The power of conflict in fiction

[John Dean]

Any crime writer – in fact, any writer - must deal sooner or later with conflict. Usually sooner.

Indeed, I have just finished the first draft of a novel in which a much-loved character is forced to question everything and everyone in their life – and all through the power of conflict created by an investigation.

But why is conflict so important in writing? Because stories need things to happen and that usually comes out of conflict - characters argue, fight, feud, communities are torn apart, inner torments play out etc.

Also, it is only through seeing characters in conflict that we see them at their truest, when their guard is down, when they are fighting something.

Conflict takes the story on: a school is to be closed, two friends fall out, a community is tainted by a murderer living in their midst. All these types of conflict are a rich hunting ground for the writer.

Conflict can also evoke a strong reaction in a reader. It makes for good drama - and if that is happening then writing is easier.

As a crime writer, I deal in conflict all the time, it’s what drives my storytelling and allows my characters to grow.