Question

~quick questions before I continue writing my book~

1. can my story have more than 1 conflict?
Like for example my MC is being blamed for something (main conflict). This something (the reason of the main conflict) causes another issue she has to solve with the help of her new friends.
2. Would it be totally boring if I have no romance in my story? I would like to add a kiss scene but I am too awkward about writing that stuff lol and I would prefer to imply it but I can't seem to get my words right yet... any ideas?

Answer 1

It's not that it 'can' have more than one conflict, it needs more than one, any story does. If there's only one, most books quickly feel forced, as if the writer is specifically steering the story to progress a certain way. Just when you're writing the other conflicts, keep the main plot in mind and try to make the side-stories still mean something, otherwise, as I have seen in many books before, not only will the reader be distracted as to what the plot was, the writer will be too.

There's nothing wrong with taking breaks from the main story, but make sure they don't last too long unless it has a lasting impact on the characters. Just to give you perspective on what I mean, I think the longest 'break' I've taken was somewhere around 10,000 words, an average book's length is 100,000 words. Obviously that isn't a carved-in-stone rule or anything, but what I'm getting at, is just go back and read through any part that you think would fall into this and make sure it doesn't feel like the main plot was just ditched somewhere down the line.

I guess that was kind of long, but it's an important subject.


As for your second question, I can't give you any ideas on how to handle it, but I can tell that it wouldn't be boring just because there wasn't any romance in it. And that's not because I'm not really into romance, since I can enjoy it, it's just not something I'm actively interested in.

Answer 2

@lostintime

Answer 3

Your story should definitely have more than one conflict.
There is nothing wrong with adding romance to a story. In fact, romance can add another layer to a book. he tricky part is figuring out how not to let the romance overpower the actual story.

Answer 4

A good thing to remember when you are putting in "sappy" scenes is that good romances should not happen immediately. They should develop slowly throughout the story. Many romances in books actually begin with the two people who do not like each other at all that later fall in love.

Answer 5

Also, when writing a kissing scene, be careful not to draw it out too much. Excessive detail in that type of scene can come across as "mushy" and repel readers.

Answer 6

Hope this helps! :) If you have any questions, I would be glad to help.

Answer 7

@JghsDennie lol I said I don't want romance in my story but thanks! :]

Answer 8

@Shards-of-a-Soul oh, well I looked it up online and lots of articles talked about how having two conflicts or more could be difficult or not needed.
Anyway, thank you so much for the input! :]

Answer 9

Your story should have as many conflicts as you want! With only one it's not easy to carry out the conflict throughout the entire story. The main conflict is great, but you should also have smaller conflicts throughout the story as well as the main conflict! :)

Answer 10

@dontgiveuponfaith That's exactly what I was thinking like for real this is why I love asking people on here rather than googling. I get opinions from readers themselves and what they like to see :] Thanks!

Answer 11

I think there should be one MAJOR conflict, but along the way there can be many small ones. Of course there shouldn't be too many because after a while if all you have is conflict readers just get bored. (maybe that's just me) And no romance is A-ok. Not everything needs to be romanticized in fact I sometimes like books that don't have romance.

Answer 12

@mammamia_1257 that's what I am doing but I didn't know if it was okay because when I google it, it said it wasn't.

Answer 13

@lostintime I don't see why it wouldn't be. I mean, tons of popular books have side plots, and that's all a minor, secondary conflict is isn't it? I think the articles you've read might be talking about having two major conflicts in a story, not a major and other smaller ones. While I'm sure that could be done well, almost anything 'can' be done well, that just doesn't mean it's easy.

I guess you should just write however you feel it would work, show it to people you trust with it, and listen to what they to say about it. What felt right what felt awkward or slow, etc, make changes to it, rinse and repeat.

Also, reading others' books always helps, whether they're good or bad. It helps you know what you enjoy and don't in a book.

Answer 14

1st question, yes 2nd question, no