It's a cliche that 'conflict is drama,' and like all cliches, one in the hand is worth two in the bush.
I think SenSho's done a few diaries on conflict, but I disagreed violently with all of them, so here's another. The thing is, conflict is hard. We spend days and weeks and months and minutes creating unique, fascinating characters--what kind of monster bestows these imaginary people with life, then torments them?
A writer, of course.
I'm tempted to write some sort of cautionary note, saying that the only good, useful conflicts in a novel are ones that advance the plot. You can't just have people fighting for no reason. That's stupid, and undermines the narrative integrity of the story.
But I think that's wrong. I think that even idiotic conflict probably keeps readers happy. Something's happening. It's exciting. There's a vicarious thrill. Even if the characters are just arguing about which loaf of bread to buy, that's better than quietly agreeing on the ciabatta. Well, quiet agreement is maybe okay for you fancy litterers, but we commercial novelists can't abide quiet or agreement.
So first, a question: am I right? Is any conflict better than none? (Barring stuff that's terribly written. There's no excuse for terrible writing, unless you want to sell ten million copies of Twi-fic vanilla-kink spank-lit.)
And second, an argumentative exercise. A nice easy one. There's no excuse for putting it off this time. Yes, I'm talking about you.
Pump Up The Conflict:
The bakery smelled like a bakery. Greg followed Adele to the counter.
"We'll have the ciabatta," Adele said.
Greg sighed.
"And a loaf of the peasant bread," Adele said. "Sliced."
Greg touched a brownie crumb on the counter, then licked his fingertip.
"Is that okay, Greg?" Adele asked.
"Ciabatta," Greg said. "We always get ciabatta."
"Well, what do you want?"
"Nothing. Focaccia."
"Focaccia? You know my mother likes ciabatta."
"Yeah," Greg said, with another sigh.
Let's say that Greg and Adele are minor characters, and all we need to know is that their relationship is strained of late. Let's see a rewrite that draws blood.
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