How to Write NONVIOLENT Conflict (Writing Advice)

Learn how to create nonviolent conflict in a story. Examples from Game of Thrones, The Godfather, Little Miss Sunshine, The Graduate, and more!
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[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Please keep in mind that when I discuss certain stories/characters, I may oversimplify things. For instance, if I say that a character values one particular thing, they might also have other important values beyond that. Conflict can often get messy, but I tried to keep things simple in this video. Thanks for watching!

[@MovieTalker21]

Can you show us good and bad nonviolent conflicts?

[@LordBaktor]

You didn't say "Get ready!" so I watched the whole video unprepared.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Haha I opted to cut the intro today because I basically repeated myself shortly afterward. Hope you were able to settle in!

[@Ivotas]

Dude, this such an underrated comment. I'm happy to see that Brandon appreciates the joke.^^

[@LordBaktor]

@@Ivotas Brandon's probably sick of the "Get ready" jokes by now but I couldn't resist subjecting him to one more.

[@ItsNotAXylophone]

😂😂😂😂

[@siegfriedmordrake3229]

Best comment of this video 😂

[@mathiaspoelman1493]

Tyrion bellowing against what seemed the entirety of King's Landing for reportedly murdering Joffrey was one of the best non-violent conflicts I have ever seen

[@siegfriedmordrake3229]

Physically maybe but his whole monologue is pure blind violence. It's brilliant

[@mathiaspoelman1493]

@@siegfriedmordrake3229 absolutely

[@Terastas]

There was a lot I didn't like about GoT, but "That was a threat. See the difference?" balanced it all out for a very long time.

[@justaneditygangstar]

Chicanery is also up there as well

[@ricardoberrios6137]

I love the episode in Breaking Bad were they get stranded in the desert, the conflict is basically against nature but also between Walt and Jesse due to the stress of the situation

[@ludovico6890]

I often find non-violent conflicts the most interesting things about a story, even action movies and crime fiction. Without these kinds of conflicts, the rest would be pest control.

[@berry186]

Video suggestions (only if you want to): - a character on a bucket list trip. - killing off a beloved character. - how to get your character out of a corner that you accidentally wrote them in. - rags to riches or riches to rags. - grand marriage proposals or weddings. - types of (romantic or otherwise) gestures you love/hate/cringe.

[@wynautwarrior2161]

I really hope we get your third and fourth suggestion! Those are good ones!

[@berry186]

@@wynautwarrior2161 Thanks.

[@julietardos5044]

Killing off a beloved character would be very good. It's more common than you might guess. The Martian is full of examples of getting your character out of corners the author wrote him into. Andy Weir wrote the book serially by putting Mark into situations and then having to come up with a way to get him out every time. Serials used to be a common way for authors to write a full novel, a chapter at a time in the newspaper. The Martian was not printed in a newspaper, but same idea.

[@mustavogaia2655]

Why not adding all up: "spoiler alert: supposedly" terminally ill character needs money to go tfor bucket list, characters' 4th generation family business, is on verge of collapse as a merger offer doesnt goes thru - the company wouldnt survive another quarter, the character werent expect to survive as muhc either. After character's companion's death, In a first act of selfishnessm character cleans the company's account - maybe 2-3 payrolls - and goes on the bucet list trip. Character tries to avoid the only item on the list that matter - recoonecting with past unfulfilled lover - who got back to the town the character just fled with the company's money. KInd of "Its is a wonderful life" but in reverse. Not sure if it would win all the awards or kill cinema forever, but it seems a worhty writing exercise.

[@PurpleSun8933]

4:35 also, she eventually became the very thing she hated so much. The terminator, when she goes for Dyson. Beautiful conflict.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Great point. I would've loved to have gone into greater detail with T2. Maybe in a future video on character flaws/development

[@KeysofIDproductions]

Favorite non-violent conflict is the infamous "you can't handle the truth" scene from A Few Good Men. The back and forth between Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson is stellar acting.

