Photo by Tanja Heffner on Unsplash.com Life imitates art. Or does art imitate life? Whichever way you may look at it, you can’t get away from the fact that in life and in art, there is conflict. While in real life you do your best to avoid conflict, if you did the same in your writing, your story would be dull, drab and downright unreadable or unwatchable. Imagine a movie where all characters live happily and there is no conflict. Or a novel where page after page is a no-conflict-zone? Boring, right? Conflict in your story ENGAGES your reader/viewer. That’s the top reason why you need conflict in your story. It keeps them watching the movie or turning the pages. It gives them reason to root for your hero, fear for him and hope that he will be able to bring down the villain or triumph over the obstacles. Different types of conflict Having conflict however does not mean that every scene needs to be a ‘fight’ scene. Conflict can be about o