Can a (decent) short story exist without conflict?

[Anonymous No.13965520]

So I want to write a story about a boy who goes on a pilgrimage and sprinkle some magical realism throughout. The problem is, I can't move forward because I don't have a definite, griping conflict and that makes me wonder "what miserable fuck would care for this?".

The protagonist has some internal conflicts, if you could call it that:
- he has grown up fatherless and has, to a large extent, denied the fact that it affected him
- he's an edgy nihilist that doesn't practice what he preaches (hypocrite)
- some subtle hatred for being low-middle class (family of immigrants)

So while those are "impediments" they're not obstacles - he might face some difficulties but he will finish the pilgrimage. Can someone give me some advice please?

[Anonymous No.13965592]

>>13965520
>man vs society
Spooked

[Anonymous No.13965597]

Don't introduce conflict. Make it about the pilgrimage and what your character experiences. If it's pleasant stuff, try to make it pleasant to read.

[Anonymous No.13965611]

The Cathedral of Mist by Paul Willems is a book of chill short stories without conflict.

[Anonymous No.13965614]

>>13965520
now you know what God felt like

[Anonymous No.13965647]

Simples. He nonchalantly leans on a crucifix atop a cliff at the end of the pilgrimage when everyone else wanders off, and goes over the edge with the cross and Our Lord as his only literal support and has to spend the night praying and trying to climb like his hard worked wetback ancestors towards freedom over a father figure he relies on for his midair suspension between the fall and the safety he took for granted. When he makes it back over the cross he honestly exclaims Thank you Jesus and his edgy nihilism makes him realise the context in which he was first honest he also honestly owes that honesty to before leaving him to wander off back to life questioning whether the
Jesus he believes might have heard him is real or not, and if He is real, whether he could conceal the honesty of his belief from Him.

[Anonymous No.13965670]

>>13965520
Simple, anon, you already have his flaws laid out, just need to make those flaws apparent through relevant challenges and difficult choices. Then bam you got yourself a man vs self story

[Anonymous No.13965676]

>>13965520
Only 4

[Anonymous No.13965684]

You can like show a reflection of him in some grown up person that's a bitter failure or something. Not every story needs some big conflict of life and death.

[Anonymous No.13965698]

>>13965611
thanks for the recommendation!
>>13965614
I don't know what to make of this
>>13965647
are you mocking me? hey man I might not be good at this writing thing but I'm pouring my heart out on this page and i want this finished anon, okay? just this once and i will stop.
>>13965670
thanks anon. I kept thinking that there was something essential missing but now that you mention it, i might have everything i need.
>>13965684
okay. thanks for your input anon. but still, i fear that lacking conflict, my story will be boring. But fortunately none will read it, but still. I'd like it not to be boring.

[Anonymous No.13965708]

>>13965520

[Anonymous No.13965711]

>>13965698
>I don't know what to make of this
The existence of evil is justified because it makes a cool story.

[Anonymous No.13965716]

>>13965698
>are you mocking me?
No I'm giving you a free ending bro. If you don't want it don't use it, but if I were mocking anyone it would probably be one of the 1930s Catholics (like Greene's whiskey priest or Waugh's Cpt Ryder or the nun in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie). I tried to cover and resolve as many kinds of conflict as OPpic suggested. You can be heavy handed in these things and only Bunny Wilson will complain and he's dead anyway.

[Anonymous No.13965755]

>>13965708
I like this image. I feel that there is a lot to be learned from simple Looney Toons cartoons, story-wise. Too bad my attention span has deteriorated as much as it has.

>>13965716
Oh, that's okay then. Thanks for your insight. I'm not absolutely sure where the story is going probably with a confrontation with the father then something something forgiveness or maybe he kisses him on the lips. or breaks his nose, I would like to do that too.

[Anonymous No.13966267]

I think the reason conflict is considered the backbone of story is, the real backbone of (the traditional) story is change in the main character. Conflict is used as the catalyst to bring about that change, because slow, gradual change, while more realistic, is harder for readers to get.
So you end up with a question, if not conflict and change, what is the story about? Even if it's a narrator's meditation on something, what drove the main character to engage in that meditation, or more importantly, what drove the author to write about it? Change and conflict aren't the only possible answer to these questions, but they are the most straightforward and acceptable to readers.

