Non-Fiction,  Two Tips

Pick up cool tips from Cheryl StJohn author of Writing With Emotion Tension and Conflict @_cherylstjohn_ #RLFblog #NonFiction #WritingTips #WritingCommunity

Pick up cool tips from Cheryl StJohn author of Writing With Emotion Tension and Conflict @_cherylstjohn_ #RLFblog #NonFiction #WritingTips #WritingCommunityFor years Cheryl StJohn gave workshops and wrote articles on the importance of inherent conflict in a novel. One day she decided to put all she’d learned and taught into book form and proposed it to her dream publisher.

Cheryl, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! Thanks for sharing two tips with us today, but first, please tell us about Writing With Emotion, Tension & Conflict.

Writing With Emotion, Tension & Conflict by Cheryl StJohn

Genre non-fiction, writing

Book heat level (based on movie ratings): G

Today’s highly competitive fiction market requires writers to imbue their novels with that special something – an element that captures readers’ hearts and minds. In Writing With Emotion, Tension & Conflict, writers will learn vital techniques for writing emotion into their characters, plots and dialogue in order to instill that special something into every page.

“A must-have compilation of rock-sound advice from a writer who knows what she’s talking about. A book you’ll want to inhale whole and then return to time and time again to improve your craft and go deeper in order to write YOUR story. Not only does this book embrace some of the most complex elements of story construction in a clear, easy to digest format, it acts as inspiration for the writer. Sentence upon sentence of outstanding advice!”

– Mary Buckham, author of the Amazon best-selling Writing Active Settings series for writers.

Tips for Writing Conflict

Create characters with built-in conflict.

Build it in as you personify them and give them diversity. Use their past, their needs and their fears. Use their strengths and their weaknesses against them.

Their backstory, combined with characterization, will be motivation for everything they do. It will shape their goals and define the way they react to situations. Weak superficial motivations lead to weak superficial conflict, resulting in weak superficial characters.

Knowing who they are and what experiences they’ve had makes your character’s goals and reactions motivated and believable. It is imperative to keep your character’s history in mind as you unfold the story. You can do this by method writing. Become the character and feel what he would feel, react the way he would if you had experienced the same things.

Conflict must be personalized to the character. If you don’t know your story people and motivate them, you won’t have a strong conflict. A vague or general motivating force produces a vague and general plot. Being specific will increase the emotional intensity of your story.

TIPS:

When plotting or editing, ask yourself these questions to make sure you’ve built a solid story:

What is at stake and is it important to the character?

How could this situation get worse?

Could this conflict be easily resolved if the characters talked it over?

Did you come up with unpredictable circumstances?

Does your character react according to his background/motivation?

What could happen to make the character change?

Did the conflict create tension for one or more characters?

Does the conflict force the character into action?

Did you use scenes and viewpoint changes for tension and pacing?

Are your characters a cast of diversified personalities who react to each other?

What does the conflict make your character learn about himself?

Where to buy Writing With Emotion, Tension & Conflict

Publisher https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/633914/writing-with-emotion-tension-and-conflict-by-cheryl-stjohn/
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1599637588
Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/writing-with-emotion-tension-and-conflict-cheryl-st-john/1114185427?ean=9781599637587
Walmart https://www.walmart.com/ip/Writing-with-Emotion-Tension-and-Conflict-Techniques-for-Crafting-an-Expressive-and-Compelling-Novel-Paperback-9781599637587/23076241
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/writing-with-emotion-tension-and-conflict-1
Target https://www.target.com/p/writing-with-emotion-tension-and-conflict-by-cheryl-st-john-paperback/-/A-85136970

Cheryl St John on Social Media

Cheryl is the author of more than fifty historical and contemporary romances. Her stories have earned numerous awards and are published in over a dozen languages. In describing her stories of second chances and redemption, readers and reviewers use words like, “emotional punch, hometown feel, core values, believable characters and real-life situations.” Her bestselling non-fiction books, Writing With Emotion, Tension & Conflict and Write Smart, Write Happy by Writers Digest Books are available in print and digital.
Website http://www.cherylstjohn.net/
Twitter https://twitter.com/_CherylStJohn_
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CherylStJ
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/cheryl_stjohn/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cherylstjohn/
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/24516.Cheryl_St_John
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cheryl-st-john
Amazon Author Page https://tinyurl.com/y6js92y8
Get to know Cheryl St John better by signing up for her email newsletter.
http://eepurl.com/bqCji9
Aspen Gold Series Newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/n9n7p3

 

The Romance Lives Forever blog features authors and new books from all genres.