One of the perennial bits of writing advice is that novels need conflict. I am even guilty of dispensing this advice myself.
But, you might be thinking, I don’t want to write a novel where everyone is fighting all the time like it’s a Bravo reality show. I’m not packing my novel with sword fights. My novel’s a little quiet and introspective even!
That’s okay. Not every novel needs a ton of conflict. You do, however, need obstacles. And conflict is really just a type of obstacle.
So when someone tells you you need more conflict: you really just need obstacles.
Maybe the obstacle can be conflict, maybe not. Here’s what I mean.
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog 