Get Real

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine


"The truth is out there," we are told, but lately it seems to get lost in the shuffle. The more technologically advanced we become, the more we find ourselves bombarded with beguiling betrayal. From clickbait to fake news, there is artifice around every corner trying to grab our attention.

These practitioners of prevarication may think they're pulling the wool over our eyes, but the good news is, we writers are too smart for them. As creative thinkers ourselves, we can spot a snow job from down the street.

Much like fast food, "reality TV" has a bad reputation thanks to its own generally unhealthy menu. But the discerning viewer can tell the difference between a genuine documentary like My 600-lb Life and the sitcomish silliness of Chrisley Knows Best. What they all have in common, however, is conflict.

I bring all this up to remind us of two things:

     1) People are entertained by conflict.
     2) A savvy audience can smell fakery.

Whether the drama is bonafide or bogus, the lure of any story lies in the conflict it portrays. But the more believable the conflict, the more we allow ourselves to invest in it.

Rather coincidentally, I just read a review of a new action movie in which the critic complains that the villain has no motivation nor backstory. Such a film lacks authenticity because even a bad guy has what he thinks is a good reason to give the hero a hard time.

By contrast, it's real human drama with a touch of suspense each time TV's Nev and Max catch a Catfish and get her face-to-face with the victim of her fake identity. It becomes even more relatable when we learn the reason for the ruse, sometimes even evoking a measure of sympathy for the catfish.

Similarly, a work of fiction carries the ring of truth if there is cause behind the conflict. Yes, the bad guy wants to rob a bank. But why? Because he wants money. But WHY? Because his son needs a kidney transplant. Now we have motivation, and when the truth is revealed we empathize with the troublemaker.

The bottom line is, keep it real and you'll keep your reader committed. Portraying genuine human drama in both the story and in the conflict you create for your characters is how you can avoid writing fake fiction.

Constant Conflict

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine


One of the Oscar Best Picture contenders earlier this year was Hacksaw Ridge, directed by Mel Gibson and based on the 1967 book The Unlikeliest Hero: The Story of Desmond T. Doss.  HBO just had another of their free weekends, so I watched the film again, and doing so reminded me of something:

I love boot camp.

Mind you, I'm a peace-loving guy with pacifist leanings, but I've always been riveted by scenes involving new recruits meeting their drill sergeant and being taken through the rigors of basic training.  

Hollywood loves war movies. Conflict is perhaps never portrayed bigger and bolder than in a battle scene.  But the face-to-face tension of an underdog trying to keep it together under dire conditions is human drama we can all relate to.

A workplace with a tyrant boss, a classroom with an unreasonable teacher, in-laws who can't be pleased, even domestic quarrels, are ready sources of inherent tension that can escalate our protagonist's real problems. Such challenges come in infinite varieties, but if they are resolved as part of a happy ending, these subplots are typically addressed in one of two ways:

1. The troublemaker gets their comeuppance. The conniving co-worker is exposed, the miserly uncle gets arrested for embezzlement, the contentious neighbor breaks a leg falling off a ladder, and the hero is right there to enjoy it.

2. The troublemaker turns out to be ally. The overzealous drill sergeant eventually reveals his human side. When the hero rises to the challenge and their strained relationship takes on a hint of mutual respect, it becomes clear that everything the sergeant put him through was for his own good. That moment feels like a satisfying character arc in its own right.

As we talked about in my recent Suite T post ("Who Is Your Contagonist?"), anyone or anything that stands in the way of our hero's success makes for good conflict along the way. Those everyday scenarios that we inflict on our hero can cause hardship right along with the actual antagonist.

Page-turning prose relies on the story's ability to keep the problems coming.  Providing that steady supply of friction in your fiction can ensure that your reader doesn't go AWOL.

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Opposites Attract

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine


Conflict makes any story a story, and the most obvious conflict is the one between the protagonist and his obstacle. But an easy and easily overlooked source of conflict is contrast, which is often found in the hero's own best friend.

If we think of the great duos in the history of entertainment, contrast is easy to spot.  Laurel & Hardy, Fred & Barney, Ralph Kramden & Ed Norton feature large heroes who will never be confused with their counterpart.  But the contrast doesn't end in the big and tall shop.  The hero is often loud and blustering compared to their more mild-mannered companion. The mismatch makes for subtle but effective conflict.

A partnership of young and old can provide rich contrast.  In the pairing of Back to the Future's Marty McFly and Doc Brown, we get not just an age difference but the combination of the high-schooler who needs help and the absent-minded professor who knows just enough to get them both in trouble.  In the end, the youngster's cleverness and the elder's experience combine to save the day.

You don't have to look far to find conflict in a romance, where the mere pairing of male and female creates an unspoken battle of the sexes.  Has there ever been a Disney romance where the heroes didn't start off on a bad foot?

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, Don't laugh.

Even the music world has discovered that the audience has an ear for contrast.  What sick genius envisioned that Bing Crosby and David Bowie could actually record a decent Christmas duet?  And who would have guessed that Tony Bennett would have deigned to record an entire album with Lady Gaga? 

If you're Sherlock Holmes,  it's helpful to have a Dr Watson to throw enigmatic observations to. The befuddled companion who comes along for the ride readily allows for exposition that comes naturally as the two converse from their own perspectives. 

In a nutshell, conflict isn't just found in the great quest or in a lover's spat.  A partnership with two unlikely companions offers an undercurrent of contrast that creates a little friendly tension.