Conflict vs Obstacles

Conflict v obstacle
What is the difference?
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I just read Janice Hardy’s blog post, “3 Common Mistakes Writers Make about Conflict.” In her post, she discusses that our stories often lack conflict because we don’t understand the difference between conflict and obstacles. And what we are actually adding to our stories are obstacles.

So I started doing some reading and this is what I found.

Obstacles

An obstacle is something that gets in the character’s way. It makes it harder for them to achieve their goal. But it isn’t direct opposition.

Say that your character has to get to the roof and light a signal. The room that the have to pass through is a museum gallery with a new show being organized. There are crates in the way. There are ladders and tools and maybe even packing material.

Sure, all of this is in the way. But it isn’t in opposition to the character’s goal.

Conflict

And that’s one of the keys to conflict. Something or someone is in direct opposition to what the character wants.

Again, your character has to get to the roof and light a signal. A new gallery is being organized and the place is a cluttered mess. But the person setting up the exhibit doesn’t want your character to light the signal. And this person is going to do all that they can to keep it from happening. Hand-to-hand Jackie Chan level combat ensues.

This is conflict. It isn’t very good conflict, but it is conflict. Especially if it looks like your character might fail.

An obstacle is in the way. It delays what is going to happen.

A conflict is big enough to make the reader doubt that the hero will succeed. The reader is anxious and feels compelled to read on.

Because every story is different, an obstacle in one may be a conflict in another because it could change the course of the story. Thus a natural disaster doesn’t personally want the character to fail but it is more than a simple delay. Think about all of this the next time you are plotting out a story!

–SueBE

How Many Books Do You Read at Once?

Recently someone asked me how many books I read at once. I’ve been drafting, revising, and editing for almost two full months, meeting multiple deadlines. In celebration of specificity, the answer is one. Because I cannot read two or more books simultaneously.

But that isn’t what he meant. He means how many books am I reading in the same time period. At first, I thought two. But then I realized that it is actually four. That answer isn’t as impressive as it sounds.

I have an ongoing poetry book sitting on the coffee table. Every now and again, I sit down and read a poem. I don’t generally read two or three. I read one. Then I put it down and go do something else. It takes time to digest poetry. My current poetry title is An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo.

Then I have the book that is sitting on my bedside table. I read a chapter or four every night. I am one of those people who needs to read to relax and go to sleep. My husband can sit down and immediately fall asleep. I don’t get it but that’s just him. My current bedside table book is the cozy mystery Chapter and Curse by Elizabeth Penney.

My third ongoing book is an audio book. I listen to books on my phone. I listen first thing in the morning, when I do dishes, fold laundry, water plants, knit or crochet. It is easiest when my audiobook and bedside table took have very little in common. But as wide as my reading is, I will often have two books going set in similar places at similar times. It can get confusing. My current audiobook is the thriller Rogue Justice by Stacey Abrams.

Last but not least is the book that my group at church is studying. I’m not going to say much about this because I don’t like it but I’m not doing to pan another author’s book in public. Even if I want my editor to have a sit down with her editor and explain the difference between an opinion and a fact.

So how many books do you read at once?

–SueBE

Trust Your Reader

Cut away what you don’t need.
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Earlier this week, I read Eva Langston’s latest post, “Add Suspense by Cutting Scenes.” She was discussing the fact that often her students can cut entire scenes or at least the large part of a scene. This is because they feel that they need one scene to tell the reader what is going to happen and then another scene where it happens.

I see this in nonfiction. “Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them.” I’m not sure who said this first but I lot of writers believe this is how to write nonfiction.

I understand what they are saying, but no. I would change this to “give the full story once, but take baby steps when needed.”

Trust your reader to connect the dots.

One type of scene that can almost always be discarded or at least be seriously cut back is the “getting up in the morning scene.” Maybe we’ve all written this scene at some point because we’ve been told to start the story on the day the character’s life changes. That’s actually really good advice. After all, Katniss Everdeen’s story begins on the day of the reaping.

