Mastering Conflict in Scenes

Every scene should contain conflict. This idea set me on my search to figure out what that meant and how I could achieve it. I found that conflicts create tension which encourages readers to turn the page.

The tension lies with the wanting. It can be a small thing: to escape an emotion, to get a cup of coffee. Every main character in the scene should want something out of the exchange in each scene: to vent, to get information, to cause trouble, to ease trouble, to find something, to lose themselves in something. 

Whether or not they get it is up to you. They can get it and be satisfied, not get it and need to try again, get it and find out it wasn't what they needed or requires something further. This is how you propel the reader as they meander or speed through your story. Goals and obstacles supply the gas that keeps the story motor running.
Here are some articles on how to craft conflict to create tension.

External Conflict

Internal Conflict

Crafting Stress Points Part 1

Crafting Stress Points Part 2

Knowledge Obstacles

Ability Obstacles

Communication Obstacles

Fish Tales and Whoppers

Emotional Detours

Rising Resentment

One Foot Out of The Door

Blurred Lines

Using Psychological Boundaries

Using Personal Space

Absence and the Return

Abandonment as Conflict

Stirring the Plot: Denial

Home is Where the Heart Is

Bad Choices versus Mistakes

The Power of Brainwashing

Physical Obstacles

Hot Tub in the Fast Lane

Conflicts of the Hunger Games

Confining Your Characters

The Trouble with Money

Stirring the Plot Inheritance and Entitlement

P!nk Goes into a Bar

World Building Social Contracts

Conflicting Alliances

Stirring the Plot: Isolation

Stirring the Plot: Who is the Boss?

The Important of Reputation

Minding Your Manners

Love or Money

Responses to Obstacles

The information on genre can also be found in the book Story Building Blocks The Four Layers of Conflict in ebook and print editions as well as on my website 

www.dianahurwitz.com. Much of the material from my Story Building Block books is available in my blog posts and website along with free forms such as:

Obstacles and Responses

Mastering Genre "Your Promise"

In the following weeks, I will be highlighting past articles on various topics from the previous years' posts.

The following information on genre can also be found in the book Story Building Blocks The Four Layers of Conflict in ebook and print editions. Much of the material from my Story Building Block series is available in my blog posts and on my website (www.dianahurwitz.com) along with free forms.

This week, I begin with the importance of defining the type of story you wish to tell your readers.

When you choose a genre and subgenre, you make a promise to your reader about the type of story they are settling in for. Is it a cozy or gritty noir mystery? Is it a Hallmark Romance or erotica? Is it a prairie Western or a shoot out between cowboys and aliens?

It is crucial to outline your promise with your blurb/story description.  A consumer needs to know what a product is and how it will work. Readers are less likely to choose a confusing product or muddied premise. Broken promises are the number one cause of one star reviews: a Romance that doesn't end happily, a Horror story that isn't scary, or a Thriller that is a snooze. Bait and switch (promising a comedy and giving them a tragedy) ensures the reader forever associates your name with betrayal.

Here is a list of articles on how to keep your promise.

Betraying Your Readers

The Central Question

Genre Roundup Part 1

Genre Roundup Part 2

Con, Heist, and Prison Break Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Con, Heist, and Prison Break Workbook is available in ebook and print.

Comedy Subgenres

The Comedy Story Skeleton

Injecting Humor Into Plot

Injecting Humor into Dialogue

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Comedy is available in ebook and print.

The Gothic Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Gothic is available in ebook and print.

Historical Fiction Subgenres Part 1

Historical Subgenres Part 2

Historical Story Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Historical is available in ebook and print.

Literary Subgenres

The Literary Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Literary (Drama) is available in ebook and print.

The Road Trip Story Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Road Trip is available in ebook and print.

Science Fiction Subgenres

Science Fiction Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Science Fiction is available in ebook and print.

The Team Victory Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Team Victory is available in ebook and print.

Thriller and Suspense Subgenres 

Thriller and Suspense Skeleton

Making a Thriller Part 1 of 2

Making a Thriller Part 2 of 2

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Thriller and Suspense is available in ebook and print.

Western Subgenres Part 1

Western Subgenres Part 2

Western Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Western is available in ebook and print.

In the next few weeks, we will highlight four specific genres: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, and Romance.

Structuring A Series: The Serial

Anne Perry

Last week, we looked at the standard Trilogy format. This week, we will discuss the Serial format. 

A Serial is most often used for Thrillers and Mysteries. It can also be used for multi-generational dramas, or a Con, Heist & Prison Break series.

A serial can have as many books as the author cares to write. Anne Perry's Mystery series with Inspector Thomas Pitt has 34 to date and her William Monk series has 24.  Diana Gabaldon's Outlander is a long running serial.

