Hi there and hello, everyone!
We hope you’ve been enjoying the Blackwell Belles authors GMC mini workshop here on the Write for Harlequin Blog. This new series, releasing a book a month through the end of the year, was a true labor of love. We’re running out of Blackwell branches on the family tree! One thing we always do our best to focus on is creating realistic, believable stories for readers to enjoy. This means solidly addressing goal, motivation, and conflict. We’ve addressed the first two in previous posts, but today… oh today we get to the really good stuff. The stuff that keeps a romance on the emotional roller coaster of the “will they won’t they.” Even though we know that of course they will! HEAs are one guarantee in the romance novel world, but it’s the conflict that is the best tool every writer has that keeps the reader guessing how they’re going to get there. So, let’s get into our takes on this all important storytelling element.
Melinda Curtis (A Cowgirl Never Forgets, August 2024):
Conflict is important to two aspects of your story – Internal and External. In my earlier post about Story Goals, I mentioned you need to create obstacles. External Conflict is the tension and difficulty created by the Obstacles for a character’s Story Goal. You should always be asking yourself: What’s the worst thing that can happen?
Regarding Internal Conflict… This is what typically frustrates authors. Something in a character’s Relevant Backstory created a wound inside them or a belief about something. These Beliefs are the foundation of the Motivation to the way they behave in a certain situation. For example: If I trust my mother and rejoin the Blackwell Belles, I’ll be hurt again, OR All aliens from Mars are killers. Then you, dear author, need to put that character into a situation where their Belief is challenged. Can my heroine Maggie trust she won’t be hurt if she rejoins the Belles or lets her mother back into her life? I’m sure you can imagine the back and forth (Internal Conflict) Maggie might feel, especially when I cruelly put Maggie and her mother on a 3-day journey in a motorhome together.
Carol Ross (A Cowgirl Finds Home, September 2024):
I love that we saved the best, or at least it’s my favorite, for last. Conflict is the bomb! (Literally, it could be.) Conflict are obstacles in the path of the hero/heroine’s journeys. These can be physical or mental, seen or unseen, spoken or unspoken. It’s where, as a writer, all the fun comes out on the page. Whether it’s slaying dragons or disagreeing about core beliefs, conflict makes the reader turn the page wondering when/if your couple will ever get together.
A Cowgirl Finds Home is an enemies-to-lovers story, which has the benefit of built-in conflict. Violet and Garrett’s relationship has been fraught with conflict from the first moment they met – years before the story begins. These two opposites do not initially attract. He thinks she’s an uptight workaholic. She thinks he’s a lazy slacker who relies on his charm – and his family connections – to get what he wants. Soon, we learn that there are reasons, or motivation, as we addressed in the last post, for why Violet and Garrett behave the way they do. Their respective motivation puts them at odds, too, which adds more conflict.
Anna J Stewart (A Cowgirl On His Doorstep, October 2024):
Conflict is my favorite seven-letter word. No, seriously, I learned very early on (thanks to my amazing critique partners–you know who you are), that conflict is the driving force for the story. Conflict is what keeps your characters apart even when all they want is to be together. Conflict isn’t violence, or a disagreement and conflict can NOT be resolved with a conversation. It is a clash of belief systems. We aren’t talking religious or political beliefs–those aren’t part of the equation. Think of tropes and how most, if not all, are automatically filled with conflict: secret baby (hello! Honesty and secrets), second chance romance (there’s a lot to get past to make a new start), or in the case of A COWGIRL ON HIS DOORSTEP, the loner meets someone with solid roots.
My heroine Ivy Blackwell has spent the past 10 years focused on building up her business, making a name for herself in the DIY influencer world. She doesn’t want any responsibilities other than the ones she chooses for herself. She’s got her dog. That’s all she needs. Or is it? The instant she meets Shane Holloway and his family (2 nephews, 1 niece, and one grumpy father), she feels herself pulled in and questioning whether she actually belongs with them. But if she stays, she has to give up her dreams. Or does she? That’s conflict. A choice that no matter which one she makes, will change her life. Now let’s admit it, it’s a romance, so we know there will be a resolution that leads to a HEA, but that inner conflict of which way to turn? That’s the kind of conflict that keeps readers turning the page.
Amy Vastine (A Cowgirl’s Thanksgiving Kiss, November 2024):
Finally, here we are at conflict! My very first editor reminded me time and time again that there has to be a reason the couple can’t be together – there needs to be conflict for the story to build to a satisfying ending. If there’s no reason for them to be apart, they might as well ride off into the sunset page one. BORING! Conflict is what moves the story along and keeps everyone guessing as to how they are going to finally be together.