[@trikebeatstrexnodiff]

I think combining non-violent conflict with the philosophical stake of the story is one of the best ways one could tie the things up. especially with character vs self (internal conflict), and now thinking, Little Miss Sunhine's climax can fit under this category. Gosh I love that film so much and thank you for this video!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks for watching! And LMS's climactic scene is some powerful stuff

[@user-tg2vy8qj6n]

each main character in LMS has their own little seperate climax but Dwayne's climax suits the most to the situation you described. many screenplays get rejected due to lack of philosophical conflict and it's so refreshing to see not only a comment about it but also about how to intertwine it with another element 😭

[@premium_chicken_nuggy]

My favorite non-violent scene is the "Knowledge is Power" scene between Cercei and Littlefinger in S2 of GOT. Littlefinger has the balls to threaten Cercei with revealing her secret relationship with her brother Jaime, who is the real father of King Joffery Baratheon, and not Robert. But Cercei retorts by commanding her soldiers to "cut his throat", while changing her mind in an instant and commands her soldiers to turn around while she tells Littlefinger: "Power is power". That scene is so much fun.

[@say5070]

This is a fantastic example of that to me. It established Littlefinger as a knowledgeable character, able to be one of the first characters to make this discovery that we as the audience already know, and then establishes the character of Cersei by not having her bend to his whims but instead show Littlefinger how insignificant he and all of his knowledge really is. Loved it.

[@SaucyLiving]

Game of Thrones and the Sopranos are filled with nonviolent conflict. I rewatch clips of those shows quite often and it's almost never about physical violence. Just amazing dialog.

[@sny8696]

Almost every scene with Jinx in "arcane" involves internal conflict... the last 15 minutes of season 1 were amazing, they involve a lot of conflict and I think everybody should watch this series

[@siegfriedmordrake3229]

This whole show is a masterclass about how to build world, characters and story

[@Alexey65536]

But then again it's Jinx, so internal conflict for her instantly becomes external conflict for everyone else :)

[@Minceraft69]

@@Alexey65536 "everybody wants to be my enemy"!

[@WifeWantsAWizard]

(6:29) True story: that cat was a stray that lived on the lot where they filmed this scene. It was not part of the script. Brando just happened to find it that day and was playing around. If you listen, you can hear the cat purring in the background. In actuality, the cat was purring so loudly that they didn't get that audio and what you're hearing is ADR. To match the moments where they did get the audio, they also added cat purr foley to make it all consistent.

[@shikishinobi]

Some useful ideas in there to open up my writing a bit. Personally I like verbal battles that happen while other people think it is all in good humour. Two characters back and forth subtly and everyone laughs because funny.

[@letthemknowuncle8393]

I'm actually wondering about non violent conflicts and boom you dropped this video. Thank you!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Haha... A bunch of my subscribers seemed concerned about this. Glad the video helped

[@bwanamatata]

Princess Bride has some of my favorite non-violent conflicts. The game of cups and "I'll leave your ears speech", to name a couple.

[@jesusromanpadro3853]

The sword fight between the protagonists and Inigo Montolla is both a physical and verbal fight.

[@racheltheradiant4675]

The whole scene in the Bank in Mary Poppins is a favorite. You have the father wanting to impress his colleagues. You have his children not quite understanding the significance of banking. Then you have the greedy old man that will literally take pennies from a child. Brilliantly written and acted.

[@andysimmons2648]

For a good non-violent scene in a movie, I always think of when John McClean and Hans Gruber meet. The back and forth between them is excellently written, forwards the plot and helps showcase their characters. It’s also a bit of relief after the action-heavy tension throughout the film.

[@miniDrew4]

The Shawshank Redemption has some violence, but overall the power dynamics between Andy dealing with the warden, threatening inmates, while trying to get out works perfectly. That scene when the inmates threaten him and he describes "jaw biting down hard" is riveting.

[@philspear73]

The slow burn of First Blood is a great example. The action is merely the boiling over point.

[@tm0855]

My fav: Pride and prejudice when Mr. Darcy proposes the first time and gets told off. Fantastic scene and catalyst for character change!

[@matthewmoroney1840]

When Tywin sends Joffrey to bed

[@conormcginn3312]

I really love that scene where Tyrion gets brought before the Lords of Westeros after giving two seasons worth of bad advice and picks the new king of Westeros because he has a good story. Pure artwork there.

[@louisnemzer6801]

"Thank you for smoking" was actually pretty good

[@m.t.mcfarlane9590]

Since you are not a huge fan of "show, don't tell", can you do a video on when a writer should "tell" instead of "show"?