The protagonist appears in each book and faces a similar overall story problem such as a murder, a dangerous threat to one or many, a family conflict, etc.

In each book, the main cast is introduced. The hero has special knowledge or a skill set to solve the problem at hand.

The antagonist is often different in each book. In some spy novels, the antagonist remains the same but there are different cases involved. The enemy spy is nearly caught, a major minion is apprehended or killed, but the case itself is resolved at the end.

Most mysteries are serials with a different crime to solve in each book. In the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, there is  a recurrent antagonist like Professor Moriarty, but each murder is solved at the end of each book.

Friends and allies are often a continuing thread, but it is possible to add and subtract cast members as the serial progresses. Focusing on different friends and foes in each serial leaves plenty of room for growth and offshoots.

The internal dilemma is usually the same throughout the serial, especially if it is a love interest. Their bond is tested as the books progress. 

The protagonist's internal dilemma can also be a sick family member, a child, or responsibility for another character that causes problems for him as he navigates the overall story problem. He may have a personal issue to solve: an addiction, an affliction, or an internal struggle.

The book covers follow a theme, but the titles can be unique. Anne Perry is a good example of how to keep naming a serial as it stretches out. It helps to have a subtitle such as "A Thomas Pitt novel."

Next week, we will take a look at the Relay series.

Related Topics:

Mystery Subgenres

Mystery Skeleton

Thriller & Suspense Subgenres

Thriller & Suspense Skeleton

Con, Heist & Prison Break Skeleton

Literary Subgenres

Literary Skeleton

Free tools and forms are available at www.dianahurwitz.com. You can also check out the Build A Plot Workbooks for Mystery, Thriller, Con, Heist, & Prison Break, and Literary Drama.

Great Courses for Writers

 In addition to the Master Class offerings, Great Courses offers DVD and streaming classes on every topic imaginable. There are quite a few on aspects of writing.

1. Writing Great Fiction: Story Telling Tips and Techniques by James Hynes, Novelist and Writing Instructor. 

2. Analysis and Critique: How to Engage and Write about Anything by Professor Dorsey Armstrong, Ph.D. Purdue University. 

3. The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction by David Schmid, Ph.D.
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. 

4. How Great Science Fiction Works by Professor Gary K. Wolfe, Ph.D. 

5. Redefining Reality: The Intellectual Implications of Modern Science by Professor Steven Gimbel, Ph.D. Gettysburg College 

6. Masterpieces of Short Fiction by Professor Michael Krasny, Ph.D., San Francisco State University. 

7. English Grammar Bootcamp by Professor Anne Curzon, Ph.D. University of Michigan

8. Building Great Sentences by Brooks Landon

9. How to Market Your Book by Jane Friedman 

10. Writing Creative Nonfiction by Professor Tilar J. Mazzeo, Ph.D, Colby College 

11. Becoming a Great Essayist by Professor Jennifer Cognard-Black, Ph.D., St. Mary’s College of Maryland 

12. Screenwriting 101: Mastering the Art of Story by Professor Angus Fletcher, Ph.D.
The Ohio State University

13. The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction by Professor David Schmid, Ph.D., University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

14. Heroes and Legends: The Most Influential Characters of Literature by Professor Thomas A. Shippey, Ph.D., St. Louis University 

15. Trails of Evidence: How Forensic Science Works by Professor Elizabeth A. Murray, Ph.D. Mount St. Joseph University

16. Forensic History: Crimes, Frauds, and Scandals by Professor Elizabeth A. Murray, Ph.D. Mount St. Joseph University

17. The English Novel by Professor Timothy Spurgin, Ph.D., Lawrence University 

The list prices for the courses are rather high for struggling authors. But there are frequent sales with up to 70% off, especially once you create an account and get emails or mailed catalogs. Some courses are sold in sets with a price break. Share them with your writing pals or critique group if you have one. Perhaps you could all chip in together and watch the lectures together. Also check your local library. It is possible a course has been donated.

I cannot recommend these courses highly enough, especially for those going it alone and when you can't find local resources for writing classes. There are too few! Most conferences cater to beginning writers. The more you learn about your craft, the better your writing will be.

Next week, we look at online college courses.

Thriller and Suspense Skeleton

Last week, we explored Suspense and Thriller subgenres. This week, we look at the building blocks for the Thriller and Suspense skeleton.

The overall story problem is catastrophic danger that must be averted. 

The reader asks: How will they, and by proxy we, survive such an event?

Something comes along to threaten someone or everyone. The protagonist may have brought it upon himself or may be a completely innocent target.

