In any good story, you need some kind of conflict.

If three little pigs built beautiful houses of different materials and lived in them happily ever after, there wouldn’t be much of a story to tell, would there? But suppose a big, bad wolf enters the scene, to huff and to puff and to blow houses down? Help! NOW we have a story.

Wolf

In just the same way, we need some kind of conflict in our stories, that will be resolved in the end.

Some of you will be thinking – yes, of course! But the truth is, new writers can be tempted to write a series of interesting adventures… where nothing every really happens. Believe me, I’ve read stories like this. If you suspect this may be you, take a long, hard look at your plot. Would it benefit from some kind of conflict?

As Christians, we can want to make everything nice for our young readers, and of course we need an ending where all is beautifully resolved. Still, conflict is what makes a story, and will be so until the Lord returns. (Which will be our final, beautiful resolution!)

Let me know what you think in the comments below – it’s always lovely to hear from you. 🙂

Until next week, happy writing,

Janet Wilson from Write for a Reason and Dernier Publishing

Janet

P.S. If you haven’t already, join me on instagram! @janetfromwriteforareason. Love to see you there. 🙂

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Pigs, Wolves, and a Story Worth Telling
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2 thoughts on “Pigs, Wolves, and a Story Worth Telling

  • 4th October 2019 at 9:55 am
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    As a beginner writer coming across your website was a real godsend for me Janet.
    Thankyou so much for so many useful ideas and hints. I have been putting them into practice and building on what I learned from the weekend writer’s conference I attended recently.
    It’s like God is really confirming to me that he wants me to write, especially for children.

  • 14th October 2019 at 2:37 pm
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    Hi Lesley, lovely to hear from you, and so glad you are finding Write for a Reason useful! If you have any particular writing queries, do get in touch! 🙂 – Janet

     

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