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Uncover Your Character, Discover Your Conflict

Every reader knows that, without conflict, there’s no story. But when writing, if you don’t start with an interesting character, there won’t be a conflict worth reading about. Even armed with the germ of an idea, writers today first need characters that will engage and convince the reader to come along for the journey.

In young adult literature, character-driven stories have replaced the ‘problem novel’. No longer is The Message being delivered by characters created for the sole purpose of doing the writer’s bidding. Now, characters come first – with faults and secrets and strengths and dreams – and they determine the direction in which the story will go. And it makes sense. Otherwise, how could you explain that, despite a finite number of themes, thousands of books are published each year?

Consider the topic of divorce – a common story-line in children’s literature – library shelves are crammed with picture books, mid-grade and YA novels about it. What could possibly drive the need for there to be so many? The answer is kids. As a high school teacher, I’ve seen dozens of my students deal with parents who’ve divorced – and not one of them has dealt with it in the same way. This is why there are so many books; it’s not theme the writer needs to develop, but the characters that are facing these issues.

In keeping with this divorce idea, you as the writer should now start asking the character questions: How old is he when this happens? What’s his relationship with each of his parents like? If there are siblings, what’s his reaction compared to theirs? Will he have to move? Change schools? Will there be custody issues? Does he know what led to the breakup? How has he dealt with disappointment, rejection, fear, anger in the past? Long before you can begin to discover how this conflict will impact his life, you have to uncover everything there is to know about him.

And as these conflicts become more complex, especially in young adult literature, not only will your character face that external problem; but a parallel, internal struggle needs to be present as well. So ask him this: “What is the one thing you don’t want anyone to find out?” This secret that he desperately wants to hide can become his internal struggle. Continuing with the divorce story, maybe your character sees his mom out somewhere with a man he doesn’t (or does) know and witnesses a more-than-just-friends kind of kiss. With this scene, you’ve just shown his internal conflict – he now knows something he’s not supposed to.

Again, the trick here is to understand your character so well that you’ll know how he’ll handle the situation. Will he storm between his mom and this man to confront them or slink away only to give her the silent treatment at home? Will he tell his dad what he witnessed or drop subtle hints to try and guilt his mom into admission? And if he has a girlfriend, how may seeing this indiscretion impact that relationship? Fully knowing your character opens the door to a myriad of possibilities for subplots. Have this character in an ethics class where one of the discussions is current social problems, like the high divorce rate. Here’s an opportunity to have your character forced to participate in a debate over ‘right and wrong’. Say he’s the kind of kid who stuffs all of his feelings down, but after this particular discussion, he uncharacteristically explodes. His being forced to publicly confront his private battle could become his turning point.

It’s okay to have a theme or an issue you want to explore, but it won’t be a story that your readers believe unless they care about the person facing those problems. Create someone real, then toss an obstacle or two (or twelve) in his or her way and watch where it takes the both of you. The time to tinker with tone and theme and symbolism is only after you know the whole story.

When you care about your character and find yourself rooting for his or her success, then your readers will, too – and, perhaps, even learn a thing or two about solving their own conflicts.

First appeared in Children's Book Insider June 2005

All speeches and articles are copyrighted by, and are the property of, Laurie Thurston, and may not be reprinted without permission of the author.