As you will doubtless know from your own observations and experience of the world, conflict erupts in different ways and varies in its intensity, but it can all be used effectively in your imaginative work. On a sliding scale of significance, here are some different kinds of conflict that you might like to consider as subjects to write about, or to include as elements within an existing project.
- International conflict -- excellent fodder for war stories which can encompass a huge range of diversity: think Erich Maria Remarque, then think Andy McNab and all stations in between.
- Political conflict - grist to the mill for writers of spy stories like Len Deighton and Le Carre, but also lifeblood to Robert Graves in I Claudius vein and more recently Michael Dodd. There's plenty of scope..
- Family conflict - Cain and Abel in Biblical and even Jeffrey Archer versions. Any unravelling of the tight weave of the family carries huge emotional freight and therefore makes good fiction.
- Romantic conflict -- people in love often have different agendas and different expectations and this creates turmoil. A number of romantic situations -- adultery, unrequited love -- are shot through with the potential for conflict.
- Internal conflict - this can crop up in any character and any situation and can help give depth to your protagonists. Somebody who is racked with doubt (Hamlet) or torn by conflicting loyalties (Cathy in Wuthering Heights) is infinitely more interesting to read about than someone less riven, (or driven).
As humans we find it almost impossible to live in total harmony with our environment and the people around us, so it would be inaccurate, not to say dull, if this were not reflected in your writing. Get conflicted, and get busy...
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