Resolving Conflicts

There are two basic ways to resolve a conflict in your story:

1. Character gets what character wants. Hooray! Happy ending.

2. Character doesn't get what character wants. Aw, darn. Sad ending.

Most stories end with number one, but there are a few that end with number two. If you use number one, your readers will be happy, but not surprised. If you use number two, you raise the chances that English teachers will make students read your book.

There is a third alternative.

A complex resolution is usually more satisfying to the reader than a simple win-or-lose outcome. In a complex ending, a character may get what he wants, but then discovers that there are some serious drawbacks, or a very high cost. Or (and this is my favorite), a character may not get what he wants, but then realizes that he has gained something even better.

So, try and resolve your conflicts in a more complex way. Surprise us. Make us think.

Novel-length stories contain multiple conflicts. Your main character should have internal and external conflicts, there should be sub-plots, and minor characters should have their own internal and/or external conflicts. As you weave your story together, see if you can't make these various conflicts work to either intensify or to resolve each other. A scene gains more punch as multiple conflicts are either heightened or resolved in that single scene.

For instance, in the original Star Wars film, as Luke homes in on the fatal exhaust port, he resolves an inner conflict and decides to trust The Force. He switches off his targeting computer. At the same time, Han Solo resolves his internal conflict, am I a mercenary scum or a loyal friend, and decides to help the rebels, thus giving Luke a clear shot. Luke fires, the shot goes in, and the external conflict with the Death Star is resolved in a blinding display of special effects. Both Luke's and Han's internal conflicts come together to facilitate the resolution of the external conflict.

Now let's take Lord of the Rings. Frodo finally reaches the Crack o' Doom, but once he gets there he realizes he doesn't really want to chuck in the One Ring. His internal struggle against the Ring's power seems to have resolved, resulting in a TOTAL LOSS. Middle Earth is doomed. But then along comes the external conflict with Gollum. Gollum attacks Frodo, bites off the ring, and Gollum gets what Gollum wants, but then Gollum accidentally falls into the volcano with the Ring (oops), which resolves Frodo's internal conflict by releasing Frodo from the Ring's evil grip. External conflict resolves internal conflict.

So, in conclusion, resolve your conflicts in a complex way, and interweave the resolution of multiple conflicts to build a complex story.

Keep writing!