conflict, change, loglines and novel 'hooks': talking about the heart of your story

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In articles and books on writing fiction, we have a tendency to isolate the elements from each other and talk about them as if they're independent entities: this is how you make a plot, this is how you build a character, this is what a theme is, these are the different kinds of conflicts, this is the difference between tension and dramatic suspense, and so on.

We also say things like, Conflict is the heart of storytelling, and Without conflict there is no story. But what does that mean...