Conflict-diverse
A writer's response to joy
In the past month I’ve been witness to several joy-filled events. My only child got married to an amazing person, and their wedding was both very moving and excellent fun. Shortly after, I was up in Canada proudly watching one of my nephews graduate from high school, another event that featured a lot of happy faces and best wishes.
Once the celebrations were over, it was time to settle back into editing my second novel. Coincidentally, the scene I was working on was set at a wedding: The main character is going to see her stepsister after several years of barely communicating. The two have always had a tenuous relationship, and the main character suspects that the stepsister is returning to San Francisco for reasons other than “just” a wedding.
As I dug into the scene, I was reminded of writing advice that I often hear. Tension is critical. Every scene must have a crisis. It’s your job as a writer to make your characters suffer, and putting them in the midst of a confrontation is a good way to externalize their inner turmoil.
“As writers, we aim to engage readers’ minds, hearts, and emotions through story—and keeping tension high is key to this mission.”
from 8 Tips for Increasing Tension in Any Genre by Laura Resau
I don’t disagree with this advice. I try to follow it. And certainly the wedding scene I was working on was full of family drama. As such, the contrast between the wedding I was writing and the wedding I’d just attended was stark. It made me wonder.
Why do we prefer to read about conflict over joy? Is happiness an emotion so dull that it can’t drive a narrative? Or have we as writers failed to render it in a way that makes it compelling?
I don’t have an answer to these questions. Nor will I be rewriting my wedding scene to have my main character suddenly forget all about their past differences and throw her arms around her stepsister.
However, at some point, I might experiment with “writing joy.” After experiencing it so vividly this month, I’d like it to be part of my creative output somehow.
Stay tuned 😁 And if you have thoughts on this subject, please comment.