forum Help on creating a conflict

Started January 17, 2020 by @moss

tune

So basically, I have most of the characters created and the setting all layed out but I have no clue on what the conflict should be

Heres some info on the story so far:
The main character is Tommy, a teen from a poor neighborhood. He goes to a private catholic school and most the students there are rich white kids. He gets bullied for being poor and not having nice clothes. He's friends with two other kids who are misfits as well.

Any help will be greatly appreciated

Hey there, Salami!
I hope you don't mind my calling you that, feel free to correct me if you do. I'm L.C, but you can also call me Lei! While I may not be the most qualified to answer your question, I feel like I can at least answer to the best of my ability. Please take all I say with a grain of salt as such, because I'm learning, too. :)

Now, regarding what you have so far… It could very well be because I don't have all the details of this story, but it seems very… half done. You have characters, and you have setting (–Which is great!–) and you actually do have conflict! (The people who bully him, aka a Man vs. Man conflict.) but I think what you're lacking is plot. Just from what you've said, there are a lot of ways this story could go! What genre you're going for will likely play a large role in that, but also what themes you hope to hit with your story.

However, fear not! A really quick and dirty tip I found for coming up with a plot is this:
(1) What does your character want? (This is tension)
(2) What is stopping them from getting it? (Conflict)
(3) What will happen if they don't get it? (Stakes)

Some possible plot bunnies I can think of from what you've got so far….

• Perhaps Tommy struggles with keeping his faith? 'If God really loved me, why do those people hate me?' (This is assuming that, since he is going to a catholic school, he is catholic.)
• Perhaps Tommy is bitter towards his classmates? Say, one of the popular kids tries to stick up for him? Tries to become friends with him? (That is, assuming that there are some decent kids within that group. I mean, surely there are some? Popular kids are popular for a reason…)

That is all I can seem to come up with for now. I wish you the best of luck writing this, it does seem really interesting! I hope you have a great day.
—L.C.

Hi L.C!

Yes, you can call me Salami and I greatly apreaciate your help. I really like your second plot idea and it has sparked some more ideas for my story.

Thanks you and have a great day.
– Salami