Conflict -- An Editor's Dream

One of the things that I see a lot of is conflict without substance. It's become my new little catch-phrase, actually. And I think the concept of conflict is maybe a little vague. Or more precisely "Strong conflict"

Strong conflict is something that takes more than a conversation to work out. It's not just having two divergent character types banging heads and being beligerent or alpha. A strong conflict involves the following set up:

External conflict influences the hero and heroine internally, by targetting their internal beliefs (that are founded on their backstory experiences) and impacts their goals to the point that it makes them resist leaping into a solution.

A person cannot resolve their internal beliefs by having one conversation and everything's good. It takes working through those beliefs, and the events the hero/heroine encounter must contribute to that resolution. The events are either related to the external conflict, or related to the emotional relationship.

Let's look at a somewhat stereotypical example:

Hero is a wealthy businessman whose wife died and left him with a young child. Heroine is the woman he loved as a teen, who was from a poor family and "the wrong side of the tracks". They were involved as teens, but he left her suddenly. Ten years later, after his wife's death, they are reunited through professional endeavors.

Non-existant conflict:
They meet, there's a conversation along the lines of:

Hero: Susie, my parents forced me to. I never wanted to leave, and while I cared for my wife, I was in a loveless marriage. Please be mine again.
Heroine: Oh George, I've loved you too! Yes, that's all I've ever wanted.


Weak Conflict:
They meet, there's a bit of animosity between them. A bit of snide remarks on her part, his banging his head mentally, accusing himself of being a fool, since it's a Champagne title, they hit the sheets, sparks fly, and no one discusses what happened in the past. Eventually after a few chapters of a happy resolution being present in the writing (but not through character's actions or writings) they consent to forgive, forget, and move forward. Afterall, they've been working on this joint professional venture famously, they share core beliefs, and what happened in the past was out of youthful ignorance and the domination of powerful parents.

In this example, the author has made an attempt at keeping them apart. But the grounding isn't present. Both characters love each other from first meeting, always have, and their conflict is on the surface level. Actions portray it, but it isn't internally grounded. One conversation can resolve it between them. And while the conversation may not be as weak as the example in no conflict, it's still a situation that can be resolved by a conversation.


Strong Conflict:
They meet, there's a whole lot of animosity between them because the reason he is on the job conflicts with the reason she is on the job. Both have strong beliefs in their position and their work. They are at polar opposites, so it appears, within their moral compass. Adding into this the heroine feels intense betrayal, that she wasn't good enough for him because of financial positioning or her lineage. The hero, is anguished over what he did, but his reasons for leaving her had nothing to do with his parental domination, (although on the surface that's how it appeared), were in attempts to forge a path for them to be together.

When he came back to get her, she was gone no forwarding address and her parents wouldn't speak to him. Lo and behold, HER parents are the reason they were forced apart.

Yes, they can discuss this. Yes, he can swear to the truth of it. But although that conversation resolves why their teenage love came to an end, it does not address the larger issue of now that they are adults they are at odds with their core beliefs in relation to this professional set up. But before they can resolve it conversationally, they have to have their misconceptions proved wrong. Not just stated as wrong proved wrong.

The external plot -- the professional endeavor -- triggers them to act in ways that force them to grow and evaluate their individual standings. One of them must grow and change internally after doing something (the wrong something) that puts a divide between them, that seems insurmountable.

So if you have an environmental engineer opposing an oil mogul, the oil mogul must go ahead with the plan that damages the environment, despite feelings for the environmental engineers stance on the situation. External factors trigger something that points the oil mogul to the environmental engineer's motivation, and the oil mogul must scramble to right the situation. If the oil mogul doesn't right the situation, the love is forever lost.

These actions are what leave the reader on the edge of their seat, turning pages, wondering "How in the world is this mess ever going to get resolved?"

Conflict is a complicated entity. But if an author keeps in mind STRONG conflict, grounded in personal beliefs that are triggered by internal circumstances, and far deeper than one conversation can resolve, the odds of mastering conflict is significantly increased.

Good luck and keep on writing!

Editor's Creed

As an editor, it is never our intention to shoot down your dreams. It is our intention to offer the tools you need and guide you to your goal--Publication.

It is not our intention to be cold and critical but to teach and inform, to show you how to better your stories, perfect your words. Make your projects shine.

I believe I can speak for any of The Wild Rose Press editors and say that our least favorite thing in the world is to write a rejection to an aspiring writer. However, it does offer us the chance to aid you in your pursuit to contract your work with us or another publisher if you choose to heed the explanation so carefully woven into your repectfully written letter detailing "why" your story or book was rejected.

