Progress Report / On Conflict

by Chris Robley

I've been busy today, what with working on a piñata and attending a charity walk, so this won't be a proper post - just a bit about my recent writing progress.

It just occurred to me that I've never really talked about my WiP on the blog. If I had the plot developed, I might discuss it, but I'm nowhere near that stage yet. At this point, I've got the premise, characters, and some mental notes on scenes, but less than 1,000 words. I try to decide on several backstory details every day, and I think this is the best way to approach this story. I want to start from the beginning and see what happens. However, before I get very far, I'll have to do quite a bit of research. (The setting's Paris, 1945.)

My biggest issue with stories is always conflict. I'll create a couple characters I love to death, but there won't be any inherent conflict in the premise. Plausibility, sure. Originality, maybe. Gut emotional appeal, for me. It's not that I hate to torture my characters as much as I hate to give them faults. I guess it's because they're so often based on me, and I hate to acknowledge my own faults.

If you've seen my 2010 NaNo badge in the right column, you may be wondering how I managed it. To write a story in a month when I'm so lost in the current WiP. You'll wonder more when I say I've been reshaping the current idea over and over since December 2010 - right after NaNo's end. The current WiP, of course, barely resembles my original ideas, but the truth is I've barely written anything for the project in over a year. I'm finally happy, even proud, of the premise, but the pages are still blank.

Just to confuse you a bit more: I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo 2010 on October 31st - only hours before it began. Most writers will already have a detailed outline prepared - no one will concoct and write a plot in the same month.

But I did it. The girl who'll take a year to create a decent premise. I wrote a 51,000-word novel in a month, with no preparation beforehand.

The secret? The majority of it was based on my own life. The conflict was easy - my life was full of it. I was angsty, I had questions, and Tumblr for any extra inspiration if necessary. The story was asking to be written, and easy to complete.

So today I was flipping through a few books on the art of the novel. Lately I've been feeling pretty horrible about the prolonged block - and pretty hopeless about my writing. But then, about an hour ago, I had a revelation. It suddenly struck me how I'm going to make my way out of this maze - what direction my story's got to go in.

I began with a list of everything my protagonist wants. Everything she believes in. Then, I began to write ideas for scenes which would undermine those beliefs. Various obstacles she'll have to face before a plot twist and resolution. And I made them various, not just one that escalates.

If you've been reading this thinking, "Well, yes," I'm not surprised. An hour ago, the time of my revelation, this seemed... well, like a revelation. Now that I consider it, I realize it's nothing I haven't been suggested before. It's odd how tired old lessons can just inexplicably click.

I'm not quite sure what lesson I mean to teach. Maybe it's that, no matter how stressed you are about a block, there's hope around the corner. Maybe I gave some helpful advice on plotting, or perhaps you found my story interesting. Or maybe this post is just a challenge to myself, to write this story.

What writing challenges do you face?