We always need to know what our characters want in their story. But what do they not want?

Choose one of these first line prompts. Set a ten-minute timer and write. Don’t overthink. Don’t try to force a scene. Just write the first line and see what comes up.

When backed into a corner, we can all act out of character. And bad behavior is a delicious source of conflict and trouble in a story.

Conflict creates tension, propels a story forward, and keeps the reader engaged. And there’s nothing like a good argument (a literal conflict) to set characters at odds, amp up emotion, and get to the core of who a character really is under pressure.