Conflict & resolution

Confrontation

Conflict vs confrontation

So far we've been looking at what we might call confrontations rather than conflicts.

  • A confrontation is a moment in time. It marks a specific point when a conflict comes to a head.
  • A conflict is sustained over time. It represents the ongoing struggle for dominance between opposing forces, and might encapsulate many confrontations.
Example: The Third Day, the Frost
Example: Written in the Stars
Getting beyond confrontation to conflict by asking "Why?"

This is an important point, because conflict is one of the fundamental organising forces in story and narrative.

So before we do any more writing, let's examine the idea of conflict more closely.

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