Momentary Lapses

This blog was created during a momentary lapse, a period when I'm stuck in my writing and trying to jog something loose in my brain or push myself so close to deadline that I can kill, without remorse, the beloved opening or headline or quote that is keeping me from moving forward. Most of my posts here will have to do with writing, including occasional Favorite Writing Quotes (FWQs). Please share yours, and your comments, too.

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Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Fiction Needs Friction

Back in November I attended the New England Crime Bake and came home with all sorts of stimulating and useful stuff swarming in my head and the intention of posting the best of it here. It's going to take a while. (You don't need to know about the water leak in my wall, right?) But here's the one word that sticks out most: Conflict.

I realized my characters are way too reasonable. They play off each other, enhance each other, exchange witty repartee, but there isn't enough tension in their relationships. They'd make nice folks to live and work with in real life, but fiction needs friction. It needs unreasonable people, reasonable people behaving badly, people with tempers and egos and contrary streaks.

Fiction Needs Friction.

1 Comments:

Blogger Maya said...

You should read, "Immediate fiction" by Jerry Cleaver. He definitely agrees with you that Fiction needs friction. He helps figure out how to do it too... Hope it helps you as it has helped me!

8:32 PM  

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