{"id":1086,"date":"2011-11-23T21:37:03","date_gmt":"2011-11-24T01:37:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/?p=1086"},"modified":"2019-07-10T02:26:34","modified_gmt":"2019-07-10T06:26:34","slug":"five-types-of-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/?p=1086","title":{"rendered":"Five types of conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was reading Save the Cat! Strikes Back<\/a>\"\" by Blake Snyder.\u00a0 It\u2019s geared toward screenwriters, but it holds a lot of great advice for any story creator out there.\u00a0 Along with his original Save The Cat!<\/a>\"\" book, I\u2019d call it essential reading for any story writer.<\/p>\n

On page 36, Snyder writes:<\/p>\n

Conflict offers more challenge, especially when you\u2019re having a hard time finding it in your scenes.\u00a0 How many scenes have conflict in a 110-page screenplay?\u00a0 That\u2019s right.\u00a0 Every.\u00a0 Single.\u00a0 One.\u00a0 And yet finding that conflict in all scenes isn\u2019t easy.\u00a0 During an early class, the wonderful writer\/actress Dorie Barton was working out cards for her L.A. thriller, Migraine<\/em>, and we had a scene wherein the protag, a waitress hampered by severe headaches, explains to her boss what a \u201cmigraine\u201d is.\u00a0 It\u2019s pure exposition, and the scene just lay there.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 No conflict!\u00a0 Well, to fix that, we shoved some conflict in.\u00a0 We created a customer who, while the hero goes on explaining her condition, keeps banging on the counter.\u00a0 \u201cMiss!\u00a0 More coffee over here!\u00a0 Miss!\u00a0 MISS!\u201d\u00a0 The forced conflict<\/strong> of that scene makes it play better \u2013 and reinforces the pained look on the hero\u2019s face as her migraine builds.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"stcsb\"<\/a> I\u2019m currently working on a fantasy novel, and I can now easily see why some of my scenes are boring.\u00a0 No conflict!\u00a0 Or at least not enough conflict.\u00a0 I\u2019m an outline-the-story-first writer, and as I look over my notes for my current fantasy novel, I see lack of conflict in many of my scene outlines as well.\u00a0 For example, the point of one scene is: \u201cThe queen shows the old man that the telescope has been destroyed.\u201d\u00a0 The point of another scene is: \u201cA man tells the queen that his village has been destroyed.\u201d\u00a0 Another scene: \u201cThe wizard arrives at the castle.\u201d\u00a0 I think these are fine descriptions for an outline; these things need to happen for the plot to move forward, and to give readers the necessary information to understand the plot.\u00a0 But the purposes of these scenes are completely expository<\/em>.\u00a0 They only exist so that certain characters and\/or readers will get certain information.\u00a0 If I go to write these scenes with just<\/em> these purposes in mind, I will be a bit bored as a writer, I will write a boring scene, and readers will also be bored.<\/p>\n

The solution, of course, is to add conflict.<\/p>\n

I could of course just do this naturally without thinking much about it, as I\u2019m sure many writers do.\u00a0 But I wanted to see if I could identify exactly what types of conflict a scene might have.\u00a0 In school, I learned to identify types of story conflicts like \u201cman vs. man\u201d and \u201cman vs. himself\u201d and \u201cman vs. nature.\u201d\u00a0 I think these are more thematic conflicts.\u00a0 I\u2019m thinking about conflict as something that manifests itself in a specific scene through specific character thoughts or actions.\u00a0 That way, when I get to one of those conflict-free scene descriptions, I can look over my list and think about how to spice up the scene with conflict.\u00a0 Here are the five I came up with.\u00a0 If you can think of anymore, let me know, and I\u2019ll add it to the list.<\/p>\n

1 \u2013 Decision conflict<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is an internal conflict, when a character must decide what to do.\u00a0 In a way, this could describe any conflict, because it\u2019s usually a character\u2019s decided actions that resolve a conflict.\u00a0 But I think of this conflict as describing when the internal decision conflict is the main<\/em> conflict, presented when the character has opposing desires, wants two or more things, but can only have one.\u00a0 For example, perhaps a character wants to get his sick friend to a hospital, but he also wants to avoid being seen because he\u2019s a criminal.\u00a0 Or a character wants to tell her boyfriend that she loves him, but she doesn\u2019t want to be rejected.\u00a0 Or a character wants to kill the evil overlord, but he doesn\u2019t want to get hurt or die.\u00a0 This conflict happens entirely in the character\u2019s head.\u00a0 There are multiple roads to take, none of them are all that great, and the character must choose one.<\/p>\n

In movies, you hardly ever get this conflict actually told to you in words.\u00a0 Instead, you see it introduced by the plot itself, and how the characters respond to it.\u00a0 It\u2019s that look in an actor\u2019s eyes when he sees something he wants but can\u2019t have.\u00a0 For a writer of literature, there\u2019s always the danger of going overboard in presenting the decision conflict, of allowing the character\u2019s inner dialog to go on and on.\u00a0 \u201cTo be or not to be, that is the question.\u00a0 Let me ponder it out loud for the next half hour.\u201d\u00a0 Meanwhile, the audience takes a nap.\u00a0 Decisions can be vital conflicts, every story has them, but they don\u2019t have to be analyzed to death.<\/p>\n

2 \u2013 Physical conflict<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is probably the most natural and primal of conflicts, and I have a tough time thinking of many movies that do not include some form of it during the climax.\u00a0 (Gosford Park<\/em> maybe?)\u00a0 This conflict occurs when a character\u2019s body is in physical opposition with another force, usually another character.\u00a0 The result of losing is often death, and the character must use his physical strength to stay alive.\u00a0 But this conflict could also present itself less climactically.\u00a0 Perhaps two characters are just having a small shoving match.\u00a0 Maybe a character is trying to lift something heavy.\u00a0 Maybe a character is reaching out for something that\u2019s just beyond grasp.\u00a0 Though point is, unlike a decision conflict, the physical conflict is completely external<\/em>, manifested in physical action.<\/p>\n

(One a side note, I think this sort of conflict works much better visually than in writing because it\u2019s so movement-based.\u00a0 Visually, it\u2019s almost instantly interesting, almost mesmerizing to watch.\u00a0 But a sword fight can\u2019t look nearly as \u201ccool\u201d in a book, because there\u2019s nothing to actually see.)<\/p>\n

3 \u2013 Puzzle conflict<\/strong><\/p>\n

This sort of conflict is a bit like a decision conflict in that it\u2019s mainly internal, but rather than having to decide something, the character is searching for a specific answer, a solution to some problem.\u00a0 In essence, any sort of mystery for which the answer is important to the plot is a puzzle conflict.\u00a0 This is obviously one of the main conflicts of most mystery stories, but it can present itself in smaller forms as well, such as Gandalf wondering how to open the Mines of Moria in The Lord of the Rings<\/em> (\u201cSpeak friend and enter\u201d \u2013 what does that mean?)\u00a0 J. K. Rowling\u2019s Harry Potter<\/em> series is full of all sorts of puzzle conflicts, which create wonderful and thrilling suspense throughout the stories.\u00a0 However, the storyteller must be careful that he has good (or, dare I say, clever<\/em>) solutions for his puzzle conflicts, otherwise the audience may feel cheated.\u00a0 If you\u2019re a writer, you maybe to tempted to create puzzle conflicts before knowing the solution so that you too will share in the suspense of the story.\u00a0 But if you can\u2019t think of a good solution, it\u2019s a waste of time to write much about it.<\/p>\n

Many times puzzle conflicts present themselves over multiple scenes; a mystery is introduced in one scene, clues are gathered throughout other scenes (sometimes unknowingly), and the solution is found in another scene.\u00a0 But a puzzle conflict could be introduced and solved in one scene, such as the aforementioned Mines of Moria entrance conflict.\u00a0 Or perhaps a character must try to figure out how to get through a locked door, and realizes he can melt the mechanism with potions he has.\u00a0 Or perhaps a character is looking for a code in a book, and realizes the last letter of every page form a secret message.<\/p>\n

The point is: there\u2019s a missing piece of information that is essential to the story\u2019s plot, and the characters must puzzle it out and find the solution.<\/p>\n

(You could probably also have a reader-only puzzle conflict.\u00a0 The characters are going about their business happily unaware of any mysteries, but the readers, who are able to see the whole picture, are realizing that some things just aren\u2019t adding up.\u00a0 You just have to be careful, because you don\u2019t want the audience to feel like their being cheated out of knowing stuff that a character does.)<\/p>\n