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Did you watch this video? kzbin.info/www/bejne/laq8iaxpfrZ_hqs It's been a while, but I believe I covered when to Tell in that video

[@jakegriffin8387]

"You can't handle the truth!" Such a great non-violent moment from A Few Good Men

[@BKPrice]

Another good example of tip 3 is from the show Firefly, episode 14: Objects In Space. Jubal Early has infiltrated Serenity and sneaks into the engine room where Kaylee is working. His whole exchange is menacing but gets downright frightening when he asks her if she's ever been taped - t + r (You know the word, KZbin doesn't like it). That is such an effectively chilling moment, all without him having to do anything at all to her.

[@kevinpeoples8702]

Oh man. The dinner party scene from near the beginning of Dune. GREAT conflict, and they cut it from both movie versions!

[@Skids0800]

I like to ask for another video suggestion. How to write depression/trauma in a believable manner

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

I did a video on PTSD a while back... This might help: kzbin.info/www/bejne/injboWxmqL11f5I As for depression/trauma, I'll add this to my list. Thanks!

[@leepatterson5710]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Would suggest You Were Never Really Here for that video (even though it touches on PTSD as well). The way they directed the scenes of violence as representing his dissociation when he gets violent really adds to the character.

[@julietardos5044]

The Mockingjay does PTSD really well. The book more so than the movie.

[@NickSmith-qp2yu]

My favorite non-violent conflict scene is the chess game between Caesar and Brutus from Season 1 of Rome. It subtly escalates so perfectly until Brutus finally breaks at the realization that his closest friend no longer trusts him.

[@ludovico6890]

Oh yes that one was great! Caesar goes from paternal and severe to cornered and defensive. Brutus is a like a child throwing a tantrum because daddy's so unfair. Without this scene Caesar's murder would not be as impactful. The Ides of March is the climax of many conflicts and confrontations, some violent, some not.

[@FCSchaefer]

12 Angry Men is a masterpiece of non-violent conflict, same could be said of Glengarry Glen Ross.

[@ludovico6890]

So many conflict scenes to choose, i don't know which one is my favourite: the first meeting with Solozzo in the Godfather which triggers the war, the poker game in Casino Royale, James Bond playing golf against Goldfinger, when Mozart needs to convince the Emperor to let him produce Figaro in Amadeus... and that's just at the top of my head.

[@travelinlightbill]

I always love seeing scenes where the good guy just sits and talks with the bad guy. Pacino and Deniro having coffee in Heat. Father Karras and the demon in The Exorcist (the book is even better than the movie) Martin Sheen and Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. In these the tension just builds and builds and you get to see the battle of wits. Priceless.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

What's your favorite nonviolent scene from a story? Let us know!

[@LordBaktor]

I'm a sucker for films that have long stretches with minimal or no dialogue and still manage to convey the story in a way that you don't notice that you haven't heard words for a while, so I'm gonna mention the whole first half of Wall-E.

[@brianedwards7142]

Julius Caesar act 3: after Caesar is dead where Marc Antony comes to the conspirators and confronts them but he is outnumbered so he uses his wits to get the conspirators to let him make a speech to the gathering mob under certain conditions. With clever wording he never says anything bad about the conspirators and does not praise Caesar but nevertheless stirs up the crowd against the conspirators causing them to flee. Even As You Like It didn't make me laugh so hard.

[@austincde]

I was going to say (Kill Bill) Oren-ishi's big speech after she cuts the guys head off but I don't think that counts lol

[@MichaelJPartyka]

I have never forgotten that scene from "24".

[@rickp4356]

Crazy Stupid Love does a great/hilarious 4 sided corner conflict. Carl in one corner with his daughter, his wife, and Jacob Palmer in another, except you have to add in his nanny and her dad and his son and teacher! It gets close to something approaching an octagon. The scene where it all collides is one of my favorites.

[@calamity7068]

These are all fantastic points and id like to add that, in my eyes, seperating conflict into non-violent/violent does a dis-service to yourself as a writer, almost as if youre limited by these black and white rules, a violent conflict can have all of these and is oftern enhanced 10-fold by all the points in this video (see for example invincible episode 8) so its better to think of a conflict as a conflict and it depends on the characters and the situation. What i mean by this is violence is a tool, not the conflict itself. Great video as always.

