: Re: How to write a story without conflict, like "My Neighbour Totoro"? We are used to stories being about conflict. There can be an antagonist, or a hostile environment, or even an internal problem

@Sarah872

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I find Totoro actually quite similar in feel to Kiki's delivery service. There is not much of what we might consider a grand story arc driving the story, only a series of small hops from one stone to the next, each associated with the main problem (ill mother, wanting to succeed in life) but not necessarily moving the plot toward the resolution. In both movies, there is an idealized "feel" of childhood, with a series of small challenges, each met and resolved. For me, that is the appeal of the stories. I don't know anyone who had such a lovely, idyllic childhood, but the gentleness of this fantasy is like balm to my soul whenever I watch it.

In Totoro, the characters meet and deal with many challenges: the rotten support that almost falls, the spidery critters that turn out to be harmless, Mei's refusal to stay with Granny during the day when Father is gone, the rainy day when they wait for Father and he doesn't get off the bus, and finally Mei running away. In each of these cases, the focus seems to be less on how the problems are solved and more on who the characters are. It's an exploration of life rather than a straightforward march to victory. It allows us to stop and smell the flowers, and feel the wind on our hair.

In Kiki, first there is the long journey with unsureness of where she is going to end up or whether they will like her, then her inability to find a place in the town which is solved because of who she is; a kind, helpful girl. There is the loss of the stuffed cat doll, the cold, wet night and her subsequent illness, her loss of confidence and then finally that incredible wild ride that I never get tired of watching. It always gives me little goose bumps to watch the bristles of that street cleaner's broom suddenly come alive with her magic.

Many of the challenges come as a result of the character's feelings about what is going on, rather than there being an actual threat. Consider the scene where Kiki is on the beach with Tombo, and his friends come by. Kiki gets upset because she thinks they are making fun of her. If this was a western movie, this would probably happen because the kids were mean and spiteful, but instead they say, in a rather admiring and approving way, "She's working already?"

Honestly, I don't know if the appeal of these movies can be successfully translated to a written medium in our culture. Its very simplicity would be lost under the volume of detail that stories require. And the blowing of the wind, the drumming of the rain, the gurgling streams, the quiet attention to the details of small insects and imaginary creatures, which are all staples of these movies, would very likely be lost in a book. You could write about them, but readers often skim over "irrelevant" details, looking for the action.

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