: 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

A few thoughts.

What about low stakes. People (especially Hollywood) think they like high stakes, high octane, non-stop action. Think 'Rugrats' and 'All Grown Up'. Not real antagonist there, and low stakes. But an intriguing tale, touching narrative, and just fun times to be had.

Haya Miyazaki was really good at no villains because the antagonist was always just that, someone with an opposing goal--not a bad person. Look at Princess Mononoke, for example. Two groups with directly opposing goals (one wants to save the forest, the other wants to provide for her people), and a sole man that tries to mediate between them. No one is portrayed as 'good' or 'evil', they have flaws and make bad decisions.

Or how about taking a look at the narrative of Pixar movies. Rarely a villain in the traditional sense, but always a gripping story that doesn't let you walk away. Cars, you have a jerk of an antagonist, but the story isn't really about him--it's about Lightning's growth and finding himself. In fact, so much so that he throws the race on purpose.

In the same vein, why not antagonist as an obstacle to overcome. Lightning McQueen's true antagonist is his own vanity, and perhaps his loneliness. He doesn't have any real friends, because no one truly sees him--only his success. It isn't until he's essentially lost in this backwater town does he truly find himself.

Like @coteyr said, there are three types of conflicts. Use the one that fits the story you are trying to tell. And play with the concepts a bit.

After all.

What's the point of writing a story, if you don't have something interesting to say?

Load Full (0)

: What liberties can I take with the monarchies in my own world? Could a writer make up his own rules, for a monarchy he created, in a world of his own making? My question is whether I

@Gonzalez219

Load Full 2 Comments

: This may depend on the writer and their style; what I think is a great opening line, and what you think is a great opening line, may be quite different things. Speaking for myself, I write

@Gonzalez219

Load Full 0 Comments

: Skip the flashbacks. That IS the story. Instead of flashbacks, just consider a story (trilogy or not) that shows present-tense scenes with time-skips between chapters showing the transformation

@Gonzalez219

Load Full 0 Comments

: I have a retracted article for ethical misconduct, this means my career is over? When I was in my first year of M.SC. A professor told me to work on a project that the main data were belong

: 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

More posts by @Gonzalez219

: What liberties can I take with the monarchies in my own world? Could a writer make up his own rules, for a monarchy he created, in a world of his own making? My question is whether I

: This may depend on the writer and their style; what I think is a great opening line, and what you think is a great opening line, may be quite different things. Speaking for myself, I write

: Skip the flashbacks. That IS the story. Instead of flashbacks, just consider a story (trilogy or not) that shows present-tense scenes with time-skips between chapters showing the transformation

: I have a retracted article for ethical misconduct, this means my career is over? When I was in my first year of M.SC. A professor told me to work on a project that the main data were belong

Login to post a comment!

0 Comments

Back to top