Ever hear the saying, "You don't have a story without conflict"? Well, it's true! Every good piece of writing has mastered the art of internal and external conflict. 

External conflict involves a problem between your character and something or someone outside of themselves. For example, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy butt heads with each other in Pride and Prejudice. She finds him rude, and also the cause of separating Mr. Bingley and her sister, Jane. And that damn man keeps showing up in her social circle!

Internal conflict is when your character struggles with their own emotions, desires, or conscience. For example, Elizabeth begins to like Mr. Darcy despite formerly thinking him a jerk. This internal conflict affects the way she interacts with him throughout the story. So, you might say there is no external conflict without internal conflict. 

Having both types of conflict in your story helps you layer tension between characters and their setting. The tension between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet influences subplots in the book, like the relationship between Jane and Mr. Bingley, or the scandal between Lydia and Mr. Wickham. 

Tension helps move the plot and pacing of your story along. Without it, your prose will read like a book report. So, how can you turn up the dial on the conflict in your story? Put your characters in tight spots. Make their car break down on the way to a job interview. Have them pocket dial their crush. Make them feel messy, human emotions and struggle toward processing them. When in doubt, ask yourself, "Am I being too nice to my characters?" If the answer is yes, your story line might not contain enough drama yet.

Rejections are part of the publishing game but following a few guidelines can help minimize their frequency.

1. Do your research. Have you been submitting poetry, short stories, and essays willy nilly in hopes something will stick? Save your energy (and your money!) by first taking the time to research whether your work is a good fit for the journal and vice versa. Submitting magical realism to a journal that historically publishes traditional fiction is not going to serve you. Find journals that match your writing aesthetic rather than trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. This means reading their already published issues. Submittable, Twitter, and Instagram are great places to find new journals.

2. Proofread your work. Spelling and grammar mistakes happen, but too many of them can be a turn off to publishers. If you're new to writing, or if you don't trust your own eyes, find a resource that can help. There's no shame in the Grammarly game! 

​3. Make it make sense. Lack of clarity will ruin even the most beautiful prose. If the journal's editor can't figure out the purpose or central theme of your piece, they won't publish it. Readers should be able to identify the tension in your work. Lack of tension is the number one reason poetry submissions don't get published.