Conflict question and maybe something about scenes and sequels....

[Zuriel]

It's beginning to sound to me as though conflict is what prevents the beginning from getting to the end...? For example, beginning: Frodo has an evil ring. End: destroy the ring! Everything in between: conflict! (Because if it was simply a matter of dropping the ring into the dustbin, there would be no need to write LOTR)

Does that sound right?

I had this sort of mental mixup where I thought conflict had to be related to fighting in some fashion, where one person does one thing and another person pushes back.

I think a lot of people, when they hear the word conflict, immediately think of fisticuffs or a big battle, which is why I don't particularly like that term.  It conjures up visions of physical confrontation instead of a broader range of situations.

I had a teacher once who taught that the true difference between a novel and a short story is not mere length but the fact that a novel should include in its length secondary (and tertiary, etc.) plot lines and thus secondary conflicts.

A great little book I read on writing science fiction and fantasy was talking about episodic TV (but applies to novels, as well) containing two and a half plots...one main one and one and a half subplots, all of which should be happening at the same time.  In other words throw everything you have at the MC all at once and watch him sort them out.  And one of the mistakes I made in my first attempt at writing.  I concluded one problem/situation and then went on to the next one and the next without them overlapping very much.  It wasn't exactly a bad story, but it became a lot better, more dramatic, when I changed all that.

As to when conflict should start--depends on genre. Someone right before me basically said that rules are not hard and fast. I'm learning that. It's almost a case of they are and they aren't.

So in other words do it the way you want.   

Rules are a good guideline, especially for new writers, but eventually they're meant to be broken, once you've developed a style of your own - and that just comes with practice and more practice.   

And I don't think everyone has to use the two line - or the 13 line rule.  I think readers have a little bit more patience than that, but not much.  For me, personally, having to read a long, drawn out description at the beginning (unless very well done) is boring and makes me wonder...what is this book about?  But then I'm not one of those patient readers.   

[Naomi]

I agree with the excellent responses to the OP.  When it comes to writing, I think of conflict as the incentive(s) to move the story forward.  It can be big -- an epic war, or small -- annoyance at a co-worker who always eats at their desk, and chews with their mouth open.  Conflict can be antagonistic and brutal, however, conflict can also stem from love and caring (your beloved, very kind mother hopes you will wear her wedding gown for your nuptials, but you think the gown is hideous).  The primary conflict of a story does not have to be the grandest event, the one that impacts the most people.  A war is huge, but the primary conflict in a story can be a character's need to return home to visit a loved one, making the war a secondary conflict (impeding the character's return home).

And I don't think everyone has to use the two line - or the 13 line rule.  I think readers have a little bit more patience than that, but not much.  For me, personally, having to read a long, drawn out description at the beginning (unless very well done) is boring and makes me wonder...what is this book about?  But then I'm not one of those patient readers.   

I agree.  As a reader, my patience depends upon the story's setting.  With contemporary settings (regardless of genre) I need to be introduced to the main character immediately, and quickly given a reason to be interested in that character.  I'm already familiar with the contemporary world, and I will not spend time reading descriptions of the mundane in the opening pages.  My patience lasts for only one, maybe two (if very well written), pages.  With settings in, or on, other worlds (for example, high fantasy or science fiction), introduce me to the main character, but also tell me about the world.  In these instances, my patience lasts for around 1,500 to 2,000 words, maybe double that if the writing is exceedingly well done.