I was chatting to a writer the other day and she said: “I just do not like making horrible things happen to my characters.“ It is an interesting point but the reality is that conflict is important, nay central, in writing .
Why? Because stories need things to happen and that usually comes out of conflict - characters argue, fight, feud etc. It is through seeing characters in conflict that we see them at their truest, when their guard is down, when they are fighting something.
You can also develop a character through conflict: the meek little parlour maid suddenly becomes the towering heroine of the story
Conflict also takes the story on: a school is to be closed, two friends fall out, a community is torn apart by an event. All these types of conflict are a rich hunting ground for the writer.
In addition, conflict can evoke a strong reaction in a reader and make for good drama - and if that is happening then writing is easier.
John Dean
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