{"id":21351,"date":"2019-04-16T03:00:59","date_gmt":"2019-04-16T10:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=21351"},"modified":"2019-04-15T16:59:13","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T23:59:13","slug":"use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/","title":{"rendered":"Use a Conflict Box to Sharpen Your Story by Kay Keppler"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/WFZ_Use-a-Conflict-Box-to-Sharpen-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler_2019_04-16.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-21362\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/WFZ_Use-a-Conflict-Box-to-Sharpen-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler_2019_04-16.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/WFZ_Use-a-Conflict-Box-to-Sharpen-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler_2019_04-16.png 300w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/WFZ_Use-a-Conflict-Box-to-Sharpen-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler_2019_04-16-160x160.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Let\u2019s\u00a0welcome\u00a0back monthly columnist, editor, and novelist,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?s=kay+keppler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kay Keppler<\/a>, as she shares with us \u201cUse a Conflict Box to Sharpen Your Story.&#8221; <em>Enjoy!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><strong>Most of the time if the plot of your story sags along the way,<\/strong> it\u2019s a problem with your conflict. We all know what <strong>conflict<\/strong> is, but finding it sometimes can be surprisingly difficult.<\/p>\n<p>A visual aid can help.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s review the basics of conflict and see how a <strong>conflict box<\/strong> can help you see if your conflict is on track.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>In the Beginning<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Every story has a basic dynamic. It includes the:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Protagonist<\/strong>, the character who owns the story, who struggles with the<\/li>\n<li><strong>Antagonist<\/strong>, the character, who, if removed, removes the <strong>conflict<\/strong>, causing the story to collapse.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Next Comes Conflict<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The protagonist and antagonist each pursue his\/her concrete, specific goal, or external desire. (Note that the <em>goal<\/em> is not the <em>motivation<\/em>.)<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes these goals are in opposition. <strong>At other times, these goals might be the same, but if one character achieves the desired goal, the other suffers.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Consequently, in pursuing their goals, the characters engage in conflict, which is a:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Serious disagreement or argument<\/li>\n<li>Prolonged armed struggle<\/li>\n<li>Difference of opinion, principles, or interests<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The conflict, no matter what kind of story you write, has<strong> life-or-death consequences<\/strong> for your characters as far as they\u2019re concerned.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Define Characters Wisely<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Your protagonist should be smart, funny, kind, interesting, or skilled\u2014in short, someone your readers would like to hang out with.<\/strong> But s\/he should have a flaw or blind spot\u2014something that makes them un-perfect. Give him\/her a unique voice, a strong motivation, and then put them in trouble.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Your antagonist must be as strong as your antagonist,<\/strong> with an equally strong goal and an equally strong will to pursue it.<\/p>\n<p>The goals are difficult for the antagonist and protagonist to achieve because of <em>external barriers<\/em>, which are often each other. <strong>The reader must believe both will lose everything if they don\u2019t defeat the other.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Choose a Strong Goal<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>If your conflict seems weak, be sure you understand the one thing the protagonist wants, how badly s\/he wants it, what s\/he\u2019d do to get it, and how hard s\/he fights the antagonist for it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The goal must be a specific, concrete thing that s\/he pursues throughout the story.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If s\/he fails to achieve it, what happens? What are the stakes?<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Try a Visual Aid<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>If your characters, their conflicts, and your story still aren\u2019t coming together, try putting these elements in a <strong>conflict box<\/strong> to clarify what you\u2019ve got and what might be missing.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a way of diagramming the goals and conflicts of your protagonist and antagonist.<\/p>\n<h3>Here\u2019s the basic setup:<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Conflict-Box-1.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-21353 size-full\" title=\"start of the conflict box\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Conflict-Box-1.png\" alt=\"start of the conflict box\" width=\"203\" height=\"97\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>How the Conflict Box Works<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Let\u2019s use <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2XdALMz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Agnes and the Hitman<\/em><\/a> by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer for an example. In this story, Agnes has purchased Brenda\u2019s house, but Brenda is scheming to take it away from her.<\/p>\n<p>The protagonist (Agnes) and antagonist (Brenda) want the same thing\u2014the house.<\/p>\n<p>(The protagonist and antagonist could also want different things, and getting one goal conflicts with the other\u2019s goal.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>From <em>Agnes and the Hitman<\/em><\/strong>, if we put the protagonist\u2019s and antagonist\u2019s <em>goal<\/em> in the conflict box, the box looks like this:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Conflict-Box-2.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-21354 size-full aligncenter\" title=\"Conflict box\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Conflict-Box-2.png\" alt=\"Conflict box\" width=\"222\" height=\"176\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Agnes wants to keep her house, which she bought from Brenda.<\/p>\n<p>Brenda wants to steal back the house that she sold to Agnes.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>When we add the conflict, it looks like this:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Conflict-Box-3.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-21355 size-full\" title=\"conflict box\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Conflict-Box-3.png\" alt=\"conflict box\" width=\"222\" height=\"215\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Conflict Lock<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>If your protagonist\u2019s goal <em>causes<\/em> your antagonist\u2019s conflict, and vice versa, that\u2019s called a<strong> \u201cconflict lock.