Post History
As others have said, the main conflict is what the main character wants and can't get. But I think the point that needs making here is about what plot is. I think it is all to easy to get into th...
Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2020-01-03T20:41:50Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/23554 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T05:22:30Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/23554 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
by
System
·
2019-12-08T05:22:30Z (over 4 years ago)
As others have said, the main conflict is what the main character wants and can't get. But I think the point that needs making here is about what plot is. I think it is all to easy to get into the habit of thinking of plot as a kind of history. You can meticulously develop an imaginary history and write it down, including lots of conflicts, without actually creating the kind of conflict that drives a story arc. So I would suggest looking at plot this way: Plot is what stops the main character from getting what they want, and eventually, grants it to them or permanently denies it to them. The function of plot is to first frustrate and then reward or punish the protagonist. Nothing else. By this reasoning, any part of the imaginary history that you have created that does not serve to frustrate and then either reward or punish the protagonist is not plot. If you can't find the main conflict in your plot, therefore, it may be that it is an imaginary history rather than a plot.
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2016-06-25T04:44:07Z (almost 8 years ago)
Original score: 2