Idea Sparking! How to Brainstorm Conflict Into Your Novel

Hey all, please welcome My Book Therapy team member, Michelle Lim. She's taken the time to write a well done book on how to spark new ideas for your novel that will add depth and conflict.

Welcome, Michelle!

 Rachel, thank you so much for inviting me to visit your blog. 

I’ve enjoyed getting to know you through My Book Therapy and our local ACFW Chapter, Minnesota N.I.C.E. retreat a few years ago.

 For those of you who haven’t heard, during my Idea Sparking: How to Brainstorm Conflict in Your Novel Tour I’m having a drawing for a Free Kindle Paperwhite.

 For each different blog I visit that you comment on during my tour, you get one entry. Each day I will post any new tour locations on my blog.

 One of my favorite romantic moments in my life was the day my husband left a rose in my mailbox. A surprise meant to bring me delight and it did. 

I fell in love somewhere between roses in mail boxes and moonlight strolls along the shore of Lake Superior.

 Our characters fall in love in much the same way. The struggle is how to be unique in building conflict in a Romance novel. Brainstorming is a great tool for bringing out the conflict to accentuate the romance.

 In my new book Idea Sparking: How to Brainstorm Conflict in Your Novel I give tools and strategies to build that conflict to lift a sagging middle or intensify a limp plot.

 Let’s try the Strategy of Pedestal Principles when talking about your characters. Characters all have expectations of themselves as do those around them. Oftentimes our expectations cause internal conflict when we don’t meet our personal expectations.

 For example:
 Linda is a Pastor’s wife at a small country church. It is her goal to always bring a meal to a family with a crisis like hospitalization, etc. When Linda comes down with pneumonia she is unable to bring food to a family they have been trying to reach out to for the last year. She feels she has failed. This might cause internal conflict.

 The expectations we have of ourselves are not the only expectations. What about the people around you? The boss that expects you to finish your work by the end of the day, but you value quality and there is no way you can produce quality work in that time line.

 Pedestal Principles are one of the tools I cover in greater detail in my Idea Sparking Book. They are just one of the many ways to add conflict in a novel.

 Focusing on not just the happy gushy moments in our romance story is difficult, especially when what we tend to remember most about our own love story is the special moments that made us feel cherished. Both are needed to create a strong story.

 How about you? What is your favorite romance moment? 

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What Others Are Saying About This Resource!

 “I think it's a great resource! I love the way you give examples, offer opportunities for writers to craft out their own ideas.”  ~Lisa Jordan Author of Lakeside Reunion and Lakeside Family

 “Michelle recently helped me brainstorm Silent Night, my new Rock Harbor digital novella coming at the end of next month. Her brainstorming prowess amazed me! I loved her new book, especially the chapter on secrets.” ~Colleen Coble Award Winning Author

 “Michelle encapsulated some workable, practical, yet energizing techniques to help spark that all-important conflict and tension in our stories. I especially appreciated the buffet of ideas that showed how a combination of tips could bring about a tailor-made solution to a lack-luster character, scene, or plot.” ~Cynthia Ruchti Multipublished Author, speaker, and writing instructor.  

Michelle Lim is the author of the new book Idea Sparking: How to Brainstorm Conflict in Your Novel. Also a romantic suspense author whose manuscripts have earned recognition in The Rattler Contest 2012, the Genesis Contest 2011, and the Frasier Contest in 2010. Michelle is the Brainstorm/Huddle Coach at My Book Therapy and serves as Vice President of MN N.I.C.E., a local chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. Check out her blog at: http://thoughtsonplot.wordpress.com/.