Comments on: Fiction Writing: Conflicts and Characters

By: Joy A. Ball

Joy A. Ball — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:15:24 +0000

Thanks for this post! ) I hadn’t really consciously thought about the antagonist being a match for my MC but you are absolutely right. As long as you’ve given your reader a character they can connect with, when you then create a high risk situation for your character it will hopefully put your reader on the edge of his/her seat. Then when your MC finds a resolution it provides emotional fulfillment for your reader.

We are emotional creatures. Writing is all about providing an emotional escape for your reader to partake in a risk free emotional journey with a character and how well you can emotionally manipulate your readers. Readers want to live vicariously through the characters and conflict will provide that excitement/pain/sadness/love/fear, basically stimulate emotions for your reader. Just as adrenaline junkies take risks to fulfill their desire for the adrenaline dump. It’s all about the feeling.

By: what pushes your buttons? : Writers and Artists

what pushes your buttons? : Writers and Artists — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 06:50:56 +0000

[...] http://menwithpens.ca/fiction-writing-conflicts-and-characters/ [...]

By: Create Fantastic Characters for the NaNoWriMo Challenge | Men with Pens

Create Fantastic Characters for the NaNoWriMo Challenge | Men with Pens — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 10:32:24 +0000

[...] a character that lives and breathes on your pages, and you’ll burn through NaNoWriMo in no time at all. When you release your [...]

By: Four Steps for One Great Writing Technique | Write to Done

Four Steps for One Great Writing Technique | Write to Done — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:45:27 +0000

[...] Suffering. Hurt. Challenges. Obstacles. In a novel, the suffering of characters creates a bond between them and the readers. In copywriting, conveying to people that the company [...]

By: The writing advice links, they are legion | Velcro City Tourist Board

The writing advice links, they are legion | Velcro City Tourist Board — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:28:30 +0000

[...] more elsewhere: Almost all good stories need conflict – and not the epic battle-style of conflict. The conflicts that bring characters alive are the [...]

By: Jenny

Jenny — Wed, 28 May 2008 01:11:40 +0000

Back in high school my sophmore english teacher made me re-write a story I had turned in because all my stories had a happy ending to them, he wanted me to explore a different ending that maybe wasn't so happy. I didn't like doing it, I liked my story the way it was but as an assignment I did it. I may not have liked it but he got his point to hit home. When I'm writing I can make characters feel as much as I want them to feel, in fact if I make them feel more they will be a better character. Thank you for reminding me of that, now when I go back and revise old stories I can add more of that in! Jenny's last blog post..Snow Covered Mountains

By: James

James — Mon, 26 May 2008 18:04:48 +0000

@ Buddy – Hmm, good suggestion. We’ll see what we can put together for that.

By: Buddy Scalera

Buddy Scalera — Sun, 25 May 2008 23:17:27 +0000

Most people live in a constant state of conflict (and the avoidance of resolution). A good author can find the conflict, and usually they can even escalate the conflict. The trick is a great twist and resolution.

A lousy ending can destroy an otherwise great story.

I’d be interested in reading a post about how to end a story for maximum impact.

Buddy

http://wordspicturesweb.wordpress.com

Buddy Scalera’s last blog post..Hulu & Pandora Got Me Through Book 3

By: 05/23/2008 Writing Jobs and Links | PoeWar.com Writer's Resource Center

05/23/2008 Writing Jobs and Links | PoeWar.com Writer's Resource Center — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:51:11 +0000

[...] Fiction Writing: Conflicts and Characters [...]

By: Harry

Harry — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:17:53 +0000

@Kelly: I’m still not quite out of the cage. James has been alerting me on places to comment. I’m trying not to spread myself out too thin here.

@Jamie: Frey’s book is excellent and I agree with him about antagonists with their own agendas and I frequently do that with my bad guys. I’ll take a look at his other book for sure.