Meandering on Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRW #amwriting

Today's meander is about Conflict. Also about Beautiful Writing.

First is conflict. Without Conflict between characters or between the characters and the environment or the society, there really is no story. I know when writing romance, the author wants to have a story with a happy ending and somehow they have to deal with problems on the way. If the character must face no conflict, of what use is the story. The characters must come up against obstacles or the story becomes boring. This is not to say this kind of story isn't published. I've read some and when reading, I come across some where after the initial problem, everything goes smoothly for the character. I become bored and I also find places where a bit of conflict would make what is a small story into one that really pits the hero or heroine against some reason they have to fight for their happiness at the end. Now this sort of scenario could occur in other genres and can in literary stories, but I want to know why and how the focus character fights to gain the happy ending.

Second is Beautiful Writing. There are some writers who amaze me with their wonderful prose. The writing pulls me along from word to word. Sometimes during the writing my mind wanders off. Is there such a thing as the writing being too lush and the use of language too smooth. For me this can happen. There are several writers in my past who write with this beautiful flowing, highly descriptive language who have never gone far in their careers. They may have been published once, twice or three times, but their sales don't allow a publisher to continue them beyond. So what's the difference in the literary language of those who are successful and those who merely write beautiful prose.

What I have seen is when the two styles come together. No conflict but beautiful writing and I'm bored.

As to my own writing. Shattered Dreams has reached the stage where I'm concerned with language and making sure the conflict is strong. Part of the way I do this is to do a statement that lays out what will happen to the focus character and a question that states the problem. Once this is done, I'll start Shadowed Dreams again. Finally decided which character has the most to lose or gain.