Conflict

Conflict!

It's the essential building block of drama. You don't have a story without the basics of "someone wants something, and something's in the way of getting it."

Screenwriting books - books I really love and have given me a lot - will often say that amping up the conflict to its greatest level is the way to go. Heighten that conflict! It's good advice for the story drafts that have a Protagonist lollygagging through the day, looking at themselves in the mirror, and wandering around waiting for something to happen.

I've been thoroughly enjoying the final season of Star Trek: Picard. Star Trek the Next Generation (the 80's/90's show starring Captain Picard) was an interesting study in conflict - Gene Roddenberry, Trek creator, was firm in his decree that in this future, humanity had resolved all of their differences and did not have conflict with each other. They'd evolved to the point where these problems didn't exist. Could be a nice place to live - but it left the writers in a real pickle!

It's kind of hard to write exciting drama with no conflict - it would have to be alien villains, or possessed Starfleet Officers, or malfunctioning computers and maybe the occasional crazy Admiral. These rules were loosened bit by bit, and while it may have been a less pure version of what the creator wanted, it allowed some sparks to fly between the characters.

The main characters still respected each other, of course, and that's the point I wanted to get to.

In the new season of Picard, it's decades later and the old crew is coming together bit by bit. It's been interesting to see more conflict between the characters than in most of the old episodes. And probably more than there was in any of the Next Generation movies, too.

But I am happy to see that even with some real bitterness between some of them, with justifiable reason, there is still the underlying respect these people have for each other. That goodwill is always there, and their conflicts are resolved in the way that these mature, evolved people would handle it. Sometimes their mad and just drop it - sometimes they talk it out - sometimes a character under attack just walks away.

I love it.

We know that conflict doesn't mean characters just fist fighting or screaming at each other. That stuff can be great, of course -

But more nuanced, mature conflict can be just as exciting and absorbing and gunfights or space battles.

It can be MORE exciting.

See you next time!


Don’t forget you can now advertise on DrunkDuck for just $2 in whichever ad spot you like! The money goes straight into running the site. Want to know more? Click this link here! Or, if you want to help us keep the lights on you can sponsor us on Patreon. Every bit helps us!

Special thanks to our patrons!!













Justnopoint - Banes - RMccool - Abt_Nihil - Gunwallace - PaulEberhardt - Emma_Clare - FunctionCreep - SinJinsoku - Smkinoshita - jerrie - Chickfighter - Andreas_Helixfinger - Tantz_Aerine - Genejoke - Davey Do - Gullas - Roma - NanoCritters - Teh Andeh - Peipei - Digital_Genesis - Hushicho - Palouka - cheeko - Paneltastic - [https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/L.C.Stein/]L.C.Stein - dpat57 - Bravo1102 - The Jagged - LoliGen - OrcGirl - Miss Judged - Fallopiancrusader - arborcides - ChipperChartreuse - Mogtrost - InkyMoondrop - Jgib99 - Hirokari - Orgivemedeath Ind - Mks Monsters - GregJ