In Thriller & Suspense stories, the protagonist is the person who eventually saves the day.

The antagonist is the person who poses significant threat to the life and limbs of one person or an entire community. It could be a terrorist who plans to blow up the White House. It could be a mad scientist bent on testing an Ion pulse bomb. It could be the leader of a counter espionage team or a rogue soldier.

The audience may or may not know the identity of the antagonist up front, but they are aware of the source of danger. Someone or something is out to get the protagonist and/or her loved ones. The villain may be a virus, a monster or a serial killer, either way it must be strongly developed and truly menacing to one or many to make us fear it. The reader often knows, or thinks they know, what the threat is at the beginning of the tale. The main character is usually in jeopardy. 

Thriller frameworks involve solving crises that lead to bigger, scarier crises. The hero prevents the villain from achieving his goal, but does so at his or her own peril. You really have to convince your audience of the life and death danger or emotional life and death danger. There are twists on the ending of these stories, but the audience prefers the hero to live.

External Conflict scenes escalate the central conflict. The protagonist finds out the terrorists attacked, has a shootout in a shopping mall, finds and detonates the bomb. These are the key turning points in the overall problem and involve the protagonist, often the love interest and the antagonist. The girl is tied down on the tracks and the hero saves her.

Antagonist Conflict scenes can follow the protagonist as he corners the terrorist leader, loses him, and finds him again. They wrestle over the detonator. The doctor confronts the ethically challenged clinic director and prevents him from injecting lethal bacteria into test subjects. Or, these scenes can follow the antagonist scheming with his cohorts depending on the POV. The antagonist should have equally valid reasons for his actions. It is best to avoid cardboard villains.

Interpersonal Conflict scenes show the friends and foes interfering and taking sides in the central conflict. The protagonist is caught by the henchmen. He is seduced by the pretty spy who really wants to search his house. A kooky scientist tells him crazy theories about aliens. A waitress slips him a note telling him where to find the key to the deposit box with the money in it. If you are following their points of view, you can explore their agendas and side stories.

Internal Conflict scenes explore the hero’s dark night of the soul. He wonders if he should tell his partner about his AIDS. The doctor struggles with pulling the plug on his comatose father. The heroine struggles with her deep wound or dark secret that complicates the external situation. Stay or go? Fight or flee?

Do I have what it takes to do what needs to be done? Is it ethical? Do I care? Do the ends justify the means?

Check out the newly released Thriller Build A Plot Workbook in print and e-book.

For more about how to craft plots using conflict check out, Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of Conflict available in print and e-book and check out the free tools and information about the series on my website.

Thriller and Suspense Subgenres

We have been examining different genre story structures. This week, we look at Thriller and Suspense subgenres.

1. Conspiracy Thrillers  unravel the mystery of an organization or powerful group of enemies. The hero is the only one who sees the pattern.

2. Crime Thrillers are a hybrid of Mystery and Thriller that offers suspenseful crimes that either failed or succeeded. They often focus on the criminal instead of the police side of things. They are more action-themed, high octane tales that don’t  follow the “sleuth solving crime” framework.

3. Disaster Thrillers can explore threats such as nuclear threats, genocide, or world war, or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, hurricanes, horde of locusts, or disappearing ozone layer.

4. Erotic Thrillers combine the Thriller structure with an explicit or twisted romance structure. Usually the protagonist unintentionally invites the crazy person into his/her life by having an affair, striking up a friendship, or hiring them to be their nanny.

5. Legal Thrillers usually have a lawyer-protagonist who confronts enemies both inside and outside the courtroom with life and death stakes.

6. Medical Thrillers feature doctors or other medical personnel facing a medical threat such as a rogue virus, organ harvesters, evil pharmaceutical companies, or a mad scientist bent on genetic experimentation.

7. Political Thrillers have protagonists who must save their government or thwart the corrupt government that hires them.

8. Psychological Thrillers offer subtle, psychological mind games of cat and mouse.

9. Religious Thrillers feature sleuths that are religious figures or plots surrounding religion, religious figures or religious objects. Often a big secret is revealed that twists accepted knowledge. There can be paranormal elements to these stories.

10. Supernatural Thrillers feature otherworldly elements are mixed with tension, suspense, and plot twists. They often explore topics such as ESP, ghosts, and super-human capabilities.

11. Techno Thrillers feature threats surrounding technology, particularly technology gone awry: computers that decide to take over, people lost in computer programs, hackers, or war games gone wrong.

Next week, we explore the building blocks for the Thriller and Suspense skeleton.

Check out the newly released Thriller Build A Plot Workbook in print and e-book.

