Member-only story
When the Conflict Is Real
On writing relationships into fiction while living through one
Published July 5, 2026, on my Substack: Writer on the Edge.
I’m in the middle of a personal conflict at the moment. It’s traumatic.
I’m not going to go into the details. It’s far too personal. But I would like the conflict resolved, on the better side of resolution.
Of course, conflict and relationships are complex, so it’s all very well saying that. But if the other party isn’t willing to go there, then it’ll either stay unresolved or be resolved in a way that isn’t so positive. I don’t have any control over that.
Conflict on the Page, and Off It
Part of my problem with my book is relationships. But one thing I hadn’t really taken into account is personal conflict.
Being in the middle of one myself right now, I’m wondering whether I should hold on to some of these feelings so that I can make the dialogue and the relationships in the story that much more realistic, that much more heartrending.
And then I catch myself. Isn’t that taking advantage of a horrible situation?
This is hard. Not the question of whether I should use the experience in my writing, but the experience…