[@jesusromanpadro3853]

This reminds me of the Princes Bride movie, the protagonists fights Inigo Montolla is a verbal and physical fight at the same time. Also, the insult sword fights, or whatever they were called, in the Monkey Island video games.

[@shkodranalbi]

Favourite non-violent scene: Tom Hagen ('Godfather II') talks Frank Pentangeli very smoothly into committing suicide, as the best solution for everyone, and Frank thanks him for that. It never fails to send chills down my spine.

[@AnotherDuck]

My favourite non-violent conflict is probably the interrogation of Verbal in The Usual Suspects. Also one of the best twists. That conflict square is a good visual to think about. What I like about it is that it makes the story more living, and not just protagonist-centred, since it develops other characters and gives them more dimensions. For internal conflict it's a bit more difficult to visualise. I'd imagine you'd have the protagonist split up into two, with the conflicting personality traits taking up those corners. Antagonists would then either feed into them or hinder them, depending on if it's a flawed or ideal trait.

[@leyenda6149]

I LOVE this channel! I am a technical writer by trade, but the tips on all of the videos helps SO much when I am helping my son with his analytical, creative, and persuasive writing!!!!

[@benedixtify]

Another thing the Godfather intro does is that it shows what the Don considers to be respect, and what he would do in return for respect. You learn a lot about the character, and about the "family business" that is the setting of the story.

[@erakfishfishfish]

Favorite non-violent conflict scene for me is easily the final scene in Hell or High Water. It’s an amazing showdown of words between Jeff Bridges and Chris Pine. Absolutely masterful writing.

[@tiffanymorgan8770]

One of my favorite nonviolent conflict scenes is the scene in Bridges of Madison County where Francesca is in the truck with her husband in town and she sees Robert, whom she truly loves, standing outside in the rain. The lack of action and dialogue add to the tension as she grips the door handle and makes her choice between staying with her family or running off with Robert.

[@jennymunday7913]

I like the scene in Howl's Moving Castle where (spoilers I guess?) Howl sends Sophie to talk to his mentor, Madame Suliman, because he's afraid of her (causing Sophie to be annoyed at him for making her speak on his behalf), then he arrives in disguise to rescue Sophie. After that Suliman and Howl have a magical battle of wits while Sophie is trying to keep the magically-depleted Witch of the Wastes who cursed her safe. Each character has a history with each other, and most of it is bad but this is a real turning point in Sophie's story. It's a wonderful 4-way conflict and the Witch of the Wastes, honestly, barely speaks but just her presence and the bad shape she's in lends all the weight she needs to be equal to the others.

[@JanstonCordell]

I can't name any specifics, but I absolutely loved the non-violent conflicts between Sheriff Bullock and Al Swearengen that bubble and boil throughout the series of Deadwood before the climax.

[@serialoshipper]

A NEW VIDOE HERE!!! IM SO HAPPY

[@everwake2689]

"Uncut Gems" with Adam Sandler is another example. He juggles conflict throughout the entire film. One of the more stressful movies I've seen (in a good way).

[@MurkyMaster]

In the Transformers Movie, when Megatron meets with Unicron and Unicron commands Megatron to destroy the Autobot Matrix. Mega basically tells Unicron to stick it up his tailpipe. Unicron is a transformer that is the size of a planet, but Megatron will still not be told what to do. That is like a mortal standing up to God himself. Also hearing Orson Wells say "Your bargaining position is highly dubious" is awesome. The scene has a little violence but it's just some headache beams

[@filipvadas7602]

I love how GoT is now remembered as an example of what *to do* and what *not to do* on this subject In seasons 1-4 we were lucky to get like 1-2 battles or fights per seasons, with occasionally some supernatural stuff thrown in. But roughly from season 5 onward, more and more conflicts kept getting resolved through fighting. To the point where for some characters, like Arya and Jaime, that's all their characters end up being.

[@wynautwarrior2161]

Weirdly enough, my favorite form of non-violent conflict comes from a webcomic called "Krazy Noodle Massacre". I know, weird title but it has to do with one of the main characters, Gideon. Gideon is a shut-in who cares about two things primarily. Staying hidden from society as much as possible and making macaroni sculptures. It's a Man vs Society conflict that I love and can kind of relate to. Gideon has this harmless obsession that makes him feel weird so he shuts himself away from the world so that no one will judge him and mock him, only coming out to buy more Krazy Noodles. It isn't helped that his "best friend" is convincing his anti-social behavior for reasons that may or may not be eldritch in nature.

