On requiring conflict to be a good story ... and trying to find a good shoe to bang on the table

Jesse at SFFaudio turned in an excellent but thought-provoking review of Clifford D. Simak's Way Station, saying:

A couple years back a friend of mine (a filmmaker and used bookstore owner) was telling me about one of the scripts he was working on. He said something to the effect of “every story must have conflict.” That’s probably not a new concept, not original to him, but it was new to me – at least in those words. Now I love such sweeping declarations – they give my dialectical brain something to hack away at. It seems a fairly straightforward a concept – and on the face of it seems likely – but, that always gets me thinking: If it sounds so obvious it is probably at least partially false. So I thought about it for maybe thirty seconds and then pointed out that ‘pornographic films need not have conflict – but they can still have a story.’ Illustrating I said “Pizza delivery guy comes to the door – half naked woman answers – sex follows.” It has a beginning, a middle and a money shot. My friend and I both laughed. But, I’ve been thinking about this meme ever since. Now, with Way Station I think I have a more serious defeater to my friend’s all encompassing rule about storytelling. There is very little conflict in Way Station. That is actually a pretty common thing for author Clifford D. Simak. His stories are highly pastoral, full of backstories being revealed, mysterious farmers and friendly aliens. Conflict may be mentioned, as having happened long ago (or in some distant future) – but shots are rarely fired in anger. I’m thinking back on all of the Simak I’ve read, and in it all I can’t recall much conflict at all. And yet, I love his stories.

Intrigued, I couldn't remember if I had ever read Way Station so I requested it from the library. It really is a wonderful story, easy to read, and thought provoking in its own pastoral way.

However ...

You knew that was coming, right?

However, it is so far from being without conflict that I wondered if Jesse had actually read the same book I did. True enough the story is reflective, pastoral, and low key. Yet within those pages lies governmental interference, an abusive hillbilly father, an angry mob (and I think they might even have torches), galactic unrest, and an angry alien with a ray gun. That is without also taking into consideration the protagonist's very real concerns weighing his humanity and love of nature against his curiosity and desire to leave it behind and become a citizen of a larger world.

This has sparked an interesting conversation between Jesse and myself. As far as I can ascertain, his definition of conflict is so very different from mine as to require direct action. However, I could be wrong about that. (But let's face it, I don't really believe I am wrong about that! I am nothing if not self aware.)

I am hampered in this by having only Jesse's and my own opinions involved. If anyone else has read the book and has thoughts on the nature of conflict, its relationship to a good story, and whether it is contained in Way Station, please do join in the conversation. Nicely, of course.

Now, having found that I tend to wear soft-soled shoes, I am going in search of a properly hard soled one in order to begin pounding on the table!