Literature needs interest. Not all literature necessarily has a plot, and not all plots have conflict. However, there is usually some kind of tension. In kishotenketsu, the interest is created by suspense and surprise, when the divergence appears and then resolves itself. It basically works the way a riddle works. I think the four-part format would make a terrific poetic form, although it's different enough from what I usually write that I'm having difficulty thinking of ideas for that format. I'll just let this simmer in my brain for a while.
There are some other examples of low-conflict or no-conflict literature.
"Gentle fiction" has no violence, sex, or vulgar language. Some people just don't enjoy those things and want something else. These stories may feature characters dealing with everyday challenges, which can be large or small. But they can also be purely positive stories -- for instance, about the development of a friendship or a personal project.
The vignette or "slice of life" story is a kind of short-short fiction that also frequently deals with everyday matters. We have a lot of this in Torn World, for instance. Think of it as a quick vacation to another world, where you can see how different people deal with ordinary things in ways that are probably different from your own. A terrific example is the batch of stories gathered under "Oromaal's Death." An old woman dies of advanced age. It's not a conflict, just a sad thing that's a natural part of life. The stories explore how other villagers cope with the loss.
Can you think of other literary formats that have little or no conflict? How do they generate interest?
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Re: A Little Scattered Because I'm Short on Sleep
July 3 2012, 00:55:34 UTC 8 years ago
That's a good description.
>>If there's an interesting Character, we may well read more just to learn more about her, even if she doesn't actually do anything, as such.<<
Same with setting. Milieu fiction can be lower in conflict than average, and someone else mentioned travelogues.
>>If a writer is good at dialogue and description, something like a bunch of friends hanging around and chatting can be spellbinding.<<
Particularly when the character types are very different. I've noticed that fanfic from "The Avengers" has quite a lot of stories where the characters are just hanging out and nothing blows up, and it says that right in the description.
>>Note that the shift in the third act of Kishōtenketsu still serves to heighten tension, even if there's no conflict. We've left something unresolved at the end of the second act, and want to know how it turns out, and have the additional curiosity of wanting to know how it will relate to this new scene.<<
Yes, I think that's what makes it work.