The story of a play must be a conflict, and specifically, a conflict
between the forces of good and evil within a single person. The
good and evil to be defined, of course, as the audience wants to see
them.
—Maxwell Anderson
I’ve been in a long and happy relationship for 22 years and it’s never inspired me to write anything. It’s too good – nothing to say. Problems, conflict, that’s what makes for good stories.
—Emma Donoghue
A story can take you through a whole process of searching, seeking, confronting, through conflicts, and then to a resolution. As the storyteller and the listener, we go through a story together.
—Maxine Hong Kingston
Front-rank characters should have some defect, some conflicting inner
polarity, some real or imagined inadequacy.
—Barnaby Conrad
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.
— Donald Miller
I always like to try different things, different genres; stories that have a dramatic element and can generate conflict which I find appealing; where the characters have to overcome obstacles. That kind of thing is challenging.
—Clint Eastwood