Title: Central Conflict Definition | Now Novel
Headings: Central conflict definition: Make drama drive your novel
Central conflict definition: Make drama drive your novel
First: A central conflict definition
How to create an effective central conflict for your novel:
1: Know your central idea
2: Know typical central conflicts of your genre
3: Surround your central conflict with other significant conflict arcs

Content: Central Conflict Definition | Now Novel
Central conflict definition: Make drama drive your novel
Central conflict definition: Make drama drive your novel
by Bridget McNulty
First: A central conflict definition
In a story, the central conflict is defined as the main opposition, obstacle or complication that characters need to navigate in order for the story to reach a conclusion. The central conflict is similar to the central idea: It is a dramatic kernel that contains the seed for the rest of your story. In The Lord of the Rings, it is Sauron’s lust for power and domination and the surrounding lands’ refusal of that which forms the central conflict. ‘ Conflict’ isn’t necessarily a synonym for warlike or violent opposition and struggle, though. In a romance novel, the central conflict can be the question of whether or not the protagonist and the love interest will end up together, for example. This is the case in Pride and Prejudice.