Sunday, August 5, 2007

Conflict


I've been writing steadily this past week and today I just realized that my Hero and heroine really don't have a strong enough conflict keeping them apart. Further along in the story I have a "BIG THING" (like that literary term?) happen that makes the Hero believe the heroine's betrayed him and the heroine think the Hero was using her. But what keeps them apart in the early stages. She's a reporter and he doesn't like reporters? The fact that she's hot and he's attracted to her trumps that. I'm sure he could get over his dislike so he could shag her.

Why didn't this occur to me sooner? And how could I make falling for each other the worst thing that could happen to them? Thinking, thinking....

I'm feeling a little restless these days as well. As if I want to sell my house, all my possessions and move to Alaska. For some reason the month of August does that to me. Planning a little road trip when my youngest sister comes down from Toronto for a visit in a few weeks. Have to squeeze it into the time my oldest daughter has off work so both daughters can come with us, so it will only be for 3 or 4 days. My youngest doesn't have a passport so don't know if that will be a problem if we decide to go to Maine. Too much driving in too little time? Maybe we'll just get as far as NB.

5 comments:

Julia Phillips Smith said...

LOL on the conflict crisis - only because this has happened to me in my very current WIP.

Hope you don't sell everything and move to Alaska! The road trip will hopefully soothe your wanderlust, Anne. Because you'll still have the same character conflict problem with H/h wherever you go. And I won't be able to sit across from you at lunch if you're that far away.

Unknown said...

I think I've made a little headway on the conflict crisis. Hmm, and I would miss lunch if I moved to Alaska.

The road trip is seeming less likely, between my oldest daughter and my sister's schedules it's not looking good. I'm hoping I can work something out.

Unknown said...

I don't know how crazy intense the conflict has to be in the beginning. They can have some tension, work past it, have a love scene, then BOOM big issue arrives. Sexual tension can be a great layer to add when the external/internal conflict hasn't come fully into the picture yet.

Kelly Boyce said...

You and I both are moaning about conflict today! Maybe the storyboarding course will help...

Unknown said...

I spent sometime getting to know my characters a little better and added some layers of internal conflict. I think the story works better. I'll have to go back and layer it through the first few chapters.