But the story doesn’t begin as she gets out of bed and goes downstairs to breakfast. Sure, this scene could have shown the reader that Katniss didn’t go down to choices in breakfast cereals, a protein bar, or fried potatoes. That would have been one way to do it.

Instead it started with her hunting. This worked so much better because it worked on multiple levels. First of all, although it is illegal, it is what she has to do to feed her family. But being outside and hunting is where she is happiest. It is what she stands to lose. Collins doesn’t spell this out for the reader. Instead she trusts that, on some level, the reader will make this connection.

Trust your reader to get the essence of your story. Trust your reader to follow the plot without a how-to level of steps to guide them through the storyline. Trust them to get it when you tell them something once. And, if you’ve trimmed the fat, they will have a much better chance of spotting the important detail that one time you give it to them.

–SueBE

Don’t Give Up

One of my favorite coffee cups.

I know that I’ve already said this in other forums but I hope people are making the effort to watch the videos from the SCBWI Virtual Winter Conference. It has been really inspirational and eye opening to hear both editors and agents talking about long term successes.

Several speakers have mentioned reading a manuscript or trying to sell a manuscript for a client but either the manuscript wasn’t quite ready, there wasn’t room on their list, or the publishing climate just wasn’t ready. And yet, they couldn’t get these manuscripts out of their minds. They had loved these pieces so much that their hearts and minds came back to them for years. Then, when they had a chance to represent a manuscript of this type, they came back to the author or illustrator. “Is it still available?”

Or they loved the illustrations for a piece but recognized that it wasn’t ready. They worked with the creator to retain the essence of the project and reshape it into something marketable. Because, as much as we hate to think about it, publishing is a business.

But the part that amazed me was that these projects that are only now selling, or that sold in the last few years, had been initially created 10 years before they were signed. Ten. Years.

I get it. That number may not be 100% accurate. Someone might remember that it had been “a long time,” and just filled in “10 years” mentally. But that’s not the important part and don’t let that possibility distract you.

What is the important part? That sometimes a piece doesn’t get picked up for years and years, but then it does. If the work is strong, there is hope. And isn’t that something we could all use a bit more of?

–SueBE

Research: Even Fiction Writers Do It

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Recently I heard another writer comment that she prefers writing fiction. Why? Because that way she doesn’t have to do any research. You get it. Because it is fiction everything is made up.

I actually remember saying something like this when I was a new writer. And truthfully maybe some fiction writers don’t do any research. But that’s not the case with my fiction. For Three Rivers Robotics, my first draft required research on obvious topics alike robotics and drones but also less obvious topics like bugs (listening devices) and how to tell the age of a found kitten.

As I get ready to revise the manuscript and shift the setting, I’ll be researching maker spaces. And maybe charter schools. I’m sure there will be other things that I have to look up.

I have two other manuscripts in draft form. One is a middle grade science fiction novel. I’ve researched rocket fuel, rockets, space stations, decompression, and how much radiation a human in space can withstand. Then there was the research on nutrition and food and the shelf life of foods prepared for space travel.

My cozy mystery is historical fiction set in the late 1960s. I’ve researched clothing, cars, and music. Fortunately, I really like the music from this time period so that research was a lot of fun. If only one of the characters had my musical taste! I also researched food. The novel is set where we now live which is also the area where I grew up. I know that food changed a lot between my childhood and my sons. And that’s just what is regionally available. What dishes did people commonly cook then? I bought a Betty Crocker Cookbook and a Joy of Cooking.

Fortunately, research is something that I truly enjoy doing. I like writing too but I really like doing the research. Lucky me!

–SueBE

Preparing for Trouble

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Friday, storms swept through Missouri. At least twelve people died across the state. We didn’t have any damage although we did find a piece of insulator board that someone else is surely missing. Four of us and one irritable cat squeezed into the messy basement room that has no windows.

