The Pattern of Conflict

The philosophy behind the conflict between good and evil in a story, specifically a fantasy story, is a topic that is not delved into by many readers, and not, I think, with good reason. It is the driving force of the story - the reason the plot exists, the reason the characters have something to do, and the reason the setting in the story is interesting. We wouldn't have our evil witches and wizards if there wasn't a conflict, and we certainly wouldn't have our Prince Charmings. The philosophy behind this conflict is important, then, to understand, especially if one wishes to understand the inner functions of a story itself - the art and science behind what makes a story tick.

The crux of the matter is that, at its very heart, the conflict in a story is an extension of the system within which our world works, both from a material perspective and from a theological perspective. In shorter terms, our stories reflect nature. By extension, that means the conflict in our stories (conflict being defined, of course, as the convergence of 'good' upon 'evil') is necessarily a reflection of the pattern of ups and downs that we see in our world, the black and white that we already know. The conflict in our stories, then, reflects the conflict in nature. For a Christian, therefore, this means that our stories - and the conflict, the beating heart, within them - are like a mirror, reflecting back the eternal story of God's creation, showcasing creation how He wrote it.

We could go even further than this in describing conflict being a reflection of creation; we could liken it to how we have never (yet) managed to truly create life. In the same way, we have never truly managed to create our own model of a story. The model of a story already exists; there is always an exposition, always a rising action, a climax, and a falling action. The story might be a tragedy, a comedy, or really have no effect at all on the character's arc; it may be a strange spin on a story whose climax is at the beginning or a tale which has countless small climaxes; but there is always - always - a conflict. In The Wisher's Granddaughter, for instance, the conflict is between those who wish to use the knowledge in the Book of the Wisher Mages for fabrication and those who wish to preserve Wishing as it truly is. In Secrets of Knusaijax, as well, the conflict is between the forces of the nature in Delia's world and herself and her crew. There is always some point where 'good' (or 'protagonist', or 'enlightenment', or 'vivacity') meets 'evil' (or 'antagonist', or 'ignorance', or 'lethargy'), and there is always a consequence, however significant or non-existent, to this struggle. In short, stories always follow the same pattern, and are cut from much the same structural cloth.

This being established, it only remains to investigate two things: the 'why' and the 'so what?' (for lack of a better term). To first address the 'why': this idea that the conflict in our stories reflects nature makes sense, one might say; and of course it does! Our created stories follow the same framework as the story of nature because that is the formula by which the world works. This implies, therefore, that this 'formula' does exist - and for a Christian, it means that our created stories follow the same framework as the Story of creation does because that is how God created the world to be, and that is how He created us to understand it. Its framework of creation and our interpretation of it work in perfect conjunction. As a consequence, we respond to the convergence of good and evil in a story the way we do because it is a reflection of our existence (nature). Simply, books follow this pattern of conflict and we respond to conflict in a plot because we are made to; it is in our nature.

To extend our 'why' investigation, then, we must follow that up with the question 'why, then, is conflict in our nature?' If conflict is integral to books, and books reflect creation, then why is it integral to creation - integral to our nature - to have a conflict? Why must we recognize the convergence between good and evil? The implied answer, and one that springs almost of its own accord from the question itself, is that there is good and evil, and that it is worth recognizing. For a Christian, this means one very important thing: that God designed us and the nature in which we live to recognize the conflict between the things of this world and the things of His kingdom, culminating in the ultimate conflict between good and evil: Christ's death on the cross. We reflect this in our nature, and, by extension, necessarily in the books we read and write. Put in other words, our stories reflect the framework of God's perfect conflict in creation (which, of course, is never truly a struggle, because only one side might win, yet nevertheless exists because He created it to).

If this satisfactorily answers the 'why' portion of the investigation, the only half that remains to us is the 'so what?'. Why does this matter to us; why is it important that conflict drives a story and that it reflects creation? Firstly, and most intuitively, this allows us to better understand the stories we write and read. Upon reading this, some people may think, 'If all stories are cut from the same structural cloth, that seems as if it would detract so significantly from both the readership and authorship of stories! If they are all essentially the same, how can I now think that any of them are uniquely interesting?' That is almost like asking how, although all houses are structured the same, one could find any especial interest in one house, or one type of house, over another. Thankfully for us, both readers and writers, this structure - and it would be worthwhile to keep in mind that this structure is the structure of stories because it is, quite simply, the best possible structure of stories in regards to our interpretation of it and its conflict - allows for a plethoric range of imagination and expansion, letting each story still be the opening into a new world that it is.

Not only that, however, but this investigation into conflict and its reflection of nature allows us to better understand the creation outside of our stories, and, for a Christian, the God who made both.

Ultimately, for readers and writers alike, this means that the conflict - the convergence between good and evil in a story - has so much for us to delve into, and so many implications for us and our readership, not only in our books, but beyond.