I think you make a good point gmw. In fact that was part of what the guy in the vid mentioned about tension I think. If a character needs $50.00 (Desire) to pay his phone bill (goal) and he just goes to the bank and gets a loan readers will say 'so what?' and stop reading. Goals need frustrations (conflict) and the longer the story the more conflict or the stronger a conflict you need I imagine. Most stories can be broken down to a formula I'd guess but that doesn't mean that the finished story should follow a cliched path. I mean Obstacle to love could go:
1. boy meets girl
2. boy and girl fall in love
3. someone disapproves of their being together
4a. boy and girl find a way to overcome the obstacle and live happily ever after
or 4b. boy and girl fail to find a way to stay together. ie. one dies, one can't stand up to family/society or any of a number of other obstacles.
In essence that's the plot of Romeo & Juliet in a nutshell. It's the frustrations (conflicts) within the play that make it what it is. And the tragic ending also helps to create the sense of reality I think. Even today the same story is taking place in real life. I think that's another point we can take from Shakespeare. He may have sometimes stretched credibility with his coincidences (in the comedies) but he kept some sense of grounding as well. His characters react in realistic ways. Hamlet wants vengeance for his father but he also has doubts as to if what he believes happened actually did happen. Living human beings today know that same mixed feeling of outrage and doubt. Shakespeare just put it into overdrive in the case of Hamlet.
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