You embark on a new story story idea, but the plot does not involve an evil lord, an opposing army, or a big scary monster to serve as an antagonist. You worry that you shall have to plug one in because structure calls for it. Here’s the good news: You don’t necessarily have to.  Certain genres do have certain requirements: A Thriller has a looming threat to someone or the entire planet. There must be someone who is opposed to the protagonist removing that threat. A Horror story must have some sort of horrible thing that threatens one or many. Encounters with this entity are essential. A Murder Mystery must have a killer. However, the mystery formula is a sleuth dismissing suspects until the finds the correct suspect. It is not typically Moriarty versus Sherlock. A Romance must have people opposed to the lovers’ relationship. So how do you provide obstacles without a big, bad villain? The answer is by layering conflict. There are four types of resis...