[@thelog7161]

One of my favorite non-violent scenes is definitely in X-Men Days of Future Past, when Xavier and Magneto get into the argument on the plane, and Magneto basically takes Xavier to task and knocks him off his high horse a bit to remind him that reality is not the same as a dream.

[@TheDukeofMadness]

Michael Mann always seemed to know when to hold back on the violence. The scene in Heat between Pacino and De Niro in the cafe ranks high for me. No violence, just two great white sharks swimming around.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

That scene is an absolute classic. It also inspired the Batman/Joker interrogation in TDK

[@CrossfeetGaming]

My favorite dialogue "fight scene" will always be the hallway arguement between Steve and Scully in Steve Jobs (2015)

[@mickbrown7793]

In the movie Overture to a New War, there's a scene where a love triangle resolves. We hear no dialogue it's all visuals and music: Jessica goes out for dinner with her two male friends Yang and Jean. Jean and Yang are in conflict for Jessica. Yang is in conflict with Jessica over what's best for her. Jean is in conflict with his own insecurities. All of them emerge, having lost something - but they also emerge with their mutual friendships having survived the conflicts of the scene.

[@Achieme]

Character vs Opponent is my personal favorite because I like it when characters clash morals and ideals and we get to understand their perspective. I don't wanna sound like that person but there is also Character vs Technology Character vs God Character vs supernatural Character vs idol

[@simonolson2637]

this video was VERY helpful to me, thank you!!

[@godbeIess]

Great video. I was hoping there was a channel that explains and shows samples of nonviolent conflict. Glad I found it.

[@Areyoukiddingme-fz1zp]

Hey Brandon, can you do a video on how to get from here to there. For example I know how the story is going to end, I know the midpoint but I don’t know how to get from the beginning to the midpoint nor the midpoint to the climax. I don’t think you’ve done a video on this before so it will be great if you can address this topic. Thanks

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Oh man, that's a great topic idea. I'm actually struggling with that in a draft I'm working on--I know the structural stops along the way, but "getting there" is still tricky. I'll add this request to my list.

[@Areyoukiddingme-fz1zp]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty I know the, most generic responses for this problem is to work your way backwards, or think of what your characters would do but these solutions aren't real simple. Also, people often depict these reason as if "you can't figure it out" that means your story/characters are not well written enough however, that's not true. I don't what to do now should I wait for your video to come out about this topic or keep researching.

[@siegfriedmordrake3229]

We'll see what Brandon has to say about that when / if he releases this video but in the meantime... What I usually do is that I ask myself what is the most LOGICAL sequence of actions for the story to go from A to B. Logical from the characters' point of view, from the story's itself, from the theme, from everything. Usually there are several options and I just pick the most logical and / or the one that fits best the general theme or the story. For example: let's say your character is in jail in the middle of the story and at the end he tries to get revenge on whomever got him wrongly convicted. You have several possibilities to choose from: he could escape prison. Be released for good behaviour. Be on parole. Seek vengeance FROM the very prison. And as to how he went to jail in the first place... Still a lot of possibilities. He took the blame to save a friend. His spouse was killed and he was blamed for it. His boss accused him of embezzlement when he was the one embezzling... Just pick what fits your story / themes / characters the best. Hope this helps 😊

[@Areyoukiddingme-fz1zp]

@@siegfriedmordrake3229 I'll be sure to do what you said, thanks.

[@jesusromanpadro3853]

I have many ideas for the protagonists I'm writing my first novel. I used a lot of those that I wasn't planning to use in the first book to connect the ones I was planning to use in this book. Of course, this leaves me with less ideas for future book(s).

[@briantrafford4871]

I'm going to take you back to The Usual Suspects again. Super violent, of course, but the central conflict is between Virgil and the detective. The latter is trying to solve a crime. Virgil, on the other hand, has an entirely unique set of goals, but the core objective is to hide what's really going on. My other favourite involves multiple scenes, but it is about Paul in Dune. Paul against himself, against his role as "The Chosen One", his role within Fremen society as an outsider, and his conflict with his mother over his role in history. The Matrix drew heavily on this story, I believe.

