Writing Exercise: Adding Conflict to a Scene

Sometimes a scene needs a splash of hot sauce— just one ingredient to make it more thrilling or surprising, or even a little uncomfortable.

If a scene feels bland, you can add conflict to capture your readers’ attention. Conflict takes many forms, but it can be defined as anything that gets in the way of a character’s happiness or prevents them from achieving their goals. Here are four flavors you can try out.

Flavor One: Bold

The character makes a brave move, putting themselves in danger.

It’s easy for the main character to turn into a passive observer in a scene where there’s conflict between two other characters. They are passengers of the story rather than drivers. But by deciding to act, they are creating a question in the reader’s mind — what will the consequences be?

Let’s look at the knife-throwing scene from Veronica Roth’s dystopian novel Divergent. The protagonist, Tris, is undergoing rigorous physical training to become a member of Dauntless, a group that values bravery and strength.