In real life, people think of conflict as a quarrel or a fight. Typically angry, even violent. In drama, however, it simply means one character wants something, and another character wants something different. They are in conflict. Each character has a goal: to get his/her way and to win. 

 

In plays, strong action always generates the greatest amount of audience attention, so conflict CAN be angry and/or violent. But it doesn't have to be. Mom wants her son to eat his vegetables. The kid wants a cookie. A school nerd loves a cheerleader, but she wants the quarterback. A woman wants her husband to go to the store. He wants to play golf. A goal can be large or small, as long as it causes action which prompts another character to react.

 

This "doing to each other" is called dramatic action. The emotional tug o' war it causes...the characters' struggle to achieve different goals...is dramatic conflict. Together they create an action/reaction pattern. That crucial pattern provides energy that drives your story forward.  One character striving for a goal makes other characters react with goals of their own. As a

result, everything else happens. Without the

tug o' war of dramatic action, without

the enery of conflict, you will have an 

emotional stalemate, and your

stage play or screenplay will 

stop in its tracks.