[@AnotherDuck]

Echoing The Usual Suspects. Just mentioned that in my own comment.

[@thejester79]

I'm so in love with this channel

[@nguyenlongminh1680]

Just what I was having a headache about. Thank you, sir!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

You’re welcome! Best of luck with your writing

[@poormans2522]

I have been binging your videos. Not only have I learned a lot, but I’ve been thoroughly entertained by it. Thank you for making concise and informative videos. I know your background is in writing novels, and most of your advice applies generically across all writing disciplines but I would love if you could do videos on writing things like comic books or screenplays.

[@DreadMerlot]

Some of my favorite interpersonal conflicts are in historical dramas, like Amadeus, and Dangerous Liaisons.

[@streetough]

The timing of this video could not have been any more perfect

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Haha glad it helped

[@IMAMONGUS]

I honestly found Jack Bauer's dialogue more frightening than many horror movie jump scares!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Haha he's a monster who happens to be the main character

[@Khether0001]

For conflict, I believe it is also very important to show what the stakes are in case the character fails

[@mathieuleader8601]

I think the Whale with Charlie's conflict to reconnect with his daughter as well as striving to not be a recluse anymore by stepping out of his home by taking his first baby steps is a great intense non-violent conflict.

[@errantwinds-up8uu]

I always love your videos!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thank you!

[@julietardos5044]

The Breakfast Club has some great conflict between all the characters, and resolutions for many of the conflicts.

[@mattbell5602]

I love the mental chess game between Thufir & Jessica in Dune…was totally bummed in wasn’t in the new film. Thx for the video

[@johnnyutah1001]

I discovered your channel today and liked it so much that I bought one of your books on Audible. The entire book and BBC series of I, Claudius is a sequence of nonviolent resolutions of conflict. Because Claudius is physically incapable of self defense he must deflect conflict by allowing people to think that he is a dimwit.

[@Ennpey]

Another awesome video!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks!

[@Nuh_uh696]

really love your videos

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks!

[@ungratefulpeasant8085]

Good stuff, my favorite non violent scene is the closing scene in the movie "Hell or High Water".

[@julietardos5044]

A timely episode. Cinema Therapy just put out a video on Little Miss Sunshine, and they had the directors on their show!

[@bloodgripen2257]

I love this. Usually for me, nonviolent situations can be absolutely tense! You REALLY get to see characters at their most in these scenarios. I'm writing a fanfic and I'm trying to incorporate that aspect into it. Very helpful stuff right here! 😎😎 Also, I have a rather unique video suggestion. How do you create a story that starts grounded and believable but also fun *(such as dealing with chaotic and fun housemates that are supernatural demons and angels)* that slowly builds up to where the protagonist and his/her companions have to literally save the universe and prevent a war between Heaven and Hell? *(Kinda extreme I know😅😂)* Basically, how do you go from normal and believable to epic and larger than life and extreme while still maintaining a sense of believability and without rushing anything important?

[@jamesyboy4330]

Thank you Brandon for being consistent with these writing guides. It’s helped me understand a lot about the fundamentals of writing, but I still have a long way to go. One of my biggest problems with writing is making the main characters passive instead of allowing them to fail and grow. Another one of my issues, which is something I’d like to get help with. If anyone can reply with some ideas to help me I would appreciate it infinitely. I have a story where humans and alien races have integrated into one society, but I’m trying to be somewhat realistic so the reader isn’t too detached from the concept. I feel as though I have to explain every little detail of how this society is able to work so the reader can understand what is happening. I do know that overstimulating the reader can make the story boring or not interesting at all. So, my question to you and your viewers is, how would I be able to write about a concept which doesn’t exist in real life, but have it make sense in a way that prevents me from writing walls of words for context? To give you a basic idea, humans live in a society controlled by aliens but they have managed to find peace and can coexist together without problems. My issue is writing too much about something that doesn’t pertain to the overarching theme in the story, as in, trying to make the reader understand that this society is functional and this is how it works. Any help is greatly appreciated. Been working on a story idea for years and I just can’t figure out how to make it work.

