Shazi, I love that you clarified you create conflict IN YOUR WRITING.

This is a great question, and I can't wait to hear everyone's ideas. It's one of the reasons I like prepping so much. When you're pansting, and you write your characters into a corner without an escape plan, it's tempting to turn to cheesy plot devices like Deus ex Machina (god-like person or situation who is able to resolve the conflict for the character - sort of literary "divine intervention") or colossal coincidence. But if you're planning your novel, and you created conflict at the outline stage, it's easy to go back earlier in your outline and do things like create a Deus ex Machina that's less cheesy and more realistic (a character or situation that began to unfold long before the conflict occurred, so it doesn't look contrived), or maybe a Chekhov's Gun (still a colossal coincidence, but not one that came out of nowhere - that gun hanging on the wall in scene two will just happen to be in the right place at the right time in scene 37.)

Cheers,
Michelle