Seek Personal Conflict, not Just a Situational Crisis: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) Writing Tip
Winning the big game, surviving an illness or a scary car crash, working your way through grief… these are all common topics for personal essays. But in fiction, these kinds of actions are most meaningful when they happen as part of the background to a story that focuses on the inner life of the protagonist.
Good storytellers differentiate between a crisis (an emergency, such as a car crash or an illness) and conflict (a clash of wills, a difficult moral choice, or an internal mental struggle). Beginning authors often focus on the exciting crisis rather than the conflict that makes readers care about the characters enduring the crisis. –via Crisis vs. Conflict: Engaging a Reader with the Protagonist’s “Inner” Story
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Dear Mr. Jerz,
I found your blog. Wow. I had a creative writing professor once who gave me two bits of advice that I try to follow: first, write what you know; second, show, don't tell.
You remind me of him.
As for NaNoWriMo, it came one month too late for me. I started my last novel at the beginning of October and finished it just before Halloween: 51,503 words.
I submitted the first chapter of my first novel, GINGERSNAP(finished earlier this year) to Mr. Robert Bacon (theperfectwrite.com) for review. He asked to feature it on his Critique Blog for August, 2011. I invite you to read it.
Do you ever read unsolicited material? Even a chapter or two. I would really appreciate and value your input.
Thank you so much, Karen Edwards (You may email me at my address above.)
Yes, Karen, I do. I'll contact you by email with details.