Rejection is never comfortable, but taken constructively only helps to make you a much stronger, more vivid writer. Pay attention to every detail, every explanation your editor gives you. She is trying to mold you into a publishable author. One who stands out. One who doesn't land in the proverbial slush pile after the first paragraph.

I've listed some hints we drop so often I know you are more than sick of hearing them, but we continuously see these problems with submissions:

• First and formost, please follow guideline requests. That is why we put them up. Time after time we receive submissions that are not formatted properly. We are not interested in your fancy fonts and a pretty manuscript. All that does is make it more difficult when it comes time to format for galley. Always use .rtf formatting. Nothing else--ever!



• More on guidelines. Pay attention to individual line content needs. For instance: you are submitting to Black Rose. Did you read the guidelines carefully? If so, why am I receiving a story about Faeries and time travel when my line handles vampire, wereshifters, demons, and all the darker less whimsical creatures of the paranormal genre? If your stories have witches/warlocks/gargoyles, whatever--be sure the story elements are dark and include one of the above mentioned entities, otherwise it is more likely a Faery fit. Study the needs of each line thoroughly BEFORE you submit. If in doubt at any time, we are always happy to guide you.



• Proofread, proofread, proofread... We can't stress this enough. When a manuscript comes in that is filled with typos, spelling errors, wrong words and clearly not proof read, YOU WILL BE REJECTED. This is just plain lazy. NEVER allow your work to go out the door without a thorough going over. Always have two or more people proof you work. As editors, we have to have a cold read(copyedit) done(someone to go over a manuscript to be sure WE didn't miss something!) So rest assured YOU need to do this as well. Don't skip important steps. Critique partners are excellent for this. They will also be able to pick up plot problems, redundancy, inconsistencies, etc. All of which WILL get you a rejection or a revision request at the very least. TWRP does offer a critique group. I've encoded the link for you to follow, why not check it out?



• A word about copyrights, brand names and trademarks. Be aware when mentioning products, music, people(actors, authors, singers etc.) there are issues that may arise including copyright and trademark infringements. It is best NOT to go there at all. As editors, we flag these and WILL insist that you change such items.

The above are a few things that are constant headaches for us as editors. I want to mention another thing I have recently come across in closing. Please beware of the thin line between a story idea and plagerism!

I recently had a submission that was titled similar to a blockbuster series and even took place in the same locale! This is a definite no, no. You can not write a spinoff of another author's works nor use their story ideas in any fashion that is close to the original.

Something else you must be diligent about is not referencing characters from other works in your stories. Seems innocent enough especially in a postive light but not a good idea. The best way to handle any potential problems of this sort is to NOT do it at all. I can't stress this enough.

I would now like to share with you, the author, our MISSION STATEMENT as editors:

To endeavor to make your writing the very best it can be, whether we enter into contract or not. Know that we are only trying to help you. Never to discourage only encourage and teach. Polish your story and make your writing shine!

Thank you.

Callie Lynn Wolfe, SE Black Rose

What Cactus Editors Want

What I look for in a Cactus Rose submission is originality, characters that remain in my head when I’m doing other things, and writing that shows me the characters and what they are going through. Please make sure you have edited your work taking out passive language, ly words, and then/that. No head hopping. Nothing irritates me more. I like showing over telling in a story. I want deep POV and getting into the characters so I can root for them, be disappointed right along with them, and love the other character as much as they do. Give me a satisfying read and you’ll be a Cactus Rose author.

Patricia Tanner, Senior Editor Cactus Rose

What I would love to see a greater variety of settings that are west of the Mississippi. While I dearly love cowboys and ranches there are so many wonderful settings in addition to these. I'd like to see some doctors, lawyers, preachers, farmers, teachers, loggers, gamblers, judges--etc--as leading men.

Eve Mallary, Editor Cactus Rose

I'm looking for historically accurate stories that boast "to die for" heroes who love their heroines with fierce passion and intensity. I enjoy all heat levels from sweet to hot, as long I feel the underlying emotion. The attraction must be immediate and apparent, and romantic and sexual tension should drip from every page. I love cowboys, but I'd also like to see some pioneering stories. Think Little House on the Prairie, only romance. Native American stories interest me, as well. We see a lot of mail order bride stories. How about a schoolmarm? A soiled dove? A woman homesteading on her own? Whatever the plot, though, if I'm swept away by your characters' passion for each other, I'll be hooked. And please don't headhop; it's my personal pet peeve ;)

Helen Andrew, Editor Cactus Rose