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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/27736
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/27736
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The heart of a story is neither physical conflict nor emotional conflict, it is moral conflict. That is to say, it is about the character being made to face a choice about values. Does pride and prejudice win out over love? Does Spiderman save MJ or the busload of children?

Emotional conflict results from moral conflict. Moral conflict forces us to pay a price to attain a goal. There is an emotional cost to paying the price and an emotional gain from achieving the goal.

Physical conflict arises because two characters have different, non-compatible goals. This poses another moral conflict -- am I willing to engage in violence to achieve my goals.

So, in the hierarchy of conflicts, moral conflict is at the top, emotional conflict is in the middle, and physical conflict is at the bottom. Physical conflict alone is not very interesting. The interest comes from the emotional conflict and, more fundamentally, the moral conflict.

This does not mean that you have to do a full exposition of the moral conflict, followed by a full exposition of the emotional conflict, followed by a full exposition of the physical conflict. But it does mean that the reader needs to see at least the seeds of the moral and emotional conflict before you can expect them to engage with the physical conflict.

Original score: 3