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you have a <strong>conflict lock<\/strong>, you can know that your characters\u2019 goals and conflicts are well aligned. <em>Agnes and the Hitman<\/em> has a conflict lock.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Conflict-Box-4.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-21356 size-full\" title=\"completed conflict box\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Conflict-Box-4.png\" alt=\"completed conflict box\" width=\"222\" height=\"215\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Draw a line from Agnes\u2019s goal to Brenda\u2019s conflict. If Agnes causes Brenda\u2019s conflict, you\u2019re halfway there.<\/p>\n<p>Then draw a line from Brenda\u2019s goal to Agnes\u2019s conflict. If Brenda causes Agnes\u2019s conflict, you have a <strong>conflict lock.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A <strong>conflict box<\/strong> can help you understand if you\u2019ve sufficiently defined the characters\u2019 goals and conflicts.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, it can point out if your protagonist and antagonist are doing battle with each other, or if they merely have random trouble\u2014or if several characters have conflicts with each other, diffusing the tension.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s fun to experiment with. Try it and see if it helps you.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Many thanks to Michael Hauge, Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer, and all the other writing teachers who\u2019ve demonstrated the conflict box.<\/em><strong><em>)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h2>ABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/h2>\n<p><a title=\"Kay Keppler\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kaykeppler.com\/\">Kay Keppler<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kaykeppler.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"http:\/\/www.kaykeppler.com\/ noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-9691\" title=\"Kay Keppler, Author\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Kay-Keppler_31.jpg\" alt=\"Kay Keppler, Author; used in Make Setting Meaningful by Kay Keppler\" width=\"150\" height=\"216\" \/><\/a>\u00a0is an author\u00a0<em><a title=\"Zero Gravity Outcasts\" href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1rqW2wW\">Zero Gravity Outcasts<\/a><\/em>, <em><a title=\"Betting on Hope\" href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1l42nc4\">Betting on Hope<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0<em><a title=\"Gargoyle: Three Enchanting Romance Novellas\" href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1pEPjjq\">Gargoyle: Three Enchanting Romance Novellas<\/a><\/em>, and editor of fiction and nonfiction \u2013<em><a title=\"Angel\u2019s Kiss\" href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1nylmgE\">Angel\u2019s Kiss<\/a><\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Outsource It<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p>She lives in northern California. Contact her here at <a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Writer\u2019s Fun Zone<\/a> in the comments below, or at\u00a0<a title=\"kaykeppler@yahoo.com\" href=\"mailto:kaykeppler@yahoo.com\">kaykeppler@yahoo.com<\/a>\u00a0to ask questions, suggest topics, or if you prefer, complain.<\/p>\n<p>***<br \/>\nImage credit: Image by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/Vadim_P-4246915\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=2071537\">Vadim_P<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=2071537\">Pixabay<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most of the time if the plot of your story sags along the way, it\u2019s a problem with your conflict. We all know what conflict is, but finding it sometimes can be surprisingly difficult. A visual aid can help. Let\u2019s review the basics of conflict and see how a conflict box can help you see if your conflict is on track.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":21362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[2519,3870,3866,3869,1340,3034,3867,3868],"class_list":["post-21351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing-tips","tag-agnes-and-the-hitman","tag-bob-mayer","tag-conflict-box","tag-jennifer-crusie","tag-kay-keppler","tag-michael-hauge","tag-story-plot","tag-visual-aid"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Use a Conflict Box to Sharpen Your Story by Kay Keppler &#183; Writer&#039;s Fun Zone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Most of the time if the plot of your story sags along the way, it\u2019s a problem with your conflict. Let\u2019s review the basics of conflict and see how a conflict box can help you see if your conflict is on track.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Use a Conflict Box to Sharpen Your Story by Kay Keppler &#183; Writer&#039;s Fun Zone\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Most of the time if the plot of your story sags along the way, it\u2019s a problem with your conflict. Let\u2019s review the basics of conflict and see how a conflict box can help you see if your conflict is on track.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Writer&#039;s Fun Zone\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bethbarany\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-04-16T10:00:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/WFZ_Use-a-Conflict-Box-to-Sharpen-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler_2019_04-16.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Guest Contributor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Guest Contributor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/16\\\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/16\\\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Guest Contributor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da98818636d0a12baec6dd6b03db168\"},\"headline\":\"Use a Conflict Box to Sharpen Your Story by Kay Keppler\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-16T10:00:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/16\\\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":851,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/16\\\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/WFZ_Use-a-Conflict-Box-to-Sharpen-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler_2019_04-16.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Agnes and the Hitman\",\"Bob Mayer\",\"Conflict Box\",\"Jennifer Crusie\",\"Kay Keppler\",\"Michael Hauge\",\"story plot\",\"visual aid\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Writing Tips\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/16\\\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/16\\\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/16\\\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\\\/\",\"name\":\"Use a Conflict Box to Sharpen Your Story by Kay Keppler &#183; Writer&#039;s Fun Zone\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/16\\\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/16\\\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/WFZ_Use-a-Conflict-Box-to-Sharpen-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler_2019_04-16.