For more about how to craft plots using conflict check out, Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of Conflict available in print and e-book and check out the free tools and information about the series on my website.

Description Exercises

Now that we have spent time honing our observation skills, let's take them for a test drive.

The following exercise is courtesy of best-selling writer Julie Hyzy, author of the highly enjoyable White House Chef Mysteries and the Manor House Mysteries available on Amazon.

At a workshop she gave at the annual Midwest Writer’s Workshop in Muncie, Indiana, we were asked to come up with five paragraphs composed of five sentences. Each paragraph should feature one sense: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

In the workshop, I was riffing on an idea I had for a story about a couple, Ana and Rudi, who have been drifting apart before they went on a bus tour and ended up solving a mystery.

1. Sight

We followed the ratty fleur de lis runner to room 113.

Rudi’s shoulders brushed the Hessian wallcovering.

The door fell open willingly.

Two twin-sized beds huddled together, close but not touching.

A small television was mounted to the wall, the only nod to modernity.

2. Sound

The lock squealed in protest but obeyed.

Birds ceased their chatter on the window sill, startled but not frightened.

Water drip-dropped from the tap in the bathroom.

Tires rumbled over the cobbled street below.

The sound of ocean waves shushed them all.

3. Smell

The must and mold tickled my nose.

An antique armoire held the perfume of centuries: old roses and peat fires.

Rudi stripped and stepped into the shower, filling the room with herbal steam.

I sat on sheets smelling of bleach and waited my turn.

My clothes reeked of anxiety and sweat.

4. Taste

I filled a glass with water and sipped, wincing at the metallic tang.

I popped a stale Tic-tac.

It didn’t completely erase the acrid taste that came from viewing a decomp.

I rooted through my sack for peppermint mouthwash and swished.

I tried the squished remnants of a Reese’s cup and the comfort of chocolate and peanut butter.

5. Touch

The mattress was thinner and harder than a gym mat.

The comforter was a wisp and the pillows a mere suggestion.

The sheets were rough against my legs.

I fumbled for the remote, sticky from strangers’ hands.

I pushed the rubbery On button and waited. No service.


Then you choose what you consider the best of the five and combine them:

"We followed the ratty fleur de lis runner to room 113. The lock squealed in protest but obeyed. An antique armoire held the perfume of centuries: old roses and peat fires. I filled a glass with water and sipped, wincing at the metallic tang. I fumbled for the remote, sticky from strangers’ hands."

You can see the value of not always choosing the first detail that pops into your head. You can expand, tweak, and tighten it for your manuscript.

This exercise really helped me because I write a bare bones draft (dialogue and choreography) first, then feather in details, like adding a color wash to a pencil sketch. I sometimes struggle with what details to put in and which to leave out.

I hope this exercise helps you too.

For more information on scene writing visit http://www.dianahurwitz.com for free downloads and pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of Conflict available in e-book and print.

Lessons in Detection Part 4

Scene Writing Tips

So far we have investigated a car, a house, and a coffee shop. 

For our final exercise, we are going to walk or drive around a neighborhood (yours or someone else’s) and take notes. Look outside your window if you are feeling particularly lazy.

1) Who comes and goes?

2) What type of cars pass? How frequently?

3) How upscale or derelict is the neighborhood?

4) Do you see police cars on patrol or parked?

5) What do the houses say about the people who live there?

6) Which yards are well groomed, which ignored?

7) What do the mailboxes, paint choices, yard ornaments, and foliage say about the occupants?

8) How does a particular house make you feel: irritated, enchanted, worried?

9) What can you tell from the outside about the occupants?

10) Are there toys on the lawn or seasonal decorations? Are they elaborate or laughable?

11) Are the newspapers piled up?

12) Can you tell whether someone is home or not?

13) Do they have uncovered windows that allow you to see inside? During the day? During the night?

14) Do they have fences or pets?

15) Do they have sliding glass doors?

16) Does anyone sit on their front porch, back deck, or in lawn chairs in their garage?

17) Is there a lot of traffic or a little?

18) Are children playing outside or are children’s toys outside?

19) Is the neighborhood welcoming or spooky?

20) How easy is it to attract attention when walking through the neighborhood?

21) Do people look out and see you? Do they wave hello? Do they stay locked inside?

22) Is it one of those places where everyone is gone during the day? Does the dynamic change after 6?

23) Is it one of those places where everyone leaves after 6p.m.?

24) Is it close to a park, forest, or other greenspace?

25) Are there signs of wildlife?




Hopefully, these exercises have helped you look at your surroundings in a new way and you can better assist your characters with their detection. 

