What makes a good conflict?

[NuclearFairy]

I'm curious very curious....

How much of a build up or foreshadowing is needed?

Long drawn out vs short and easily resolved.

In a more slice of life type series, how do you do several short easily resolved conflicts without it becoming aggravating and repetitive.

What makes a good sci-fy/fantasy/romance/action/whathaveyou conflict?

External conflict vs internal conflict?

 

[EmilyMiller]

If something - a thinking but also physical machine - has been fabricated, can it ever transcend what it was created to be? Can it ever become a person?

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Best conflict is no conflict.


Make stories fun and enjoyable.

 

[CX726577]

Conflict:
Me wanting a new motorcycle.
My wife wanting new curtains.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

A good conflict is one that is engaging and has some catharsis to it. A bad conflict is one that is boring.

I said it before: cooking a grilled cheese sandwich can become an epic adventure on its own with the right words. A conflict can be a phone call that can make you burn the cheese, a pan missing, a toaster not working, there's no gas, the kitchen caught on fire, the next-door neighbor is cooking in nothing but an apron, and is twerking her ass at you, and now all the ingredients are on the floor...

Chandler's two goons with pistols aren't literal people.

 

[NuclearFairy]

If something - a thinking but also physical machine - has been fabricated, can it ever transcend what it was created to be? Can it ever become a person?

What?

Best conflict is no conflict.


Make stories fun and enjoyable.

Yes, conflict free stories can be fun, but stories with a good conflict resolution can also be satisfying.

Conflict:
Me wanting a new motorcycle.
My wife wanting new curtains.

Okay, now how would you turn that into an engaging conflict?

 

[Britva415]

If "fun and exciting" were synonymous with "no conflict," then games wouldn't be fun and exciting. Neither would pursuing a personal-best in anything.

"Conflict" doesn't have to mean people fighting. A conflict just means some person wants something and there is some obstacle to them simply getting it, The End. The obstacle could be their own conflicted feelings. It could be a person they have to convince. It could be an environmental / situational barrier.

The absence of conflict is basically just a Mary Sue story.

"Conflict" is what makes you want to know what happens. Without that, it's either not a story or it's one I couldn't care about.

 

[onehitwanda]

Okay, now how would you turn that into an engaging conflict?

Buy the motorcycle.

 

[Britva415]

Okay, now how would you turn that into an engaging conflict?

Solomonically: Buy half a motorcycle and half a new curtains. See who wants it badder.

 

[JohnBJohn]

It doesn't have to be large and blustery to make for a good conflict. It could be as simple as a widower pushed to date by his teen daughter. If the interpersonal relations are interesting enough, it should be enjoyable.

 

[EmilyMiller]

What?

I made that into 90,000 words

 

[RetroFan]

There has to be some sort of conflict either internal or external or at least an obstacle to make a story interesting.

For example my story 'Hot Sex in the Big Freeze' for Valentine's Day a few years ago sees no direct conflict between the two protagonists Derek (the narrator) and Janet, and it is a sweet romantic story about a young guy who is secretly in love with the pretty girl next door and everything ends happily ever after.

However there is some internal conflict for Derek who worries about revealing his feelings to Janet, fearing they won't be reciprocated and might damage their friendship with the two having grown up together. He also feels bad about some of his voyeurism of her. But of greater adversity to the pair is the times they are living in. For the story is set in Essex in January 1963, and the UK winter of 1962-1963 was the coldest in history - aka 'The Big Freeze' - and Derek and Janet must deal with the adverse weather conditions that affect every aspect of their daily lives, not least that central heating was fairly uncommon in most English houses in those long-gone days.

 

[NotWise]

I'm curious very curious....

How much of a build up or foreshadowing is needed?

Not sure I understand the question. Build up or foreshadowing for the conflict? If that's the question, then there's a range of answers. Conflicts that are well known and understood by the reader don't need much help, but some conflicts have to be developed very slowly. Much of the story can be development of the conflict.

Long drawn out vs short and easily resolved.

Depends on the conflict. Many conflicts are never really resolved. The conflict may be a tool for developing the plot, and while the plot may be resolved the conflict will not.

In a more slice of life type series, how do you do several short easily resolved conflicts without it becoming aggravating and repetitive.

Conflict doesn't have to be a big part of the story. It's a tool. In a slice of life series you can come up with an endless array of simple conflicts that are easily resolved, but aren't really a big part of the story.

What makes a good sci-fy/fantasy/romance/action/whathaveyou conflict?

External conflict vs internal conflict?

Either. Internal conflict (man against self) has literary value.

There are a lot of external conflicts. In sci-fi, there's always man against the machine. In fantasy there's always man against supernatural forces. These don't have to be huge conflicts to drive a story. Maybe someone can't figure out how to answer their communicator.

 

[NuclearFairy]

I made that into 90,000 words

Neat!

Was there any sort of build up or foreshadowing, or was it there right at the start?

