One of the most dread phrases in rejection-land is "slight." Different editors may use it to mean different things - not enough action, characters who don't seem fully realized, or stories with unlikely plots. But the number one reason why editor say "slight" is in response to stories without enough conflict or theme. Slight writing may be nicely crafted. It may have an engaging character. It may be fast paced. But it doesn't tend to linger.

Sometimes an editor will expound on "slight" by telling you that there isn't enough going on. Or he might tell you that the premise seems too weak for a story. This happens when there isn't enough purposeful action. I've seen stories that are full of things happening - even happening to the main character - but the action doesn't seem purposeful. It doesn't seem to be driving toward a clear ending. Again, the culprits are usually conflict and theme.

CONFLICT AND THEME

In our general conversation, we think of conflict as disagreement or interpersonal problems. Story conflict is a bit different. It may involve issues between people, but many times it does not. A story with just one character can have conflict. Conflict is about difficulty. A story that has conflict places problems between the main character and his story goal. The problems should feel natural, believable, and should illustrate truth (but not necessarily a life lesson). Let's look at a few popular children's stories and look at how conflict and theme can work in usual ways.

PICTURE BOOKS

One extremely popular picture book in the last few years is Don't Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems. In this simple picture book, the young reader is asked by one of the characters to look after a bus - and not to let the pigeon drive. Then the pigeon comes along and begs to drive the bus. The conflict is between the pigeon and the reader! The pigeon has a clear story goal (drive the bus) and his every effort (which is basically imaginative begging) is thwarted by the reader who is to tell the pigeon - no. The story works because it illustrates something about parents and children. In this story, the child is asked to take on a parental role - the "reader/listener" is supposed to tell the pigeon no. The pigeon begs, pleads, sulks, bargains, and wheedles, but he does not get what he wants. This role reversal is a kind of illustration of what it's like to be a parent - that's the theme. So, though the book is very short and seems quite frivolous, it does reveal a truth to the reader. That's why this very simple book wasn't rejected for being slight.

A similar sort of theme is show in If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff. In this book, it would look as if the book is without conflict. The mouse wants things. The young boy provides them. But the story works by looking at the building consequences of always giving in. If you always give in - you'll need to give more and more. And the results might not be good. The child character is exhausted and has a huge mess to clean up. In this book, like Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, the child-parent role in inverted because the child is the giver, faced with the mouse's endless requests/desires.

NOVELS

Conflict and theme tend to be much clearer in stories for older children. Most stories show the main character facing some kind of peril. It can be physical, as in Charlotte's Web or Harry Potter. Or more an inner peril such as a loss of a friendship, damaged relationships with authority figures, or loss of something the main character values (which can be tangible goods or intangibles). In Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia, one character dies, but most of the conflict and theme is related to relationships, not physical peril.

Even in adventure novels, where physical peril is a major component, like Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, there is still almost always another conflict/peril aspect that is entirely emotional/relational. Artemis Fowl has a goal involving adventure, but the story also puts him in contact with characters with whom he must interact and relate. The same is true of another adventure focus series, The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. When that secondary component of emotional peril isn't present, a book can be called "slight" even when there is plenty of physical problems and action.

TESTING FOR SLIGHT

1. In your story, is every action purposeful - does it lead to the conclusion of the plot while also revealing things about the main character? Simply because something is exciting, doesn't make it purposeful. The inclusion of action/events that aren't purposeful can lead to a story being called slight.

2. In your story, does the ending come about because of the main character's actions? Would the ending change if the main character did less? If the ending is something that happens to the main character that would have happened no matter what the main character did - your story may be called slight.

3. In your story, can you sum up both the external (physical) action and the internal (character change) in a single sentence? If not, your story may be called slight. An example of this kind of summing up (for a popular story you may recognize) might be: A girl confronts a deadly wolf while trying to bring goodies to her grandmother (external), and learns that appearances can be deceiving (internal).

Put your stories to the test so you can avoid getting slighted!