Between us we had three laptops, four cell phones, three flash lights, and three charged solar charging stations. We also had a flat and a half of bottled water (which I hate) and one hot cup of tea.

I know a lot of people grouse about One Drive. For those of you who don’t know, One Drive is Microsoft’s cloud storage system. If something is stored on One Drive, I can access it from my desktop, my laptop (yes, I’m that spoiled), and my phone. This means that if any single computer is destroyed in a storm, I am able to access my work.

Do you have to use One Drive? No. You can also store things as Google Docs. Or on Google Drive. You can use DropBox. But you do need to do something to make certain that your work is backed up and accessible.

It also helps to have a solar charger of some kind. Will the ones we have recharge a laptop? I’m honestly not certain. But I plan to find out tomorrow.

What didn’t we have that we should have had? My mouse takes a battery. I need t make sure that there are spares in our storm gear.

Solar lights would be smart. There are areas in our town that still have no power. I saw that one woman is bringing her solar yard lights inside every evening so that she can safely move around indoors. And we should have had food.

My father who was ex-Air Force said to always have a deck of cards. If you were stranded and no one arrived, lay out a game of Solitaire and someone would come tell you to “play that card on top of that other card.” I’m not sure I buy that but we did amuse ourselves with cards.

If you live in stormy area, make sure that you have what you need whether that includes medication or cash or both! Being without can make life incredibly difficult.

–SueBE

5 Things Your Story Needs to be a Good Bedtime Story

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Recently a critique partners ran a story through the group. It is one she is planning to enter into a contest for bedtime stories. As I tried to comment on her piece, I realized that I really needed to familiarize myself with what a bedtime story is. And what makes a bedtime story good?

Let’s start with a quick definition. A bedtime story is an intimate story told or read right before bedtime. It is a time for some up close time between a child (or children) and their adult. It is designed to help them wind down and go to sleep. This gives us a few clues about what makes a story a good bedtime story.

  • Soft or cuddly situations. This isn’t the time for BIG DRAMA. The stakes aren’t life and death. This is when the quiet stories come out to play. I always think of Owl Moon by Jane Yolen.
  • Family relationships. Bedtime stories aren’t always about family but there is often a family relationship involved somewhere. I almost said that there is often a family relationship lurking in the background, but no. Lurking? That’s way too dramatic. It may involve an older sibling or a pet but think close relationships.
  • Likable characters. There is a lot of space in picture books for scamps and scallywags like David Shannon’s No David. But save David and his ilk for group story time when being boisterous doesn’t undermine the end goal – getting someone who is possibly resistant to sleep. You want the young listener to relate to the character to help them engage.
  • Poetic picture book language. Picture books can have rollicking, wonderful language but this is the time to bring in the gentler rhythms and maybe a chorus to keep the reader engaged. But remember that even the chorus needs to work towards the end goal so avoid anything fabulously rowdy. Jane Yolen is an excellent author to study for lyrical, poetic language.
  • Satisfying ending. One of the articles I read said that bedtime stories need to teach a lesson. Please, no! Fables often teach lessons and that’s okay but it is overstating it in the extreme to say that your bedtime story NEEDS to teach a lesson. The ending needs to be positive and satisfying. This isn’t the time for the ending the young reader is going to want to discuss – why did this happen? How come so-and-so got away with. . .

There are so many great bedtime stories out there. Which isn’t to say that there’s not room for yours. Just remember that every picture book is not a bedtime story. And, truly, every bedtime story does not need to be a picture book but those are definitely my favorites!

–SueBE

Be the Rainbow: Give Hope

Before I get started on this post, I have to admit that I typed the first half of that title and then paused. Why does that sound so familiar? Oh! Taste the rainbow!

I hope that some of you have taken the opportunity to sign up for the SCBWI virtual conference. The sessions are available online through March 25. Everything I’ve seen so far has been so good but the inspirational talk by Torrey Maldonado is still swirling through my mind.

