How to Write a Good Story - All Elements

conflict

Conflicts are essential in any story as they hook the audience, create action, move on the plot, connect audience with the character (mostly protagonist), and show characters.

First of all, conflicts are parts of a story where there are intrapersonal or interpersonal struggle or disagreement. As I said in the other part, there are four main types of conflicts: character vs character, character vs nature, character vs self, and character vs society.

Hook and action- conflicts create great hooks as they prevent the final desire of the protagonist to be achieved, and they create questions for the audience. Essentially, the prevention of the final goal will create suspense and action, as the protagonist tries to achieve his goal and audience is not sure if the desire will be achieved at the end, this makes the audience continue through your story. Great questions make the audience crave for the answers, as they want to understand the whole action, and to see how the conflict/action will resolve.

Plot - so there is a protagonist, antagonist, and protagonist's goal/desire. Conflicts make the story interesting, longer and realistic. They move on the plot by making the protagonist battle with antagonist to reach his desire. Most of the time, the protagonist fails at the beginning, and each and every conflict, along the way, makes him stronger, and lead to the final conflict or climax. Everything has high stakes, which makes the climax very engaging for the audience. Each conflict should have a purpose in the story and move the plot on, towards the climax and desire. With few backdrops on the way, conflicts that get the protagonist away from the desire, for him to try again.

Connection - conflicts are a good source of connecting the characters with the audience. When the audience can see the character's conflicts, it feels as the character discloses to the audience as they can see the character in action. This is exactly as spending time with a friend, the more you do, the closer you get to each other and to know each other. When the audience is close or connected to a character, they care more about the character, so they are more touched by the story, show stronger emotions, and continue with your story.

Characters - Everything we do, we do it in a special way. Depending on how we do it, why and so on, this tells people something about us, if we shy or confident, if we aggressive or peaceful, or any other attributes. This is because everyone has different behaviour, experience, and beliefs. Conflicts are great to show us the character as the character will always react in a special way in his conflict. For example, there is a fight between two characters. If the protagonist started the battle, the audience will take him as aggressive, if the protagonist won the fight, the audience will take him as dominant or powerful, and so on.

Audience takes notes about the character by: how characters does something, when they do it, to whom they do it to, why they do it, and what they actually do. It is pretty much how the character reacts to everything, which builds the character to the audience. If you build a realistic, interesting, and in-depth character, audience will connect to the protagonist.