Noteworthy Links: Creating Conflict

There's a wonderful interview with Elizabeth Loupas on Writer Unboxed, where she talks about conflict and how to use it in your novel. She has some great tips on adding conflict in small and subtle ways, plus some tips on software that helps her keep track. It's a great interview.

I especially like how she talks about the little ways you can add conflict. Simple details, small observations, almost unremarkable things yet they cast an uncomfortable tone over an otherwise normal scene or event. You guys know how much I love the subtleties in writing and her example of a creepy way to peel an orange is right up my alley.

What are your thoughts on creating conflict? Is it easy for you or hard? Do you have favorite tricks you use to keep the tension up? Problem areas you wish you could find tricks to help you with them?

From Bodkins to Back-Stabbing: Elizabeth Loupas on Spiking Your Novel with Conflict

Jan: Elizabeth, thank you for being here. It strikes me that certain locations and periods have heightened potential for generating external and internal conflicts. Do you agree?

Elizabeth: Thank you for inviting me, Jan! Conflict is a pretty basic human condition and can arise anywhere and anytime, of course, but I agree with you that some places and times can have heightened potential for conflict. Change is the key, I think — when the world is changing rapidly or unexpectedly, conflict results. And external conflicts by their very nature produce internal conflicts in the people who experience them.

Read the full article here.