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Create Story Conflict: How to increase tension in your writing & keep readers turning pages
Conflict is essential to story—regardless of genre. The friction between what a character wants and the lengths they will go to reach that goal is what pulls readers through your book. Great conflict is what leaves readers cheering (or crying) at the end of a story. Using humour and her deep knowledge of human behaviour, counsellor and award-winning author Eileen Cook will guide you through the causes of conflict, the differences between internal and external conflict, and show you how conflict resolution techniques can be turned upside down to ramp up the tension in your book. Filled with practical tips, examples and prompts, this is a craft book you’ll keep on your shelf to use again and again. This is the fourth book in the Creative Academy Guides for Writers series. Be sure to check out the rest of the guides for writers in this series. 1. Scrappy Rough Draft by Donna Barker 2. Build Better Characters by Eileen Cook 3. Strategic Series Author by Crystal Hunt 4. Create Story Conflict by Eileen Cook
- GenresWritingNonfiction
192 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 16, 2020
179 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
About the author
Eileen Cook
40 books996 followersEileen Cook spent most of her teen years wishing she were someone else or somewhere else, which is great training for a writer.
You can read more about Eileen, her books, and the things that strike her as funny at www.eileencook.com. Eileen lives in Vancouver with her two dogs and no longer wishes to be anyone or anywhere else.
You can read more about Eileen, her books, and the things that strike her as funny at www.eileencook.com. Eileen lives in Vancouver with her two dogs and no longer wishes to be anyone or anywhere else.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 2, 2020
Another generous book by Eileen Cook.
Eileen uses wisely her background in counselling to unveil the techniques that will help you ramp up your story conflict.
Conflict is a fundamental element in any story worth reading. Eileen spend most of the book explaining what conflict is, how to built it, how it influences the plot and the characters, and how to make sure the readers keep turning the pages.
There are dozen of hands-on useful exercises to increase story conflict and to level up your writing.
If you're looking for a useful reference on story conflict and the many ways you can use it to your advantage, grab this book. You won't regret it.
Eileen uses wisely her background in counselling to unveil the techniques that will help you ramp up your story conflict.
Conflict is a fundamental element in any story worth reading. Eileen spend most of the book explaining what conflict is, how to built it, how it influences the plot and the characters, and how to make sure the readers keep turning the pages.
There are dozen of hands-on useful exercises to increase story conflict and to level up your writing.
If you're looking for a useful reference on story conflict and the many ways you can use it to your advantage, grab this book. You won't regret it.
March 23, 2024
A really easy read, and some VERY insightful questions for authors to ask of their manuscripts both as they draft and as they revise. A bunch of them have ended up at critical turning points in my own manuscript.
September 9, 2020
Good pointers
This is the first of Eileen Cook's writing craft books I've read. It's actually quite funny. There is also lots of good advice and exercises for you to do to help build tension both with internal and external conflict. It gives clear definitions and examples of each of the techniques. Nifty writing craft read.
This is the first of Eileen Cook's writing craft books I've read. It's actually quite funny. There is also lots of good advice and exercises for you to do to help build tension both with internal and external conflict. It gives clear definitions and examples of each of the techniques. Nifty writing craft read.
April 1, 2021
Good for screenwriting as well.
I’m learning the craft of screenwriting and I have to admit I didn’t fully know how to identify the different types of conflicts that exist. This book was quite helpful in solving that problem. Now I know what to do and when it comes creating and utilizing conflict in my scripts.
I’m learning the craft of screenwriting and I have to admit I didn’t fully know how to identify the different types of conflicts that exist. This book was quite helpful in solving that problem. Now I know what to do and when it comes creating and utilizing conflict in my scripts.
January 1, 2022
useful
May 12, 2022
Eileen Cook, in addition to being an author, has a background in psychology and working in conflict management. Like Liam Neeson in those "Taken" movies, she has a specific set of skills, which can be put to good use, although in this case it's creating conflict in stories rather than rescuing her kid from kidnappers. The conflicts in question can be internal and nuanced in their psychological depth, or they can be as literal and straightforward as a bear running toward you in the woods (pro tip: don't run away).
"Create Story Conflict" is a good generalist tome that will be of tremendous help to writers just starting out, and also works as a solid refresher course for more advanced and experienced writers. Highlights include the distinction between tension and conflict and the two two additional "Fs" that Cook adds to the "Fight or Flight" response (they're "Fawn" and "Freeze.") The most fascinating portion for me was the chapter in which she examined the natural human tendency to avoid conflict, and used it as a baseline to show the reader exactly how to make their characters deviate from these straight paths we take in the real world, in order to weave those tangled webs of which Shakespeare spoke.
There's nothing revelatory in the work, and it would probably function best as a supplement or compliment to one or several other books on the same subject. But it's worth the price. Recommended.
"Create Story Conflict" is a good generalist tome that will be of tremendous help to writers just starting out, and also works as a solid refresher course for more advanced and experienced writers. Highlights include the distinction between tension and conflict and the two two additional "Fs" that Cook adds to the "Fight or Flight" response (they're "Fawn" and "Freeze.") The most fascinating portion for me was the chapter in which she examined the natural human tendency to avoid conflict, and used it as a baseline to show the reader exactly how to make their characters deviate from these straight paths we take in the real world, in order to weave those tangled webs of which Shakespeare spoke.
