Kishotenketsu: The Four-Act Structure Without Conflict
Western storytelling has a formula: introduce a hero, give them a problem, make it worse, then resolve it through struggle. Conflict is everything. Heroes need villains. Protagonists need obstacles. Stories need tension. But what if there’s another way? What if you could tell a compelling story with zero conflict, no antagonist, and no struggle—and still keep your audience completely engaged? Welcome to kishotenketsu (起承転結), the East Asian narrative structure that’s been creating beautiful stories for over a thousand years without relying on conflict at all. ...