New Submissions for The Path Requested, www.thepathmagazine.com
Friday, March 27, 2015
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Conflict
Does your story need conflict?
Maybe, maybe not but conflict is the one aspect of a story that is sure to
raise interest, cause a reader to take sides and, in general, portray a true-to-life
situation. Much of our lives, from early childhood, have involved some type of
conflict, be it sibling rivalry, teen competition, adult competition and
rivalry for jobs, mates and other facets of our lives. So, to speak, conflict
is a normal part of life.
Conflict boils down to five main areas:
a. Man
against self: A person deals with conflict within him/herself when ones decides
whether or not do “do the right thing”. Do I keep that beautiful ring lying on
the sidewalk or try to find its owner?
b. Man
against man: We are well aware of the conflict of man against man—just watch the
evening news.
c. Man
against society: People have fought to break from social mores since we lived
in caves. There have always been do’s and don’ts, often called taboos. Women,
for generations, were raised to believe that ‘decent’ women wore dresses. Now,
that is no longer true, women wear dresses, slacks, jeans, shorts or whatever
is comfortable or fitting for the occasion.
d. Man
against nature: Humans have conflicted with nature since time began. The most
notable conflict comes from the weather. We have conflict with dust storms,
tornadoes, blizzards, floods, hurricanes and all other manner of foul weather
that can be damaging or life threatening.
e. Man
against God: This is the trickiest one in that it assumes a belief in, or at least a grudging recognition of, the
Almighty. No God, no conflict, no problem, right? No so fast—there are always
forces that cannot be explained, whether they’re supernatural, chance or “dumb
luck”. These areas of conflict are covered here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)