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And from this point the plot continues, but I think the concept is already clear - and we 41
are not here to write a doctoral thesis on The Lion King.
Conflict and obstacles
When we already know what happens in our story and why, we have a conflict.
A conflict occurs when two opposing forces collide. In this case: Simba is the rightful
heir to the throne, but his uncle steals his position.
The conflict is what keeps the story going, which allows us to capture the interest of
the viewer.
Our story becomes more interesting the more the audience empathizes with what they
are told, when they understand the characters’ objectives and create an internal debate.
Our story will be much more interesting if we make people empathize with both the
protagonist and the antagonist. This will make the conflict more complex.
The conflict between two antagonistic forces
captures the viewer’s interest (pixy.org)
Going back to our example, let’s imagine the story told from the uncle’s perspective.
Poor Scar, who has always been a nobody in his family, has had to take down his
brother as a wake-up call to be paid a little attention. Until now, in his long and sad life,
nobody has given him any affection and he has limited himself to being an ugly lion
and a social outcast in the animal kingdom, while his brother, the king of the jungle,
really did live like a king.
Everything I have just told you is, in reality, a very basic theory that you will find more
about both in script manuals and on the internet. This article is not long enough to
develop complex ideas, but I would just like to point out three tips that are not normally
included in manuals. It is worthwhile bearing these in mind when writing so that people
(besides your family) enjoy the story: