Conflict is something pushing back. If the character has nothing pushing on her, and she’s pushing on nothing, there’s no conflict.

Confrontation is not necessarily conflict. Violence loses its power very quickly, and should be used sparingly, and only when the story demands it.

Things being difficult can provide conflict – solving a mystery, having to make a hard choice.

Wish-fulfilment fantasies, in which a sequence of nice events occur, are not stories, because they lack conflict. Ask: What’s the catch?

A character who’s driven (by external forces) or obsessed (with an internal goal) isn’t going to walk away from the conflict when it becomes hard. We will find them interesting to watch. This is because we admire someone who, unlike us, has a clear goal; and we expect them to encounter trouble and exhibit their character in overcoming it.

The threat of loss of something the character values gives power to conflict.

People practicing their professions, even interesting professions, don’t make stories until something becomes personal.

#shortfiction Damon Knight