Conflict in StoryTelling

By now most of you know I am a big Marvel junkie and escape into the marvel cinematic universe whenever I can. For the past six months, I’ve been binge-watching the Daredevil series on Disney plus.

It honestly has some of the best storytelling on the small screen I have ever seen and I’m not saying that just because I’m a big fan of comics, in college I had a collection of over 3000 comic books. Yes, I am an action and superhero junkie.

While, books and novels both contain conflict in their storytelling, writing for the big and small screens focus on different aspects of conflict.

• External conflict
• Visual storytelling
• Layered subtext

WARNING: The movie clip in the following paragraph is from a fight scene and be considered graphic.

Sure movies and television shows have inner conflict but they express them more visually. The writers of Daredevil masterfully combine both inner and external conflict beautifully, sometimes in a not so family-friendly way. These writers understand the importance and need for conflict in storytelling!

Conflict

First, we must understand what conflict is. The dictionary defines conflict as, “A serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one.” By definition conflict is continuous, it isn’t some brief break in harmonious living.

As long as the conflict continues in our stories, they will have the necessary momentum to keep our narrative going and hopefully keep our audiences interested. Many writing coaches describe conflict as the fuel of storytelling.

“Conflict generates drama. Conflict is entertaining. But perhaps most important is this: Conflict concerns struggle.”

Scott Myers, screenwriting coach

Below are six types of struggle found in storytelling according to Masterclass.

1. Character versus self: This is an internal conflict. Meaning that the opposition character faces is coming from within.
2. Character versus character: This is a common type of conflict in which one character’s needs or wants are at odds with another’s.
3. Character versus nature: In a nature conflict, a character is set in opposition to nature.
4. Character versus supernatural: Pitting characters against phenomena like ghosts, Gods, or monsters raises the stakes of the conflict by creating an equal playing field.
5. Character versus technology: In this case, is in conflict with some kind of technology.
6. Character versus society: A character versus society conflict is an external conflict that occurs in literature when the protagonist is placed in opposition to society, the government, or a cultural tradition or societal norm of some kind.

The age-old teaching of show versus tell is more pertinent to screenwriting because these stories are visual. We never want to bore the audience by telling when it is much easier to show regardless of its internal or external conflict.

The audience must see conflict either through action, acting or inaction. The audience needs to know what is at stake and how it affects the character or the world in which they live. There is a struggle somewhere in their life. Ultimately, the struggle will bring change to the character or their world.

 Change

Conflict always brings a change in a story, whether internal or external.  

“A film isn’t just moments of conflict or activity, personality or emotionality, witty talk or symbols. What the writer seeks are events, for an event contains all the above and more… ‘Event’ means change. A story event creates a meaningful change in the life situation of a character that is expressed as an experience in terms of value. To make change meaningful you must express it in the audience must react to it, in terms of a value values are the soul of storytelling.”

Robert McKee

If conflict occurs, the events change things, McKee notes story values are the universal qualities of human experience that may shift from positive to negative, or negative to positive, from Beaumont to the next.”. Below are a few types of conflict change can bring.

• Alive/dead
• Love/hate
• Freedom/Slavery
• Truth/lie
• Courage/cowardice
• Loyalty/betrayal
• Wisdom/stupidity
• Strength/weakness
• Excitement/boredom

This change will be obvious as your story and characters progress from the beginning to the end of a screenplay. Conflict can build scene by scene, story value to story value. Along the way, our characters and their worlds will be changed when they face conflict.

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com  and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.