[@say5070]

My Favorite non violent scene I can think of off the top of my head is a cut scene from the video game God of War: Ragnarök. There is a scene where Odin is speaking with Kratos after Kratos' son has slipped away to meet with Odin who is an enemy of Kratos. Odin is circling Kratos, talking about how he has changed from te god he once was and Kratos responds, "If you do not return my son you may meet the God I once was." There is a sudden pause by Odin and then he changes the subject. It was perfect. Kratos doesn't explicitly say anything violent but you can hear the subdued anger in his voice. Odin, up to this point, has been a very charming and unbothered, unthreatened character, but the pause showed us that he felt threatened for awhile and that his change is subject is an attempt to conceal the moment of fear he showed. It also has a lot of gravity for the fans of the series because if you have played previous entries you understand the penchant for violence Kratos once has and while most of the time it was justified, it often felt unusually and unnecessarily cruel.

[@davidmathews9284]

Hey Brandon. love your videos and am using them to enhance my own world building. i was wondering if you could make a video on how to write and properly dispose of secondary antagonists, namely villains that are not the big bad. They can either be the warm up villain for the story before the big bad shows up, a henchman, or a secondary villain that is not connected to the main one but is still a threat. What I want to know is how you would recommend writing these types of characters so that they are memorable to the reader. I want to avoid creating secondary antagonists that end up as only a footnote in the story that dies with the rest of the cannon fodder. At the other extreme, I do not want them to upstage the main villain. Also some general advice on removing them as an antagonist would be great, either on how to properly kill them off without disrespecting the character for a quick kill, or recruit them to the hero's side, or even write them out of the story while still not leaving the character incomplete.

[@user-du3gq9mt9u]

I feel like there isn’t enough nonviolent conflicts in films anymore

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Yeah, I love movie violence, but balance is key

[@user-du3gq9mt9u]

Yep! 👍🏼 @@WriterBrandonMcNulty

[@Conserpov]

There are plenty, but most of the time they are basically "toddlers screaming at each other in a sandbox".

[@user-du3gq9mt9u]

Yeah@@Conserpov

[@epochnoir3215]

Hey, Brandon! I love your videos and I've been a fan for a while now. Would you ever consider doing movie breakdowns or something to that effect with new releases? I'd really like to hear what you have to say about Dune: Part 2. Especially since it was adapted from a book series.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks for the kind words. And I’d love to look at newer stuff, but it can often be hard to find clips of newer movies. I’ll see what I can do though. Definitely want to talk about Godzilla Minus One in the near future. I’ll add Dune to my list

[@epochnoir3215]

@WriterBrandonMcNulty that makes sense. I'd watch it even if the video only had clips from trailers. Thank you for all your knowledge!

[@cupofcalculus]

I would like to see a video of "How to analyze writing". Something that gives me a vocabulary and framework to understand and able to put into words what I like, and don't like, about a book. Something I can use to talk intelligently about material I've read, or explain to a book seller to help them make good personalized recommendations.

[@luckeynumbr6]

This is what James Clavell does so well in Shogun. Conflict in all directions. Violence at a minimum.

[@JohnnyWordSmith]

Just finished that John Truby book 👍🏻

[@reesgriffith2735]

Gustavo Fring threatening Walter and his family in the desert was cold blooded.

[@mattt2277]

Band of brothers; Winters court martial scene. The back and forth between Sobel and Winters was very well done, imho.

[@lonjohnson5161]

Luke and Han in the Death Star just as Luke learns of Princess Leah being on board. Luke wants to save the princess, Han wants to save himself; who will win?

[@ChBrahm]

I think one of the best to do it is Bojack Horseman´s Free Churro episode You have him doing a monologue the entire episode The conflict are his unresolved issues with her mother Which stem from years of abuse, the values that TV gave him during his childhood and the self destructive coping mechanisms he learned through out his life (which could also be seen as the "opponents" to Bojacks constant search for Happiness Like he looks for happiness but he only knows what he learned from TV that he knows isn´t true but still yearns for those moments He finds refuge in drugs and alcohol to get temporary satisfaction because he doesnt think he can get happiness long term And his mother is one of the few people that can get him started on being happy by acknowledging him but because she is bitter she denies him that purposefully out of spite Which is basically the entire series in a microcosm

[@Roman_4329]

Man, you're great

[@ZenKrio]

A few of my favorites come from Anime. Deku and Shigaraki, My Hero Academia- the latter has a power that allows him to decay something if all his fingers touch it, he holds Deku by the neck, leaving one finger off, and then proceeds to just chat with him, to understand what hes fighting for. Eren and Reiner, Attack on Titan - Eren manipulates someone to get Reiner into a basement above a bunch of innocent people. Reiner knows that at any time, Eren could kill everyone, and likely is going to, but has no choice but to sit and talk with him.

