Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Conflict in the sense of a passionate clash comes from competing interests overlapping. An idyllic society has potential for internal and/or external overlapping interests disturbing the peace. Just blue sky speculating, what if the seven-year-old protagonist is the disruptive force? She recognizes the utopia is dying and stirs things up to breathe life into it and then has to make things right again. Or an external influence disrupts the utopia and she's the one to rise against it. And so on.

Axis one, internal or external society overlapping interests. Axis two, protagonist source of disruption, other internal society disruption, or an external society disruption. Axis three, denial, refusal, resistance, appeasement, acquiesence, or acceptance. An intersection of the three axes might be internal society overlapping interests, protagonist source of disruption, denial of utopia as an ideal society.

Guardian wrote:It's a quite different world and jealousy is not existing.

Here is where you lose me. It would have to be a world where humans are also different right down to the way they attach and process emotions, because there is always opportunity for emotional conflict.

Here is where you lose me. It would have to be a world where humans are also different right down to the way they attach and process emotions, because there is always opportunity for emotional conflict.

That's what about I talked above. It's not written in stone that every world have to be similar to ours. Here, they have the right to attach and process emotions as they actually do throughout the story (Positive emotions, positive act, etc, etc...).

Conflicts are based on two elements. One element, which is giving it, and another one which is receiving it. If there is nothing what would create conflicts, there is no chance to receive it either. The beginning works on this way and actually this is the perfect sense of Utopia. Utopia = harmony. Free thoughts, free will, but no conflict. This is what I wanted to achieve in the beginning. And that's causing my present problem. As I'm not intending to make this Utopia to a cliche Utopia what about we've read over and over again, I rather try to find a solution for it, to even have a chance to present this story although to those ones whose are always seeking conflicts.

I'd like to say thanks for all the help and all your responses. It seems I can solve this little problem already as all of you highlighted good points which gave the solution what I needed for this scenario. This discussion was really-really helpful! Thanks again!

I know I'm a little late but I really want to chime in.

If she's seven years old, then she's gonna have two things: curiosity and imagination. Perhaps she's curious about these legends of 'evil' and starts playing around with the idea...creating evil in her mind...even creating mischief in Eden, maybe. Maybe she could even start seeking out this 'evil' in the shadows or something.

Kids are restless, which tends to create its own conflict with adults and within themselves. If she has a wide-eyed, innocent outlook (which seems natural for a utopian society) then she could just be scared of the evil returning.

I hope I at least gave a little food for thought.

Start with Chapter 3? Where the wheel falls off, to paraphrase Polymath? Summarize Chapters 1 and 2 after?

My WIP is very different from yours, Guardian. But my teenaged protagonist does live in fairly happy circumstances. But he wants more. Specifically, adventure. So he strives to join a great expedition to a distant and dangerous part of his world.

Are your Utopians LITERALLY bored to death? Dying of ennui and indifference? Does your seven year girl seek adventure?

Dios4vida and others are right too. Does your Eden contain a serpent that could be introduced earlier than Chapter 3?