and How to Overcome Them states:

The conflict is often verbal, not high drama, sometimes even mundane.

In my short story, Antara Dua Kota (Between Two Cities), the main character, Anita faces a conflict of either remaining for the Summer in Paris (where she studied Fashion Design) or returning to her home to be with her family. As both a workaholic and budding couturier, she prefers to stay and work on her next project, but her family misses her so much since she already spent the previous three summers abroad. She also tries to deny her feeling of homesick.

Instead of just agreeing with her parents and her true feelings and return home, she looks for an excuse to stay by creating problems with her agent and her photographer. She gets angry with her agent’s choice of photographer and refuses to cooperate during the shooting of her Spring/Summer Collection.

In the story, she is the most talented fashion designer who was just awarded as ‘The Best Couturier of the Year’ by her college, yet was seen as the most difficult to work with. She extends her anger toward the photographer as well (that he decided to cancel his next assignment with her) only to find out that he would like to know more about her when he learns how talented she truly is. So the story quickly moves forward and she is able to justify why she needs to take a break.

I showed the conflict faced by Anita through her behavior and conversation with her agent, Alice, and with the photographer, David Gionni; the disagreement between her and her agent plus her refusal to be on the set to supervise the models when publicly showing her collection.

In True Believer by Nicholas Spark, Lexie also faces a conflict where she falls in love with Jeremy, yet she so afraid of getting hurt again - like her past relationships - that she flees to a small island to get away. You need to read the novel to find out what happens next.

Conflict faced by your main characters is indeed necessary in developing your plot. Your reader can identify with the way the character takes action to solve it. Conflict reveals the strengths and weaknesses in your characters and readers who seek an experience through your novel will develop empathy towards him/her. Your reader yearns to know what happens next and what decision he/she will make in order to reach a solution. If you are able to present conflict in your character that involves their emotions to solve it, you have got your reader captured.