If there was build up or foreshadowing, how'd you handle it?

Was it the only conflict?

Was it an internal or external conflict? Bit of both?

How would you have handled it differently for a purely fantasy story?

 

[SimonDoom]

Solomonically: Buy half a motorcycle and half a new curtains. See who wants it badder.

Or put curtains on the motorcycle.

 

[SimonDoom]

I generally agree that conflict, broadly defined, makes a story, any sort of story, more fun and interesting.

An erotic story usually is more fun if there is some kind of conflict. Something that has to be overcome to reach erotic fulfillment.

 

[Britva415]

Build up or foreshadowing for the conflict?

I took it to be about foreshadowing the way the conflict might resolve.

"Foreshadowing a conflict" seems as pointless as not having a conflict at all. The fact that the story has stakes should be apparent from the beginning. I (as a reader) don't know how else to get past the first pages.

 

[NuclearFairy]

I took it to be about foreshadowing the way the conflict might resolve.

"Foreshadowing a conflict" seems as pointless as not having a conflict at all. The fact that the story has stakes should be apparent from the beginning. I (as a reader) don't know how else to get past the first pages.

Yes that, but also, a story starts off with the person or couple going about their normal life, with only a few hints here and there in the beginning as to what the big conflict will be.

Yeah, true, I've seen that work best in psychological thrillers, but I'd still love to hear about how it can be done well in other genres.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

Buy the motorcycle.

Always buy the motorcycle.

Solomonically: Buy half a motorcycle and half a new curtains. See who wants it badder.

Half a motor-

That's not what I know as a chopper, but the name suits it better!

Or put curtains on the motorcycle.

I'm quoting this because is not a reaction.

 

[CalBishForNow]

I've commented here before about the value of thinking about conflict in more terms than just person vs. person, i.e. internal conflict or conflict with societal expectations, but interpersonal conflict is in my mind right now because for the first time I'm writing a story with an actual antagonist. It's interesting.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I guess it matters how you define conflict.


In The Kensingtons, the brother makes a crack about women's work and Mom and the sisters take him to task over it.





.

 

[ClintonBrooks]

Yes that, but also, a story starts off with the person or couple going about their normal life, with only a few hints here and there as to what the big conflict will be.

Yeah, true, I've seen that work best in psychological thrillers, but I'd still love to hear about how it can be done well in other genres.

In slow burn taboo stories, the conflict is between doing what mother nature is calling for, versus what society is saying to avoid. One, or both characters want to "inter-relate", but keeping denying themselves/each other. Inevitably, lust/love/both overcomes the resistance and sparks fly.

This can be done in other genre's.

SciFi - She's human and he's a tentacle monster from Rigel 7. Their societies tell them to not inter-breed, its a sin...it's evil...it's just down right wrong you horny bastards. So they avoid it, as long as they can. They have a few close calls along the way...then BOOM! We have a fuckfest.

Mature - It's my best friends mom...who helped raise me. I shouldn't want to fuck her, but damn...look at her in that blouse with no bra on. She's biting her lip as her eyes pass over his rock hard abs. So they avoid it, as long as they can. They have a few close calls along the way...then BOOM! We have a fuckfest.

Gay Male/Lesbian - I'm straight dammit. I shouldn't want someone from my own gender. I keep telling myself I'm straight but gee, those eyes are talking to me. So they avoid it, as long as they can. They have a few close calls along the way...then BOOM! We have a fuckfest.

Erotic Couplings - I shouldn't covet my neighbors wife. I don't want to cheat on my own wife as I love her dearly. But I keep getting caught in compromising positions with the slinky minx. Her husband is out of town and she needs the clothes washer fixed. The neighbors invite us over for a little pool party and she's wearing a teeny weeny, itsie bitsis polka dot bikini while hes sporting a speedo and would make an Olympian proud. What was that honey? You find him desirable? They have a few close calls along the way...then BOOM! We have a fuckfest.

Your Mileage May Vary.


Of course...I may be wrong.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Of course...I may be wrong.

I always am.


Just ask anyone.

 

[NuclearFairy]

I always am.


Just ask anyone.

Not possible, even if you're trying to be wrong, you'll still get it right at least some of the time.

 

[NotWise]

Yes that, but also, a story starts off with the person or couple going about their normal life, with only a few hints here and there in the beginning as to what the big conflict will be.

Yeah, true, I've seen that work best in psychological thrillers, but I'd still love to hear about how it can be done well in other genres.

Conflict within a couple could take a lot of development. Or not.

Oggbashan used to write 50-word stories. 15x50 words = 750 works. I tried one with the goal of including all the elements of a story (location, character, plot, conflict, resolution). Location was a restaurant. Characters were a married couple. Plot was (self-perceived) good confronts evil. Conflict was that husband had discovered the wife's extramarital affair. Resolution was that the wife already knew about her husbands affair, and neither had leverage over the other.

50 words.