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-16T10:00:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"Most of the time if the plot of your story sags along the way, it\u2019s a problem with your conflict. Let\u2019s review the basics of conflict and see how a conflict box can help you see if your conflict is on track.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/16\\\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/16\\\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/16\\\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/WFZ_Use-a-Conflict-Box-to-Sharpen-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler_2019_04-16.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/WFZ_Use-a-Conflict-Box-to-Sharpen-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler_2019_04-16.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/16\\\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Use a Conflict Box to Sharpen Your Story by Kay Keppler\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Writer's Fun Zone\",\"description\":\"where we go to the edge to play and become better writers\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Beth Barany Productions\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/cropped-cropped-WFZ_BANNER_DRAFT_NEW_mock_1C_w_edits.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/cropped-cropped-WFZ_BANNER_DRAFT_NEW_mock_1C_w_edits.jpeg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":246,\"caption\":\"Beth Barany Productions\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/bethbarany\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/BethBarany\",\"http:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/bethbarany\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/c\\\/BethBarany\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/bethbarany\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da98818636d0a12baec6dd6b03db168\",\"name\":\"Guest Contributor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f3a34f16e4191c23786121e3cb54e0dadf1dd00c7c8ec2686195240a1680e394?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f3a34f16e4191c23786121e3cb54e0dadf1dd00c7c8ec2686195240a1680e394?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f3a34f16e4191c23786121e3cb54e0dadf1dd00c7c8ec2686195240a1680e394?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Guest Contributor\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/guest-contributor\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Use a Conflict Box to Sharpen Your Story by Kay Keppler &#183; Writer&#039;s Fun Zone","description":"Most of the time if the plot of your story sags along the way, it\u2019s a problem with your conflict. Let\u2019s review the basics of conflict and see how a conflict box can help you see if your conflict is on track.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Use a Conflict Box to Sharpen Your Story by Kay Keppler &#183; Writer&#039;s Fun Zone","og_description":"Most of the time if the plot of your story sags along the way, it\u2019s a problem with your conflict. Let\u2019s review the basics of conflict and see how a conflict box can help you see if your conflict is on track.","og_url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/","og_site_name":"Writer&#039;s Fun Zone","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bethbarany\/","article_published_time":"2019-04-16T10:00:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":300,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/WFZ_Use-a-Conflict-Box-to-Sharpen-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler_2019_04-16.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Guest Contributor","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Guest Contributor","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/"},"author":{"name":"Guest Contributor","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/6da98818636d0a12baec6dd6b03db168"},"headline":"Use a Conflict Box to Sharpen Your Story by Kay Keppler","datePublished":"2019-04-16T10:00:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/"},"wordCount":851,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/WFZ_Use-a-Conflict-Box-to-Sharpen-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler_2019_04-16.png","keywords":["Agnes and the Hitman","Bob Mayer","Conflict Box","Jennifer Crusie","Kay Keppler","Michael Hauge","story plot","visual aid"],"articleSection":["Writing Tips"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/","url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/","name":"Use a Conflict Box to Sharpen Your Story by Kay Keppler &#183; Writer&#039;s Fun Zone","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/WFZ_Use-a-Conflict-Box-to-Sharpen-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler_2019_04-16.png","datePublished":"2019-04-16T10:00:59+00:00","description":"Most of the time if the plot of your story sags along the way, it\u2019s a problem with your conflict. Let\u2019s review the basics of conflict and see how a conflict box can help you see if your conflict is on track.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/WFZ_Use-a-Conflict-Box-to-Sharpen-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler_2019_04-16.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/WFZ_Use-a-Conflict-Box-to-Sharpen-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler_2019_04-16.png","width":300,"height":300},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/16\/use-a-conflict-box-to-sharpen-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Use a Conflict Box to Sharpen Your Story by Kay Keppler"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/","name":"Writer's Fun Zone","description":"where we go to the edge to play and become better writers","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Beth Barany Productions","url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/cropped-cropped-WFZ_BANNER_DRAFT_NEW_mock_1C_w_edits.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/cropped-cropped-WFZ_BANNER_DRAFT_NEW_mock_1C_w_edits.jpeg","width":1024,"height":246,"caption":"Beth Barany Productions"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bethbarany\/","https:\/\/x.com\/BethBarany","http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bethbarany\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/BethBarany","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bethbarany\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/6da98818636d0a12baec6dd6b03db168","name":"Guest Contributor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3a34f16e4191c23786121e3cb54e0dadf1dd00c7c8ec2686195240a1680e394?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3a34f16e4191c23786121e3cb54e0dadf1dd00c7c8ec2686195240a1680e394?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3a34f16e4191c23786121e3cb54e0dadf1dd00c7c8ec2686195240a1680e394?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Guest Contributor"},"url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/author\/guest-contributor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21351"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21363,"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21351\/revisions\/21363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}