The Secret of Writing Great Conflict In

Scenes: 3 Examples
Lucy V Hay

Many thanks to Chris Ballangee, who has this question regarding conflict in scenes:

“I still have problems identifying exposition and the conflict in my own scenes.
Somehow I still can’t always determine what the conflict is in each of my scenes. I
only think that arguments between characters is exposition … Do you have concrete
examples of the conflict that is not just an argument between two characters. This
would really help me and probably some other writers.”

Chris is definitely not alone in thinking conflict automatically equals arguments

between characters. This is because I’d wager MOST writers think scenes are
principally about dialogue, which as we know is a HUGE problem for the spec pile
and makes for highly theatrical, dialogue-led scripts.

We often hear the old screenwriting adage, “characters are not what they SAY but
what they DO”, but writers don’t always get what this means, or how to implement it.
So my advice is: think instead about how each scene takes your character towards a
bigger goal, that “end point” in the story … Within that individual scene then, it has to
have a point, not via dialogue (though it obviously plays its part, where applicable),
but ACTION.

Here are 3 examples of conflict within scenes and how they play out via ACTION,
rather than dialogue:

1) GRAVITY (2013): Debris hits explorer

I picked GRAVITY to illustrate in the first instance because its central conflict is
obvious: the story is about a character who must try and survive a space mission that’s
gone horribly wrong. That’s it. No big secret. Ryan Stone must GET HOME: that’s
the end point of the story and she must make her way through various obstacles in
various scenes in order to do that.

So, ten minutes in, the catalyst: the Russians have shot down one of their own
satellites which has accidentally set off a series of catastrophes, not least the
destruction of space shuttle Explorer, as seen in the moving .gif above. Watch the clip,
HERE. Here’s how it works out:

1. Houston: “Mission Abort”

2. “Stand down” – exposition re: debris

3. Debris hits / comms blackout with Houston

4. “Man down!” Third astronaut Sharif dies

5. Explorer is hit and spins

6. Hubble’s arm breaks off with Stone

7. Kowalski: “DETACH!”

8. Ryan Stone spins off into space / “I’ve lost visual on Dr. Stone“.

In terms of dialogue versus action, we should note screentime for this sequence is
approximately 3 minutes; it’s slightly longer in terms of page count in the screenplay
(hosted by Go Into The Story, HERE). This is not surprising considering there is a
significant amount of exposition regarding the problem of the debris itself. This is
warranted on the basis the “chain reaction” Houston talks about will sign posts the
focus of the action and the adversity Stone faces in the REST of the movie. Also,
don’t forget, whether 3 OR 6(ish) pages, the average SPEC screenplay rarely delivers
a high octane sequence like this, even in TEN (or more) pages I’m afraid! What we
can learn here is balancing exposition and action is tough, but it can pay dividends.

MORE: 6 Things You Need To Know As A Screenwriter If You Want Your Scripts
Made, plus find out more about writing and selling Thriller Screenplays like
GRAVITY, HERE.
2) LIAR, LIAR (1997): Fletcher Versus The Pen

In comparison to GRAVITY, this sequence is not a high octane blast. Instead, it’s the
exact opposite: one guy versus a pen of all things! Yet it’s still a great example of
conflict in a scene that does not rely on two characters simply arguing. It should also
be noted that like GRAVITY, Fletcher delivers sign posts via dialogue over what is
going on, but crucially, these lines are MATCHED with physical happenings. Watch
the clip HERE.

1. “I can beat this … it’s all a matter of willpower!”

2. “Focus!”

3. First try – failure.

4. Second try – failure.

5. Third try: “Rrrrrrrrroyal blue!”

6. Collapse in chair / exposition: “One lie and I can’t say it!”

7. “I’ll write it!” – but he can’t

8. Trash the desk / fight with own arm

9. The pen attacks!

10. Secretary comes running … Fletcher: “The goddamn pen is blue!

The sequence is approximately 2.5 mins long of screentime. I’ve written before the
infamous “rrrrrrrrroyal blue” line does not seem to appear to be in the original
screenplay, plus Jim Carrey is of course known for improvising and insisting on
many, many takes so it’s difficult to know if ANY screenplay we can find online is
remotely like the one they had on set. Even so, writers can still learn from this
sequence, which is possibly the most famous from the whole movie and still manages
to surprise us, when Fletcher’s head emerges from behind the desk.

MORE: Movie Reversals: 6 Of The Best

3) NATURAL BORN KILLERS (1994): The Death of the Cook

As openers go, the diner scene in NATURAL BORN KILLERS sets the tone for what
comes next: a rip roaring, violent gorefest of a ride. But it’s The Death of The Cook
Mabel at the END of that opening sequence in the diner (just one minute approx of
screentime) that actually sets up the characters of Mickey and Mallory as a unit:
they’re ruthless; they’re crazy-violent and they’re hopelessly in love … Wait a
minute, WTF??

Watch the clip, HERE.

1. Mabel, the cook tries to escape. MALLORY: “No! There is no escaping

here!” MICKEY: “Who’s the lucky one …?”

2. Mallory plays eeny meeny miny mo with Mabel and the Fat Cowboy

3. Mabel thinks she’s spared … but Mallory isn’t finished yet

4. MALLORY: “You … are … it!” Mickey kills Mabel.

5. Exposition, links to beginning of scene: Mallory tells customary sole survivor Fat
Cowboy to tell the authorities who did the diner massacre. He obviously agrees.

6. Young love: “I love you Mickey! / I love you Mallory!”

Again, the versions of the screenplay available online vary, so it’s hard to know how
much of this sequence was reimagined on set. That said, the end result shows writers
that a helluva lot can be established in just over a minute of screentime and the
subversion of a child’s game like eeeny meeny can have horrifying consequences. But
it’s important to remember Mickey and Mallory ARE children, fucked up violent
children for sure, but children nonetheless … So this dialogue in conjunction with
their propensity for extreme violence works beautifully.

MORE: Why dialogue is your ENEMY

Concluding …

As we can see from these three examples, conflict in an individual scene needs to
serve a PURPOSE, which is serving up exposition and taking us, piece by piece,
towards the resolution. Writers need to do this in such a way that it’s not
OBVIOUS. This is why it’s a great idea to ensure we use action, rather than simply
“talk” (arguments or not).

But as we can see from these three examples then, it’s fine to use talk as well (and can
even be advisable as “sign posts”) but dialogue hardly ever stands on its own. That
really is the secret of writing great conflict in scenes. Good luck!