nofna:

stilleatingoranges:

In the West, plot is commonly thought to revolve around conflict: a confrontation between two or more elements, in which one ultimately dominates the other. The standard three- and five-act plot structures—which permeate Western media—have conflict written into their very foundations. A “problem” appears near the end of the first act; and, in the second act, the conflict generated by this problem takes center stage. Conflict is used to create reader involvement even by many post-modern writers, whose work otherwise defies traditional structure.

The necessity of conflict is preached as a kind of dogma by contemporary writers’ workshops and Internet “guides” to writing. A plot without conflict is considered dull; some even go so far as to call it impossible. This has influenced not only fiction, but writing in general—arguably even philosophy. Yet, is there any truth to this belief? Does plot necessarily hinge on conflict? No. Such claims are a product of the West’s insularity. For countless centuries, Chinese and Japanese writers have used a plot structure that does not have conflict “built in”, so to speak. Rather, it relies on exposition and contrast to generate interest. This structure is known as kishōtenketsu.

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Something to keep in mind for a less confrontational world. Although… having grown up inside of a culture of conflict, where conflict itself has become a part of human carriage and cultural expectations, can the brain form a reward structure around peace so late? Sounds like a good challenge. (Irony not intended)

I forget if I reblogged this already or not but during workshop a lot of my pieces, especially so my final one, were criticized because it focused more on development and writing rather than conflict and action. I also received a lot of compliments on my story, so I’m not sure whether people were talking about the conflict issue because they wanted the participated grade, or there really was an issue. The teacher brought it up too but very subtley so I’m not so sure that people enjoy a late conflict and resolution. Then again my story was pretty weirdly structured so maybe i’m just babbling