[@julikbonn4435]

The relationship between Chuck and Jimmy in Better Call Saul

[@yesspazsmith9895]

Fav Non-Violent Conflict: Gus and Blue Duck, at the river - Lonesome Dove. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHK7lZuDpcqSaa8si=quyx6ao4vDhOSPRy&t=2443

[@1adamantium1]

Hey Brandon can you do a vid on Slow paced beginings vs Fast paced? Managing the perfect balance? A lot of movies start out with a bang but fizzle out and suck, others are so slow it puts you to sleep.

[@BlackMasterJoe89]

Question about the four corners of opposition in the John Truby book. Does each corner have to be a single person, or can we included groups of people or even inanimate objects or maybe beliefs or habits? Great video btw

[@VNightmoon]

I love two characters just getting on each other's nerves. The "Dad Beat Dad" episode of Hazbin Hotel is one of the funniest variants of this I've seen in a while. The absolute highlight of the episode is Alastor and Lucifer just pissing each other off from the second they meet, from making needling remarks at each other to escalating in over-the-top shenanigans to try to one-up each other. What's even better is how and why this conflict even happens. Charlie is the princess of Hell, and set up the Hazbin Hotel to help sinners try to get better and redeem themselves to get into Heaven. She's also pretty much on her own, with little parental support, and only a handful of lesser demons helping her run it. Alastor is one of these demons, and has been assisting since day one. Alastor is used to being the most important and feared person in the room. He effortlessly wipes the floor with other demons on a regular basis and always has this mysterious aura around him. It's also clear he has ulterior motives for everything he does. Then Lucifer shows up. Yes, *that* Lucifer, one of the few people in Hell that can outclass him in every possible way, and worse, possibly throw a wrench in whatever plans he's making behind the scenes. Except, Alastor knows that Charlie is estranged, so he plays up the "stepdad who stepped up" role to outshine Lucifer wherever he can, which creates a ton of chaos, because he is *absolutely* weaponizing Lucifer's love for Charlie as a shield, because Alastor knows he won't do anything to upset his little girl (like curbstomp her hotel manager, who she's shown fondness for), so really, the *only* option is petty antics, which levels the playing field against Lucifer's massive power advantage. Someone also described their duet song as, "Friend Like Me, but with two genies fighting over Aladdin," and that's really the best description I ever heard.

[@leepatterson5710]

I think maybe not the scene but the movie itself for non-violent conflict with that whole 4 corners box is the movie Closer with Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, and Jude Law.

[@ajdndbdjbdj]

Hello brandon, i watch all your videos and i really like them, and i want to request a video idea that i personally struggle with, and its how to make characters to have a good reaction to all sorts of situations

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Can you be more specific? By good reaction, so you mean “believable” reaction?

[@ajdndbdjbdj]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty yes thats what i mean, like when character make a reaction that is realistic and doesnt make the character looks like a robot, because i always make them sound like that

[@juju10683]

Violent conflict requires a conflict of beliefs as well. Otherwise it is forgettable.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Absolutely. That's why the lightsaber battles in the Original Trilogy are so compelling. Who needs extensive CGI when you've got meaningful character values?

[@ryanmichalski6698]

No Country For Old Men - the phone call between Chigurh and Moss was always a tense one to watch. Good chunk of that movie feels like plenty of non-violent conflict, Bell walking into the hotel room or even his dream talk at the end shows a very conflicted man after his retirement.

[@nunyabizness8919]

My favorite nonviolent conflict scene from a movie is the dinner scene in Hereditary. *Spoiler wall* The sheer heartbreak you can hear and see on both sides, watching this family get torn apart because of a tragic freak accident is so gut-wrenching, and it's straight up uncomfortable to watch.