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I never thought much about ‘Accomplishment vs Failure’ stories. One could argue that every story touches on this. The protagonist needs to succeed in whatever they are attempting in regards to the main plot. If they don’t accomplish their goals then they’re going to fail. Makes perfect sense, right? So, why would there be a separate theme for something that comes off as a given?
From what I was reading, this type of conflict connects primarily to sports or any type of competition plot. This article also notes it would encompass performance stories such as musicians, dancers, etc. Considering this aspect, I can see what the difference is between general success. In a sport or performance, the character is trying to achieve a victory on some level. It isn’t to save the world, but maybe to win the big game, earn a spot on Broadway, or sell a painting to make rent. This is at a smaller scale than ‘life vs death’, but just as important to the characters. It’s the life and death of their dreams that is at stake here.
An aspect of these stories is that the protagonists always have the option to quit and give up on their dreams. This would fall under failure and be an acceptable result if written correctly. Other heroes don’t have this option such as in horror when they can’t just walk away from the serial killer. There’s a much easier out in giving up here, which is always looming over the character. Many times, they will quit at some point and then enter the third act with renewed determination. Kind of predictable, but audiences still get into the ‘phoenix’ effect.
I think this is a very relatable conflict for people. Most have had dreams at some point in their lives. A reader can understand the passion the character has even if they lost or area delaying their own. Seeing that the character has talent for what they want to do helps us believe in them achieving their dreams. They become a surrogate for hope, which can be inspiring to a reader. Think about sports movies and how a viewer who doesn’t like the real sport might really get into the heroes winning in the end. It’s not the sport we are stirred by, but the strong desire to win. Everyone wants to have that in their life instead of crushing failure. Through these stories, an author may rekindle hope and passion in a person too.
Touching on the failure side of the equation, I think all of us can remember a time we feared losing. Not only that, we all know what it’s like to come up short and lose, which is what the alternative to accomplishment. So, our own ‘fear’ of failure and the pain it gives us can pull us into a story. We start internally, or externally, cheering for this character and become emotionally invested. Probably more than in the previous conflicts since we’re more likely to have experience here.
What do you think of this conflict? It does seem fairly straightforward and deeper once you look at it from a sports/performance perspective.
Legends of Windemere 
I think this is a great conflict. It especially provides teachable moments for kids and teens (and adults too of course). I’m working on a middle grade novel in which the character tries to accomplish a goal (to get into an exclusive group) but ultimately fails due to her own poor choices. However, because she puts someone in danger, she has to try to fix things. She needs to succeed at that or the person will die. I definitely know what it’s like to fail and then pick up the pieces, which is an accomplishment in itself. That’s what I wanted for this character.
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Sounds like a great story to help people learn a lesson. It’s odd how this type of plot works better for kids. Adults don’t seem to learn moral lessons from fiction anymore.
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It deos indeed work better for kids. They have a lot more time to fail and bounce back than many adults do! 😄
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They seem to take failure better too.
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Accomplishment vs failure stories are great for sports but also real life non fiction. I’m thinking here of big goals like scaling Mt. Everest or building the first airplane. There are so many failures before the final accomplishment that the stories read like an adventure.
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Death can equal failure. Big failure there.
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With no way to try again.
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A conflict of this type is interesting, especially if you have the protagonist ‘lose’, because we learn more from failing than from achieving.
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Depends on if they lose at the very end or before the third act. A hero losing at the end tends to teach readers that failure is inevitable, so don’t try for your dreams.
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This is a great conflict for stories. Failure is an option in the second act, and when they return, even stronger, readers cheer for them.
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Definitely a great way to do it.
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There are so many facets to this, pressures that might try to hold the MC back from their dreams. And so many ways to define success or failure.
I think this could apply a lot to the artist/actor side of the conflict. The MC could be pressured to sign a bad contract, for instance, and “win” by refusing without actually getting the part or having their work in a gallery.
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Would work great for an artist story. They tend to be openly discouraged at following their dreams.
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