What makes a superb novel? Is it scintillating characters? A strong storyline? A brilliantly executed character arc? Or, perhaps it is the fifty-page outline and two sentence synopsis? Although we are still in search of The Sure-fire Formula for writing a best-selling novel, there are many different techniques for writing an outstanding book.

So where do we start? At the base. By creating a firm foundation, we are assuring that we are forming a sturdy platform for the next stage of our novel's vital construction, the structural layout.

Conflict
The foundation of our novel is, in essence, the "grimy" underbelly of our story. The ugly, dark, shadow-side: The Conflict. Conflict is what keeps the story moving. It is what drives the characters forward, propelling the story all the way to a magnificent conclusion. There are two motivations for our characters; inner conflict and outer conflict.

Inner Conflict Vs. Outer Conflict
As novelists, we live for complications, failures, and desperate situations. In our story worlds, at least. We are the Master Creators of the worlds that we build. Unless we are creating a (very boring) utopia, we will need to apply the laws of Cause and Effect. By looking at our character's inner conflict as Cause, we can see that it will produce an (adverse) Effect, driving him/her to create external conflict.

Inner Conflict
Inner conflict is what drives the character to act. When our character is driven by internal conflict (her emotions), she will act irrationally and make poor choices. Inner conflict is the magical spice that builds tension and unpredictability in our story. Without feeling, our character is not only rather robotic, she has nothing to propel her to take the necessary actions that will alter the direction of the story. Using dark emotions as a foundational tool will help us build more relatable characters.

Example:
Lillian is afraid to face Mike with her secret because she is worried that he will reject her.

Brainstorm:
How does your character feel about their current situation? Is she happy with her life? Terrified she's about to lose everything?

What dark feelings can you devise to create the most angst for your main character?

Outer Conflict
Without external conflict, the story will become too wrapped up in the emotional aspects, causing your character to appear mentally incompetent. An overly emotionally volatile story will have our readers running for the hills. By using external conflict, we can balance the emotional struggles of our characters and propel them to grow.

Example:
When Mike inadvertently learns about Lillian's secret, he leaves. As a parting shot, he tells her he would have stayed if she had just trusted him. 

Looking at cause and effect again, we see that if Lillian had faced her inner conflict (fear of rejection and abandonment), she could have saved her relationship.

Brainstorm:
How can you use your character's dark emotions to create movement and change in her outer world?

Mapping Story Conflict
When creating a Conflict Map, we'll start with the current situation the character is facing at the beginning of the story. How does your character feel about the opening situation? Is she happy and hopeful? Crossing her fingers that things will stay the same? Or is she in the midst of a dark battle, fighting her inner demons as she tries taking on her chaotic outer world?

Try to throw your character into the worst possible scenario, complicate it by fear of failure, the realization of (acting out/facing) that fear, and then add a more dire situation that will seem utterly hopeless. Raise the stakes! Make your character's life intolerable. 

Example:
By not telling Mike her dark secret, Lillian has made the decision to keep things the way they are. What will be the consequences of that decision? She is abandoned and rejected with little hope for her future. Soon after, she is thrown into the streets and is reduced to begging.
 

Now, we have the makings of a good story. How can Lillian grow from her experiences? She's hit rock bottom. How can we use her inner demons (which can be regret, anger, distrust, deep longing to be loved and accepted, etc.) to raise her out of her hell?

Are you ready to embark on a novel writing adventure? Create your Conflict Map by writing down your answers to the brainstorm questions. You can use the examples as prompts.