Writing Idea: Bring a Family Together

  Image from Looky.

A good short story has a strong impetus for conflict, a sense of momentum that drives to a clash of some sort. One of the best ways to get people to clash is to draw them together in one place and one time, bringing their different wants, fears, and anxieties to the table. This kind of clash is particularly evident at family reunions, so I suggest you try bringing your character’s family together for a holiday or reunion.

Family reunions or holidays can be tense times. It’s something about drawing together so many people who know so much about each other. You can’t really hide behind a veneer of politeness; they know all your secrets, or if you have some new secrets, they won’t be secret for much longer. There can be lingering resentments and old arguments still smoldering that are decades old. There is endless sibling rivalry and competition. Everyone’s struggling to find their role on the day. If it’s Christmas, there’s the problem of thinking up gifts for everyone; if it’s Thanksgiving, there’s the question of what food to bring. These are just some suggestions and thoughts for the more tense side of a family get-together. My own family reunions are remarkably fun and relaxed, but there are always little, interesting conflicts among in-laws and the like. So it’s a great petri dish environment to see people’s personalities coming in conflict with each other.

After the jump: drawing out the conflict.

In a situation like a family get-together, it’s important to remember that everyone has a story, and no conflict is one-sided. It may be a good idea to give several characters in the house time to tell their stories. A common mistake of beginning writers, however, is defining their characters by only one trait or background detail. For example, there’s Uncle Ernie, who lost his leg in the war, or cousin Rachel, whose husband has just left her for a younger woman. These could become interesting aspects of these characters, but it’s not the only thing that defines them. They have lives outside of their telling detail. So give your characters multi-faceted backgrounds.

No one likes to be boxed into a corner, or treated like a child when they’re an adult (or when you’re a child, for that matter). So let your characters act like grown-up people, who have more than one character trait to them. They’ll appreciate it, and so will your readers. But be sure to throw them into the mix and let them stew. Things are more interesting when they’re tense; put your characters in the same house for a family holiday, and sparks are sure to fly.