Conflict is the heart of a good story. If you find that a given conflict based story is dull, simple, or bland, then that is because the conflict is dull, simple, or bland. The key is to make the conflict more complex and involving. Also, by leaving the conflict resolution open in some places you can futher increase the depth of the story. Of course too much open endedness can ruin the balance.

Quote: Original post by Anonymous Poster
Conflict is drama. Your last three examples all contain conflict, which is why they are more inetersting than previous examples.

> I bought a red hat for my dad; it happens that he hates it.

> I gave my hat to my father; it was cursed.

> I threw away my hat; it was talking to me.

> Someone stole my red hat; wait it's you!


Every one of those scenarios contains potential conflict. Without it, your story is flat.

Exactly.

And what about the good story WITHOUT CONFLICT:)
And what about SIMPLE story that make it?

I'm not saying that conflict base movie are bad, but easier to make.
and a story does not have to be complex to be good IMHO.

A good story is just a good story.

As writing aware, i have interest to find any form of good writing and story and not to reharsh the same formula.

It's a challenge.

Quote: Original post by Neoshaman
And what about the good story WITHOUT CONFLICT:)

Ce n'est pas possible.

Without conflict, there's no progress. No change. If something keeps going right, there's little to wonder about, there's little to like the characters over, and there's no clear end.

Shakespeare used the trick of order-disorder-order in his stories, and I think it works quite well. Order doesn't necessarily mean a good situation, but it's one where there's no conflict. The trick works in both optimistic and pessimistic stories:

Order:
Hobbits live happily in the Shire
Winston lives unhappily in London
Disorder:
Journey with an evil ring
Disobeying Big Brother
Order:
Ring is destroyed, everyone is happy
Winston is brainwashed, assimilated.

Basically, the disorder is where hope comes in. Without hope, there's no expectation, and your story isn't driven.

There is two solution: Totoro is not a good story despite is sucess, or you don't like it.
Or else 'Romeo must die' is a master piece of cinema.

The real question: is any meanigful progress is a conflict.

Well we are going nowhere if we keep thinking conflict is so essentiel, i was here to try to find different way, to challenge thing. I'll give up if no one takes the challenge with me.