If your story feels like it’s dragging, it’s probably missing conflict. Not explosions or screaming matches—though those can help—but tension. The push and pull between what a character wants and what’s standing in their way. Conflict is what makes readers care, because it creates stakes, uncertainty, and momentum.
Conflict Doesn’t Have to Be Loud
Conflict doesn’t always mean big, dramatic moments. It can be quiet, internal, or even unspoken. A character debating whether to tell the truth. A simmering resentment in a friendship. A ticking clock no one acknowledges. Small moments of friction build tension just as well as car chases or courtroom scenes.
If you’re writing a scene and nothing is going wrong, that’s a red flag. Add a complication. Raise a question. Make something feel slightly off. Even a subtle sense of discomfort can keep readers leaning in.
Every Scene Needs a Struggle
Think of each scene as a mini-story: someone wants something, and something gets in the way. It can be external (they’re locked out of the building) or internal (they’re too nervous to go inside). The key is that they want something, and they can’t immediately get it.
Scenes without conflict—where characters agree too easily, or nothing changes—feel flat. Even in a lighthearted or quiet scene, give characters something to push against.
Internal Conflict Adds Depth
Characters aren’t interesting because they’re flawless. They’re interesting because they wrestle with themselves. Let your characters be torn between desires: the need to belong vs. the urge to rebel, love vs. independence, safety vs. truth.
Internal conflict creates complexity. It’s what makes a hero hesitate before acting, or makes a villain relatable. Give your characters difficult choices and let them struggle. The more layered their conflict, the more real they feel.
Use Conflict to Reveal Character
What someone does under pressure tells you everything about them. Put your characters in uncomfortable situations and see how they react. Do they fight, freeze, run? Do they lash out or shut down?
Conflict strips away the mask. It forces decisions. And those decisions reveal who your characters truly are—not who they say they are.
If you’re not sure how to deepen a character, drop them into a situation where they’re tested. You’ll learn more about them in one high-stakes scene than in five pages of backstory.
Escalate, Don’t Resolve Too Quickly
The biggest mistake writers make with conflict is resolving it too soon. Let things get worse before they get better. Introduce a new obstacle. Raise the stakes. Just when your character thinks they’re in the clear, take something away.
This isn’t about torturing your characters for no reason—it’s about keeping the reader invested. As long as the tension keeps building, they’ll keep turning pages to see what happens next.
Conflict Can Be Subtle—but Still Powerful
Not all conflict needs to be high drama. A couple who’s been married for 20 years can have a fight that’s all quiet glances and clipped responses—but the weight of what’s unspoken can hit harder than shouting.
A teenager trying to fit in. A boss withholding praise. A secret one character knows and the other doesn’t. These quiet tensions can be just as gripping as physical confrontations, if not more so.
Don’t overlook the power of discomfort, miscommunication, or repressed emotion. It’s often the silence that speaks loudest.
Conflict Should Shape the Story
Conflict isn’t just for flavor—it drives the plot. If nothing stands in the way of your character’s goals, the story ends in a few pages. Each new obstacle forces them to adapt, to grow, to change their approach.
Your character starts with a want. Conflict blocks the easy path. The story is what happens in between.
Ask yourself:
- What does my character want?
- What’s stopping them?
- What are they willing to risk to get it?
Answer those, and you’ll have conflict. And with conflict, you’ll have a story readers can’t put down.
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