Mikey Brooks: Give Me Some Conflict!

Good morning everyone! Today, we have a special visitor: Mikey Brooks, an awesome 'adult' friend of Peter Pan. Hehe Round of applause and a big 'Thank you!' to him for being here and sharing with us! :)

Mikey is a small child masquerading as an adult. On occasion you’ll find him dancing the funky chicken, singing like a banshee, and pretending to have never grown up. He is the author/illustrator of several books including BEAN’S DRAGONS, the ABC ADVENTURES series, and author of the middle-grade fantasy-adventure novel, THE DREAM KEEPER. He spends most of his time playing with his daughters and working as a freelance illustrator. Mikey has a BS degree in Creative Writing from Utah State University. He is also one of the hosts of the Authors’ Think Tank Podcast.

It's because of his latest book, The Dream Keeper, that we're gathered here today :) Here's a synopsis:

Loser—the most frightening word to ever be uttered in junior high school. Even the coolest kids are afraid of being associated with it. 14-year-old Parker Bennett is no exception. He can’t even be himself around his friends for fear they might not accept who he really is. When circumstances force him to team up with Kaelyn Clarke, the biggest loser in the ninth grade, Parker has to decide what is more important; protecting his social status or saving the world. Nightmare named Fyren has taken over the gateway to the realm of Dreams, with the intention of controlling mortals, and it falls on Parker, Kaelyn, and Gladamyr – the Dream Keeper – to stop him. They learn being called a loser is no longer a fear, when compared to the terror of real nightmares.

One of the biggest trials for teens - all of that inward conflict. Let's hear what the author has to say on the subject of conflict :) Spotlight on you, Mikey!

---------------

Give Me Some Conflict!

By: Mikey Brooks

Conflict is a key element in every book. It is what moves the story forward. Without conflict the story wouldn't happen and there would be no change in the characters. Not only does it help add depth to story it helps readers relate to the human condition—how we change and grow throughout life. I have found with writing middle-grade that the conflict needs to start right away. This can be an internal or external conflict, but the readers need it at the beginning to hook them in.

Think about Harry Potter. In the very first chapter of The Sorcerer’s Stone, you have the conflict of this boy-wizard going to live with the worst family of muggles. This conflict is what grabs the readers and they stay with the story because they want to know what is going to happen to Harry growing up with non-magical-people. Of course that is not the conflict of the whole story but it is what gets us started.

There are many ways in which to add conflict to story. Some of the basic types of conflict are:

• Man against man
• Man against nature
• Man against society
• Man against self

Or, if we are speaking of Harry Potter, they would look like this:

• Harry against Voldemort
• Harry against the magic world (or the non magic world)
• Harry against society (or the negative views of half-bloods)
• Harry against Harry (his internal conflict with himself)

All of these conflicts are seen in the Harry Potter books and that is what makes the story so compelling. Once you think one conflict has been resolved we have another conflict to deal with. This helps to keep the book moving along and your readers interested. 

You will find that successful middle-grade and young adult books have various levels of conflict in their story. They also have both internal (shows change in the character), like Harry’s struggles with himself about the potential for being a dark wizard (we see this in the first book with the sorting hat), and external (the BIG conflict that moves the plot), like Harry’s quest to beat Professor Snape to getting the sorcerer’s stone.

When you think about conflict in creating your story think about two things: What is the BIG external conflict that moves the story, and what is the internal conflict that helps your character change over the course of the book. These are what will give your book a fantastic depth that readers will love. I hope you found this helpful.

I am excited to announce the release of my middle-grade fantasy THE DREAM KEEPER. It is an action-packed adventure with a toe in both the real world and the fantastic. When an evil shifter takes over the gateway to the realm of Dreams, it falls to 14-year-olds Parker and Kaelyn to stop him. Their only hope lies with Gladamyr, the Dream Keeper, but can they trust a Nightmare to save their world?

“Dreams: Dorothy called it Oz, Alice called it Wonderland, but Nightmares call it HOME.”