By Janice Hardy

You can have conflict without tension, and tension without conflict. But you probably don’t want to.

I made pretty much all the writing mistakes when I first started writing, and one of them was mixing up conflict and tension.… Read the post

By Janice Hardy

You might be missing opportunities to make your conflicts stronger. 

Conflict is one of those terms frequently used as a catch-all for compelling storytelling, when it’s really just one aspect of what makes a strong story. We use it even though we really mean the scene needs a clearer goal, or more tension, or a better character arc, but saying “this scene needs more conflict” sums it up in a convenient—if confusing—way.… Read the post