There's nothing revelatory in the work, and it would probably function best as a supplement or compliment to one or several other books on the same subject. But it's worth the price. Recommended.
July 24, 2020
An essential read for becoming a better writer by avoiding boring stories & worn-out tropes.
This book will give you homework -- in a really good way. Consider it a workbook, a friendly little guide that will help you point out where and why a story is getting weak, dull, and generally predictable. It helps you ask the really important questions about what you are writing and how to tell what's actually driving the story forward and what's mostly fluff.
I highlighted so many pages and wrote down so many exercises that are helpful to every story in every stage of development. It's not until after you're tried one of the exercises that you realize how valuable they truly are toward focusing you on what really matters most in your story. The first half of the book is great for early stage drafts, and as you continue reading, the second part is better for refining character development and fine-tuning difficult scenes.
Written by a traditionally published novelist with many years of experience and titles to her name, Eileen Cook has a fun and humorous way of explaining what she's learned about developing conflicts in her books over the years. I'm grateful to have read this right at its release, and I recommend this book for all fiction and screenplay writers.
This book will give you homework -- in a really good way. Consider it a workbook, a friendly little guide that will help you point out where and why a story is getting weak, dull, and generally predictable. It helps you ask the really important questions about what you are writing and how to tell what's actually driving the story forward and what's mostly fluff.
I highlighted so many pages and wrote down so many exercises that are helpful to every story in every stage of development. It's not until after you're tried one of the exercises that you realize how valuable they truly are toward focusing you on what really matters most in your story. The first half of the book is great for early stage drafts, and as you continue reading, the second part is better for refining character development and fine-tuning difficult scenes.
Written by a traditionally published novelist with many years of experience and titles to her name, Eileen Cook has a fun and humorous way of explaining what she's learned about developing conflicts in her books over the years. I'm grateful to have read this right at its release, and I recommend this book for all fiction and screenplay writers.
September 4, 2022
Really recommend it.
This was another fabulous book from the creative Academy for Writers.
Filled with so many tips, advises and guides on how to get your story full of conflict to keep your readers hooked and your stories to feel so much more realistic and less fabricated for the sake of it.
I would highly recommend to read this while plotting and creating your characters, as it would be very difficult to implement any of the advises if you're half way writing.
Specially, I would recommend it while plotting due to the fact that most of the topics talked through the pages might feel like common sense, but they are so easily taken for granted and forgotten.
This was another fabulous book from the creative Academy for Writers.
Filled with so many tips, advises and guides on how to get your story full of conflict to keep your readers hooked and your stories to feel so much more realistic and less fabricated for the sake of it.
I would highly recommend to read this while plotting and creating your characters, as it would be very difficult to implement any of the advises if you're half way writing.
Specially, I would recommend it while plotting due to the fact that most of the topics talked through the pages might feel like common sense, but they are so easily taken for granted and forgotten.
March 14, 2024
Cook does an excellent job laying out different ways to incorporate conflict into the story you are writing and even includes some tips from her psychology background. Each chapter goes over different types of conflict, how it is revealed in the real world, and how it may differ in fictional works. She even provides details and examples to make her explanations clearer to the reader as well as provides "homework" at the end of each chapter to give the reader some writing practice. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is seeking to write their own novel and hope to read another from the Creative Academy Guides for Writers series.
August 8, 2020
A Keeper!
This is an excellent guide for making sure your writing has the right amount and types of conflict from beginning to end. With humor and wisdom, Eileen Cook is a terrific writing coach offering a winning combination of concepts, exercises and examples to apply to improve any story.
This is an excellent guide for making sure your writing has the right amount and types of conflict from beginning to end. With humor and wisdom, Eileen Cook is a terrific writing coach offering a winning combination of concepts, exercises and examples to apply to improve any story.
February 9, 2021
Really good, practical information on creating better conflict in your pages. Her book is easy to understand, chock full of easy to apply techniques. Also, the author is funny infusing the book with her own personal experiences & anecdotes. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and would most definitely purchase other books in this series.
November 20, 2022
Loved it so much I brought the print book and the Ebook. Finally, I’ve been given guidance on how to implement conflict. There are loads of exercises which I will begin to work on to help me develop my craft in having conflict in my stories. Excellent advice and examples. Loved it! It’s my one of my writing craft bible.
April 22, 2024
A much better book than my first experience with the Creative Academy for Writers. The explanations in each chapter were easy to follow and punctuated with humor at the appropriate moments. Examples were helpful and the Your Turn sections of the chapter were actually of use. I look forward to reading her Building Better Characters book by the same company.
December 19, 2022
Create Story Conflict was a super helpful craft book. I am working on my first novel and found many golden nuggets in this book that have sparked so much inspiration for my story and how to strengthen the conflict within my characters.
I know this will be one that I go back to frequently.
I know this will be one that I go back to frequently.
August 14, 2020
Practical and excellent advice on how to create conflict in your stories. Wonderful, humorous examples that make this book easy and delightful to read. A must for any fiction writer.
April 5, 2021
Very useful information
March 2, 2023
Super helpful writing guide for all types of conflict!
A quick read with tons of great tips to help you engage your readers by using conflict in your stories.
A quick read with tons of great tips to help you engage your readers by using conflict in your stories.
September 10, 2025
If tension is your weakness, read this!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews