Conflict – Who Needs It? You!

If you’re a writer, YOU do. Every story needs a conflict at the center of it. If plot is the fundamental building block of a story, then conflict is the fundamental building block of plot.
No conflict, no plot.
No plot, no story.

Because if everyone in your story already has everything they need, if nothing needs to be resolved, then there’s no basis of a story there. At least not a story people will pay to read.

A “conflict” is two things in opposition to one another. The most obvious example is combat in a battle or war. But conflict can also be emotional or even spiritual in nature. As when someone struggles to maintain their religious faith in the face of unexplained, senseless tragedy, such as a mass-shooting.

Conflicts can be external, as in: man vs man; man vs creatures (zombies or dragons); man vs the environment (arctic or amazon adventures).

But conflict can also be internal. For example, when your protagonist struggles to make tough choices in the face of seemingly impossible dilemmas. Psychologist Kurt Lewin broke internal conflicts down into three types of choices:
1) between two good options – a maiden who’s forced to choose between a prince who will shower her with wealth and luxury, or the peasant boy who offers only true love.

2) between two bad options – the farmer who must choose which of his sons must go off to serve in the army.

3) between a good and a bad option – the rising company executive who must sacrifice his morals to achieve monetary success, or quit his job and maintain his ideals. This is the most common conflict. The choice between good and evil. Light and darkness. Right and wrong.

Before beginning your story, ask yourself some questions. First and foremost, ask: What does my character want? What do they yearn for deep in their hearts. I even named one of my short stories after the thing my protagonist wanted more than anything else – “A Little Peace and Quiet”.

Once you know what your character longs for, ask yourself, Are they willing to sacrifice everything to obtain the object of their desire? Will they fight for it? Kill for it? Or even DIE for it? To what lengths are they willing to go to satisfy their longing?

Finally, (and here’s the fun part) determine the following: How many ways can I come up with the thwart their desire? To stymie their longing? In “A Little Peace and Quiet,” I tried to put myself in my protagonist’s shoes, and ask what my worst nightmare would be if I were simply trying to get a little peace and quiet.

Try to come up with a longing that resonates deep in your own heart. Then tie your conflict to that desire. Whether the person seeks money, prestige, love, or simple acceptance from their peers, your job as storyteller is to put as many roadblocks and/or booby traps as possible between your character and the object for which they long. That’s conflict

You can place tiny conflicts within the context of larger conflicts. For example, let’s say your protagonist struggles to find a bus going to a certain town. He finally finds a bus. Yay!
Now, however, you can make the bus break down on the side of the road. Boo!
But your protagonist is saved when a farmer comes by with a donkey-pulled cart. Yay!
So your protagonist gets in the cart. But now the donkey sprains his leg. Boo!
And so on and so forth.

Keep in mind, that at their core, all stories are driven by conflict. Conflict drives the story. It makes your characters grow.
And most of all – assuming you’ve succeeded in making the reader identify with your character’s longing – it makes the readers care.

Remember – conflict creates tension. Tension creates suspense. And suspense keeps the readers turning the pages.