Hi Rebekah,
Thanks so much for letting me drop by today. Since I don’t have a new release out at the moment I thought I would talk (or ramble) a little about writing in general and this topic was rather inspired by a manuscript I was sent by a new author.
This manuscript was very well written, the characters were engaging, I liked the dialogue but overall it didn’t ‘grip’ me. The reason why was a lack of serious conflict.
I think conflict can be a very tricky concept – especially for new writers (though even those who have been at a while aren’t immune to issues!). It’s so easy to either overload it to the point where you’re feeling a bit dizzy by the end of it with all the major, death-defying problems the characters have had to cope with or undersell it and at the end you’re feeling a little under-whelmed and perhaps a little ‘was that it?’
While it might seem a little cruel to torture your poor characters with trials and tribulations, it’s through conflict that we generally start to relate to them, to feel for them – and more importantly to start rooting for them! The best books I read are those where the conflict is so well woven that by the end you’re on the edge of your seat – you desperately want everything to work out for them but you just can’t see how it’s ever going to. While in romance we might expect a ‘happy ever after’ then it’s the journey to it that draws us in.
So, let’s all live up to our ‘evil authors’ label and add a little suffering in there. It’s good for the soul – and the storyline!
Thanks so much for having me. If you’d like to follow me, you can find me at:
Blog – http://shellirosewarne.wordpress.com/ Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shelli-Rosewarne/364962230246715
Twitter – @shellirosewarne
Thanks for stopping by, Shelli! 🙂
Rebekah Lewis 