Creating Conflict

At present, I’m in process of writing a picture book manuscript about some backyard dog-squirrel shenanigans.  It’s full of inherent conflict.  Dog wants to eat squirrel.  Squirrel does not want to get eaten by dog.

But how is that everyday conflict developed into a worthwhile story?  How does that story go from being letters and spaces on a page to being orchestrated to life? 

I want my words to nearly be sung by the reader.  I want punctuation that functions like staccato marks.  I want adjectives that hum louder and louder like steady violins.  I want a plot and a meter andante that builds into a crescendo fortissimo!

Yet, how do I get that?  That elusive literary crescendo?  Elbow grease may be part of the answer.  Join me on my journey today. 

Online research and infographics are two of my favorite things.  They are often components of a writer’s elbow grease.  Here are some findings regarding creating conflict:

The above infographic definitely gets the award for the cutest and most visually desirable.  This is the basic concept of story conflict.  Can’t you just see your middle school teacher holding up her hands and/or arms in a pyramid shape?  Rising action.  Climax.  Resolution.  Good.  All good.  But, I argue that if this adorable roller coaster were the very literal, visual representation of a story and the climax hit prior to half-way through, that story is lame.

 

The following simple graphic, may be a better image within our own minds:

See the difference in mounting (pun intended) crescendo?  A climax hitting at about 85-90% of the way through is much more like it!

And this last one does a really good job of taking the above concept and simply applying the appropriate terminology.  (That blog where it was featured also shared additional nice options.)

As such, the present goal at hand is to compose conflict that strikes the appropriate balance.  Dogs and squirrels will continue on ‘til Kingdom come, relentlessly and without an overt climax – but it is there and that’s where the storytelling comes in.

What thoughts do you have on creating conflict within a story line?  What are some great examples?

#writingjourney #doggo #squirrel #picturebooks #kidlit #anitavp