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Ah! The missing piece of the puzzle. Thanks!
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Basic Writing questions is not a crit forum. All crits belong in Share Your Work
Dialogue and conflict
- Thread starter srgalactica
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Ah! The missing piece of the puzzle. Thanks!
I think all these rules make for rather two dimensional fiction and find that depth is often created through the inconsequential.
Most of life itself is, in fact, inconsequential. It's the shopping list that says...
milk
washing-up liquid
bread
frozen peas
... found in the hand of a corpse.
No. There doesn't need to be conflict on every page. There doesn't need to be tension on every page. And, as exemplified by many works of innovative fiction, there doesn't even have to be a plot.
I say doesn't have to be. The majority of readers will prefer these things. But it's not obligatory. Nothing is.
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Most of life itself is, in fact, inconsequential. It's the shopping list that says...
milk
washing-up liquid
bread
frozen peas
... found in the hand of a corpse.
No. There doesn't need to be conflict on every page. There doesn't need to be tension on every page. And, as exemplified by many works of innovative fiction, there doesn't even have to be a plot.
I say doesn't have to be. The majority of readers will prefer these things. But it's not obligatory. Nothing is.
.
Whatever you do, it has to be interesting. Conflict can be boring if we're not invested in it. Peace can be fun if it's fun. My kids like bedtime stories which are basically about trains taking little kids for rides. They just enjoy thinking about trains.
Not to mention that characters can collaborate to advance the plot.
But if isn't entertaining, it goes.
Not to mention that characters can collaborate to advance the plot.
But if isn't entertaining, it goes.
DennisB
Banned
Don't forget that the Greek word for conflict is dramos, which is the root of drama, which we all must engage in. No, it doesn't have to be something as grand as war or murder. Just things that make us choose.
One great writer (I believe it was Elmore Leonard) advised to never write conversation. Dialogue, yes, but not conversation.
As for conflict on every page, well that sounds awfully formulaic, doesn't it? Your dialogue should move the STORY forward, but character development is critical to the story. Sometimes you have to take a breather to flesh out the character--while keeping in mind that the conflict can not be far behind.
One great writer (I believe it was Elmore Leonard) advised to never write conversation. Dialogue, yes, but not conversation.
As for conflict on every page, well that sounds awfully formulaic, doesn't it? Your dialogue should move the STORY forward, but character development is critical to the story. Sometimes you have to take a breather to flesh out the character--while keeping in mind that the conflict can not be far behind.
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