Even if you don’t write mysteries, these exercises are a good way to hone your observational skills because every character lives, works, and plays somewhere!

For more information on scene writing visit http://www.dianahurwitz.com for free downloads and pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of Conflict available in e-book and print.

Lessons in Detection Part 3

We have snooped in a car and in a house. Today we will venture out into a public space.

Scene Writing Tips

Exercise 3: Go to a mall, restaurant, or coffee house. Watch the people around you. Take notes.

1) What they are wearing?

2) What do their mannerisms, posture, clothes, and accessories and accessories tell you about them?

3) Note down their identifying features: height, hair color, approximate age, etc. What do these details tell you about them?

4) Are they with someone? If so, who?

5) Are they having a conversation with someone or on their phone? Listen in. Take notes.

6) Pay attention to the rise and fall of their voices, accent, inflections, tone. Are they speaking casually, angry, or animated?

7) Look at occupants of the other tables. What does the body language tell you about their relationship? Are they drawn toward one another or positioned as far away as they can get?

Do they choose seats next to one another or across the table?

8) Do they appear happy to be there or upset?

9) Are they working, reading, writing, on a laptop or notebook?

10) What can you see from the angle of your position?

11) If in a cafe or restaurant, take note of the servers. What do they look like?

12) Do they appear relaxed, frazzled, friendly, or angry?

13) Where are the exits? How hard is it to get in and out?

14) Are there windows in the bathroom?

15) Is it busy or slow?

16) Is it tucked away in a remote corner or located in a busy strip mall or along a main street?

17) Would it be a good place for a secret rendezvous or the worst possible place to meet someone?

18) How hard is it to reach in terms of traffic and parking?

19) How easily could a person blend in?

20) Where are good places to hide to observe the room?


Next week, we will conclude our lessons in detection. 

For more information on scene writing visit http://www.dianahurwitz.com for free downloads and pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of Conflict available in e-book and print.

Lessons in Detection Part 2

Scene Writing Tips

Last week, we observed someone’s vehicle. This week, we’ll scope out a house.

Exercise 2: Visit a friend or relative’s house (with their permission) or go through your own house. (It’s hard to be objective about your own house!)

Pick a room or several rooms.

1) Note what you see, smell, and hear.

2) What do the contents tell you about the owner: habits, likes, dislikes, and demographics?

3) What do you find in the cabinets, the drawers, on the tables, on the floor?

4) What is tucked away in closets or boxes or hidden from common view?

5) What do the items in the room tell you about the way that room is used and who uses it?

6) If they wanted to hide something, where are the best places to do so?

7) What are they trying to disguise or hide?

8) What are they proud of?

9) What do the items prominently displayed tell you about them?

10) How easy is it to get in and out? What are the points of egress: doors, windows, connecting rooms?

11) Do they have security systems or deadlocks? Do they lock their doors?

12) How is the room decorated? What does the decor say about the current owner or prior owners?

13) What items would a thief walk away with?

14) How hard would it be for someone to go in and out without being heard or seen?

15) Pay attention to line of sight. Stand in the middle of the room. How much of the house can you see?

Whether you examine your own room or someone else’s, learn to think like detective when you walk around. Too often we ignore what is right in front of our noses.

Next week, we’ll continue to hone our detecting skills.

For more information on scene writing visit http://www.dianahurwitz.com for free downloads and pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of Conflict available in e-book and print.

Lessons in Detection Part 1

Scene Writing Tips

Tweet this: Whatever genre you write, improving your powers of observation enables you to place yourself in the scene and write it from your character’s point of view.

Over the next few weeks, we will explore ways to hone your powers of observation.

Exercise 1: Sweet talk or bribe a friend or relative into letting you go through their car. Don't tear anything apart! (You can go through your own car, but it's harder to be objective.) Take notes. Take pictures if you like.

1) What do you see and smell?

2) What do you find under the seats, in the cushions, in the glove compartment, the little nooks and crannies?

3) What do the contents and state of the car tell you about the person who owns it?

4) What does the condition of the exterior tell you about the car's history?

5) What do the seat settings tell you about the driver?

6) What kind of passengers ride in it?

7) What does it tell you about the owner’s demographic or lifestyle?

8) What kind of license plate does it have?

9) Does it have city stickers or parking passes?

10) Does it have bumper stickers? What do they say about the owner? A lack of personal statements make a difference too!

Stretch your observation muscles wherever you go. You’ll be amazed at what you begin to notice.

Your stories and characters will be the richer for it.

Tune in next week for another lesson in detection. For more information on scene writing visit http://www.dianahurwitz.com for free downloads and pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of Conflict available in e-book and print.