4 \u2013 Character disagreements<\/strong><\/p>\n

This conflict is perhaps the most fun to write, though it can be challenging to do so believably.\u00a0 It involves mainly dialog, so the writer must understand the viewpoints of each character well enough to argue effectively from his or her point of view.\u00a0 As a writer, you must induce a sort of multiple-personality-disorder within yourself.\u00a0 What makes this a conflict is rather obvious: characters disagree about something, and they let their disagreements known to each other verbally.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 If characters are different enough from each other, and their arguments are interesting and unique enough, you\u2019re bound to have an interesting scene.<\/p>\n

Of course, it doesn\u2019t have<\/em> to involve dialog.\u00a0 It could be a simple matter of a character turning the car radio to rock and roll, and another turning it back to classical, and the other turning it back to rock and roll and turning the volume up.\u00a0 The point is that they disagree about something and act on it.<\/p>\n

5 \u2013 Danger is lurking<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this conflict, nothing actually happens, but something bad might<\/em> happen if the character doesn\u2019t do something.\u00a0 It\u2019s all about what could<\/em> happen, and what the character must do to prevent it.\u00a0 Maybe the character has to run away from a dinosaur, or not move when challenged to a staring contest by a T-rex, all to avoid entering the animal\u2019s digestive system.\u00a0 Perhaps a character is sneaking into a castle and must hide in the shadows while the guards pace around or tiptoe past them as they sleep at their posts.\u00a0 Perhaps the clock is ticking and a bomb is about to go off, and a character must either diffuse it or get out of a the building just in time.\u00a0 The point is the character must do something and\u00a0 be careful<\/em> and\/or hurry up<\/em>!\u00a0 It\u2019s all about the tension of what could possibly<\/em> happen if the character makes the wrong move at the wrong time.\u00a0 Like a physical conflict, this sort of conflict often presents itself near the climax, and death is often a possible a result.<\/p>\n

In conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

It probably goes without saying, but these sorts of conflicts do not have to present themselves exclusively.\u00a0 That is, a scene could contain any number of possible combinations.\u00a0 You see this in movies a lot, where characters are sword fighting and exchanging witty (or cheesy) dialog.\u00a0 Or when characters are running away from danger and trying to puzzle out how to stop the bad guy with their limited resources.\u00a0 No story (besides perhaps flash fiction) would ever contain just one<\/em> type of conflict, right?<\/p>\n

The interesting thing about adding conflict to an otherwise expository scene is that I think it actually makes the scene more<\/em> expository, because readers then get to see how characters respond<\/em> to certain challenges.<\/p>\n

And no conflict is OK too, sometimes<\/strong><\/p>\n

In literature, there are some instances in which you just have to do a conflict-free info-dump.\u00a0 As long as it\u2019s kept as lean as possible, audiences usually won\u2019t complain.<\/p>\n

In movies, there can be mood-setting scenes or montages.\u00a0 Usually music (which is often instantly, though perhaps subconsciously, interesting) accompanies the visuals.\u00a0 The director can easily get away with showing montages of mountain flyovers to show off grand landscapes, or to show characters traveling through the wilderness, or to show a character\u2019s otherwise long and boring rise to popularity, etc.\u00a0 Opening credits often present themselves in collections of conflict-free shots that do little else but establish the story\u2019s initial mood and physical setting.\u00a0 As long as it doesn\u2019t go on for too long, audiences will sit back and enjoy the meditative atmosphere presented to them.\u00a0 Stanley Kubrick\u2019s long boring shots in 2001: A Space Odyssey<\/em> really test the durational limits of such montages.\u00a0 Personally, I think he went too far and I dare to call his decisions idiotic and fast-forward-button inducing, but others praise the shots as an \u201cinnovation.\u201d\u00a0 In musicals, conflict-free song and dance numbers can go on for some length, as the music and the dancing entrance the viewers.<\/p>\n

Anyway, the point is that you can<\/em> get away with little or no conflict when it\u2019s necessary.\u00a0 But I think it\u2019s extremely advantageous to know when and why you\u2019re doing so, so that you\u2019re not just doing so out of laziness or ignorance.<\/p>\n

Hope that was an interesting post.\u00a0 Writing it out has given me plenty of ideas for my own otherwise boring novel scenes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was reading Save the Cat! Strikes Back by Blake Snyder.\u00a0 It\u2019s geared toward screenwriters, but it holds a lot of great advice for any story creator out there.\u00a0 Along with his original Save The Cat! book, I\u2019d call it essential reading for any story writer. On page 36, Snyder […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[175,4],"tags":[328,451],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gI4B-hw","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1086"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2442,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086\/revisions\/2442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}