Paul Bowles Quotes

A compelling story requires conflict, friction, an obstacle to be overcome.

Conflict drives fiction; no one wants to read a four-hundred-page novel in which everything rolls along smoothly.

In order to have a plot, you have to have a conflict, something bad has to happen.

You can't tell a good story without conflict - the story can't be beautiful or meaningful. We're taught to run from conflict, and it's robbing us of some really good stories.

My concept of drama requires obstacles, and there's no obstacles in comfort.

The best fiction is geared towards conflict. We learn most about our characters through tension, when they are put up against insurmountable obstacles. This is true in real life.

If you have a beautiful story, it has to have conflict. If you don't have conflict, it can't be a good story.

Tension is the cornerstone of any good story.

I think conflict is one of the things that makes for a good story.

As an actor, I'm always interested in my characters getting into trouble, because conflict is, you know, the great determiner of someone's mettle.

The job in every re-write is to make it harder for your characters to get the thing that they need.

Gore isn't required for a good story, but adversity is.

The greater the darkness, the better the drama.

Drama is always conflict. Conflict either comes from within or without. The thing that makes a show different is the conflict manifests itself both internally and externally.

No one gets to their heaven without a fight...

For me, all drama is based on conflict.

You can only write, 'Somebody wants something, something else is in their way of getting it.'

There's conflict in every story.

Well, you need the villain. If you don't have a villain, the good guy can stay home.

Here's what happens in a play. You get involved in a situation where something is unbalanced. If nothing's unbalanced, there's no reason to have a play. If Hamlet comes home from school, and his dad's not dead and asks him if he's had a good time, it's boring. But if something's unbalanced, it must be returned to order.

People love to be told stories, but it's the sugar that draws you into the theater.

I like having a plot; I like characters with a reason to get up in the morning.

I think that's what makes characters interesting - when you paint a person into a corner, and you see what they do to get out of that corner. It's what makes drama drama.

I am sort of drawn toward places in the world where there is struggle and conflict.

Good stories are driven by conflict, tension, and high stakes.