In A Cowgirl’s Thanksgiving Kiss, there is plenty of conflict. J.R. and Hunter’s goals are a source of conflict. He wants her to like him, and she is trying to stop him from getting the promotion she thinks she deserves. J.R. sees getting soft on him as a way for him to distract her from doing what she needs to do to get that promotion. What happens if he gets the promotion? Will she be able to work for him and date him? What if she becomes his boss? Will they be able to work under those circumstances? Let’s not forget that like all the other sisters in this series, their mom is trying to convince J.R. to perform with the Belles again. In no way does J.R. want to do that. If she put on pink spandex and walked out in front of a crowd with a docile bull, she would be the laughingstock of the bull breeding community. Conflict, conflict, conflict. Being a Belle conflicts with everything J.R. thinks that she wants for herself.
Hunter’s conflict is similar. He’s a competitor. He can’t give up and not try for the promotion, but if he gets it, will J.R. be able to like him? If he doesn’t try, she’d be mad that he thought he needed to “let” her win. If he tries and loses, is he the imposter he fears he is? It feels a little bit like a no-win situation. When it comes to getting back on the bull, the biggest conflict is that his family is very against him ever taking that risk again. It’s dangerous for sure, but will that stop him if the opportunity presents itself? You’ll have to read to find out!
Cari Lynn Webb (A Cowgirl’s Christmas Reunion, December 2024):
Well, we have reached the third part of our GMC trio. Conflict is the driver of the story. It’s the obstacles – internal (one of my favorites) and external – that the character encounters. And it does not count as conflict if it can be resolved with a simple conversation. And yes, I admit I have written those first 25K words and realized if my characters sat down at the dinner table and talked like adults, the story would be over. In my own life, I generally avoid conflict as I assume most people do. So, when it comes to my stories, I ask what is the worst thing that can happen to this character and who is the worst person for this character. Love is often a complication for my characters, and falling in love is typically an obstacle as my characters go after their goals. When it comes to those pesky conversation resolvers, well, I go back and take a hard look at the worst thing that could happen – and often, what I discover is I didn’t make it bad enough for my characters.
Willow Blackwell has conflict in every part of her life from her career to her family to her personal life. All these areas collide in A Cowgirl’s Christmas Reunion. When Willow makes the decision to put her sisters first, it causes serious problems at her regular job. That drives Willow to push harder toward her goal, which in turn causes tension between her and Nolan, who is falling in love with her. But Willow has a goal – a dream she is determined to make come true – and it’s in that journey facing the conflict, the obstacles and pushing through that Willow learns what really matters and what she really needed all along.
A few last words about conflict: It’s the way back into your story when you find yourself blocked or at a crossroads of “where do I go from here?” Conflict should be the driving force of your story. It’s what keeps your main love interests apart even as they’re pulled toward one another. A scene doesn’t feel right? Check for conflict. It should be in every scene because it literally holds the entire story together. Keep that in mind the next time you put your fingers on the keyboard. Trust us. You’ll always find your way back.
Alas, this brings us to the end of our three-part series on GMC, Blackwell style. We hope you’ve found our insights and thoughts helpful. Wishing you all tremendous luck on your writing journeys. And of course may you get all the words, every day!!
Cheers!
Melinda, Carol, Anna J, Amy, and Cari.
Meet the Authors:
Melinda Curtis grew up on an isolated sheep ranch, where mountain lions had been seen and yet she roamed unaccompanied. Being a rather optimistic, clueless of danger, sort she took to playing “what if” games that led her to become an author. She spends days trying to figure out new ways to say “He made her heart pound.” That might sound boring, but the challenge keeps her mentally ahead of her 3 kids and college sweetheart husband. A Cowgirl Never Forgets is out now!
Carol Ross lives with her husband and two dogs (a perfect border collie and a perfectly loveable miscreant of a dachshund) in a small town in Washington near both the ocean and the mountains. She loves the Northwest because, when the temperamental weather cooperates, she enjoys hiking, running, skiing, and spending time outdoors. And when it doesn’t…she dons a raincoat, or gets lost in a book. She enjoys reading in many genres but writes about what she loves the most-romance. A Cowgirl Finds Home is out now!
USA Today and national bestselling author Anna J. Stewart can’t remember a time she didn’t have a book in her hands or a story in her head. Early obsessions with Star Wars, Star Trek, and Wonder Woman set her on the path to creating sweet to sexy pulse-pounding romances for her independent heroines. Anna lives in Northern California where she deals with a serious Supernatural addiction and two monstrous cats named Rosie and Sherlock. A Cowgirl on his Doorstep is out now!
Amy Vastine has been plotting stories in her head for as long as she can remember. An eternal optimist, she studied social work, hoping to teach others how to find their silver lining. Now, she enjoys creating happily-ever-afters for all to read. Amy is an empty-nester living outside of Chicago with her high school sweetheart-turned-husband and their two sweet but mischievous pups. A Cowgirl’s Thanksgiving Kiss is out October 22nd!
Cari Lynn Webb lives in Florida with her husband. She’s been blessed to see the power of true love in her grandparent’s 70-year marriage and her parent’s marriage of over 50 years. She knows love isn’t always sweet and perfect, it can be challenging, complicated and risky. But she believes happily-ever-afters are worth fighting for. She loves to connect with readers. A Cowgirl’s Christmas Reunion is out November 26th!