He gave listeners the same challenge that his mother gave him. It is right up there in the Angelou quote. “Be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud.” Given someone hope.

So many people that I know are discouraged and stressed. They are finding it difficult to create, focused as they are on their fears and dread. But Maldonado challenged them to use these emotions to fuel empathy with young characters who may be feeling these same emotions because . . .

. . . . they live in a horrible neighborhood.

. . . . they are dealing with bullies.

. . . . they feel powerless.

. . . . things are out of their control.

But he went beyond this and challenged us to give our readers hope. Be their rainbow. Share light. Because there is enough anger already.

I’ve been noodling this over. What does that mean when you are talking about a young character living in an awful neighborhood? Yes, you share what is bad about the neighborhood. You share what is feared. But you also focus on the helpers. You focus on the decisions that the young character can make to rise up.

I know that, at this moment in time, I am only scratching the surface. But Maldonado really has me thinking about the difference between a story written in hope vs a story written in anger. It is about writing a story that lifts someone up, that offers a handhold vs a story that shouts in the face of authority. It feels like the difference is very subtle.

–SueBE

Strong Settings Mean Avoiding Clichés

Yesterday my husband and I were in Charleston, Missouri to attend a funeral. Although I was on my very best behavior, I snorted audibly when someone referred to the town of just over 5000 as “the middle of nowhere.”

“What?!”

“Seriously? Have you ever been to West Texas? Right this minute, at most you’re 25 minutes from another town. You could walk! In West Texas you could die.” What can I say? I have standards for the use of “in the middle of nowhere.” And although I wouldn’t want to walk 25 miles, I would let him do it.

But it really made me think. If I set a story in Charleston, Missouri, I could certainly say it was in the middle of nowhere. Maybe I could comment on the small town Main Street. There are even rail road tracks. But that’s on the verge of being cliched. I could use this exact same description for Piedmont, Missouri which is less than half the size of Charleston.

I could create a much stronger picture if I went beyond the clichés.

For Charleston, I would comment on how flat the surrounding country is, broken only by windbreaks (rows of trees) that have been topped. If you stand in the town cemetery, you can see live stock, specifically horses and mules. There’s even a Walmart. Major highways are nowhere in sight. We saw a lot of pickup trucks.

Piedmont, Missouri is much hillier. There is no Walmart because it closed several years ago. There’s now a Tractor Supply where it was. Although there are Dollar Generals (boring!), there is also a Mexican restaurant called Tequila’s and an amazing thrift store that is part of a chain called Country Pickin’s. Livestock consists of beef cattle, mostly Hereford although more recently I’ve seen long horns and highland cows. You see logging trucks.

Don’t go with clichés when you are creating a setting. Instead, weave together specifics. What do the homes look like? Name the schools. What small businesses are present? What types of buildings are they in? What vehicles do you see? What makes this town look different from any other?

When you know, you are ready to create your setting.

–SueBE

March: National Reading Month

Is it not amazing that we have an entire month dedicated to reading?! I know I’m jazzed. What are you reading right now? I hope it is something amazing. I just finished The Secret of Moonrise Manor: A Raven Gallows Mystery. I’ll admit up front that the author is a friend but I have to tell you that it is one of the best middle grade novels I have read in a very long time. It doesn’t hurt that there is a mystery and a kid who is seriously into forensics but this book is very well written. The characters are well-developed. The setting is so clear that I could tell you not only what town it is based on but which building Moonrise Manor is. Seriously. If you are interested in writing middle grade fiction, pick this book up.

I am currently reading A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch book 2. These are graphic novels so they go quick but I just love the drawings of the cat. Clearly, as you can tell by my office mate, I am a cat person. But so is Hiro Kashiwaba who clearly knows what you get when you face a giant cat. As you can tell by the pull slip, I checked these out from the library.

So, what are you reading? I hope that you’ll figure me but today’s post will be brief. I have a deadline and a funeral which required a road trip. I can’t read in the car without getting a headache so . . . brevity.

–SueBE