[Anonymous No.13966292]

>>13965520
Maybe his father was in another country for his whole life and his pilgrimage could be him moving away from his mother and living with and meeting his father the first time.

[Anonymous No.13966301]

>>13965520
What is the pilgrimage about? Does he overcome his obstacles?

>he has grown up fatherless and has, to a large extent, denied the fact that it affected him
coming to the realization that he denied this can already make for a good story, if you write it good
>he's an edgy nihilist that doesn't practice what he preaches (hypocrite)
>some subtle hatred for being low-middle class (family of immigrants)
Same for these two. It could be a story about a guy spouting general accusations, posing as a nihilist and then realizing it's actually based in his personal problems - it's pretty straightforward and it has been done many times, but you shouldn't care too much about it if you have a good idea about how to write in an engaging way.

[Anonymous No.13966694]

>>13965520
no

[Anonymous No.13966792]

>>13965520
>Man vs Woman*

[Anonymous No.13966805]

>>13965676
They cover the bases honestly.
Man vs woman falls into man vs nature.
Man vs his creations falls under man vs himself.

[Anonymous No.13966836]

>>13966292
you could play off the spiritual connotations of woman (material) and man (heavenly) in terms of Taoism in this way. Good offering, anon.

[JN !!vXXhA/qzhjm No.13966847]

>>13965520

FWIW Hemingway's four types of conflict were man vs. man, nature, animal, and machine.

[Anonymous No.13966936]

[Anonymous No.13967425]

>>13966267
>the real backbone of (the traditional) story is change in the main character

I never like this. I mainly dislike the idea that the job of fiction is to showcase someone learning a lesson. A lot of classic books have heroes effectively tested/rewarded for their existing virtues or punished for their faults without reforming anyway. Comic literature especially can do without progress.

I'm inclined to go for things on a much simpler level: does the reader feel interest about what happens next? If not, nobody will read your shit. Conflict is the obvious solution because you want to know who gets their way. To return to OP, if the story is, man will go somewhere by the end of the book, we need a reason to read what's on the next page rather than just skipping to the bit where he does or doesn't arrive there. "Man goes somewhere, eventually" will not interest anyone.

[Anonymous No.13968060]

>>13965520
>- he has grown up fatherless and has, to a large extent, denied the fact that it affected him
Force him to confront his father
>- he's an edgy nihilist that doesn't practice what he preaches (hypocrite)
Force him into a situation where he has to take a stand or die
>- some subtle hatred for being low-middle class (family of immigrants)
Force him to meet immigrants

[Anonymous No.13968668]

>>13965711
THIS ANON GETS IT. HOLY FUCKING SHIT I'VE THINKING THAT FOR A REALLY FUCKING LONG TIME I'VE EVEN GOT TO BELIEVE IN A KIND OF PANTHEISTIC GOD WHICH GIVES US TROUBLE IN ORDER TO CREATE CONFLICT PEOPLE TRYING TO ERRADICATE 'EVIL' ARE MORONS WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT STRUGGLE IS THE ESSENCE OF LIFE.

[Anonymous No.13970056]

Dante's Paradiso doesn't have conflict, but it's not about plot. It's more of a proto-vignette.

[Anonymous No.13970387]

>>13966805
Man vs God?

[Anonymous No.13971601]

>>13968668
>Trying to eradicate evil is for morons
You fucking brainless chimp lmao. That's part of the cycle. How retarded are you?

[Anonymous No.13971637]

>>13965520
seems like you could encompass all of those into man vs. himself -- through his pilgrimage he is forced to confront his own perception of reality

[Anonymous No.13971774]

>>13965597
This.

Like Redwall, when Brian would write fifty-one pages about the size and color of a baked fish. Tasty.

[Anonymous No.13971780]

>>13965676
Is this thumbnail meant to purposely dupe me into thinking this is a girl?

[Anonymous No.13971799]

>>13965520
Noan vs demon.

Shiggy

[Anonymous No.13972664]

>>13965592
Hey, everybody! This guy doesn't like spooks!
Nobody cares. t. Nedry