I’ve never understood writers who say their editors tell them they need to put conflict in their books because it’s missing. I have the opposite problem. I tend to put a LOT of conflict in my books. Sometimes too much, too fast.
Take the story I’m rereading to see if the idea still sparks with me enough for me to flesh it out into a full novel. By the end of Chapter 1, I’d already put the hero in a life threatening situation that leaves him physically weaker than at the beginning of the book, and so at a disadvantage when fighting the bad guys.
Great conflict? Check.
BUT, from a writing standpoint, how do I escalate the conflict later in the book without resorting to annihilation?
Yeah, that’s me. Worst-case-scenario, let’s-blow-up-the-world thriller writer.
Sigh.
For once, I’d like a measured build of conflict so I don’t have to tear out so much at the beginning of the book to avoid being forced into a Hamlet-like ending.
