CONFLICT THESAURUS

BREAKING OR DESTROYING AN IMPORTANT ITEM



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HELPFUL TIP:

Conflict is your story’s secret sauce, supplying tension, relationship friction, and complications to a character’s journey. It comes in a million different forms, so identify the obstacles and problems that will hit your character the hardest by using the Character Builder to uncover their primary insecurities, fears , and desires. Don’t forget to include everyday conflict scenarios that will frustrate them and keep the pressure high.
CATEGORY:
Failures and mistakes, relationship friction, increased pressure and ticking clocks, loss of control, losing an advantage

EXAMPLES:
The character's mode of transport breaking (a car no longer working because of poor maintenance, crashing a bike so it no longer rides, knocking a hole in a boat, etc.) 
A family heirloom being ruined
A treasured gift (from a mentor, a deceased parent, a child, etc.) being mistakenly thrown out
A phone or laptop getting dropped in the water
Ruining a stuffed animal or security blanket the character's child must have to sleep and feel safe
Prize-winning begonias belonging to the character's grandmother being dug up by the dog
A school assignment or work project being ruined at the last minute
Knocking over the urn containing a relative's ashes
A map or letter containing vital instructions sustaining extensive water damage
The will or deed that entitles the character to something valuable going up in a house fire
A vial containing the only known cure for a devastating disease being broken
A centuries-old weapon or magical item needed to protect a nation or group of people being destroyed
The machine that's supposed to bring back a time traveler being blown up
A lamp or box constraining an evil spirit busting open

MINOR COMPLICATIONS:
The character having to confess to people who will be upset by the loss
The character being chastised for their carelessness
Having to clean up the broken item and dispose of it
Hiding evidence of the broken item to avoid discovery
Having to scavenge or buy essential items to fix the item
The character sustaining minor injuries when the item is broken
Looking bad in front of people whose opinions matter
The financial burden of having to replace the item
Time spent unsuccessfully trying to fix the item or find a replacement
The character having to lie about their involvement
Inconveniences arising from the loss (being forced to take the bus to work, going without a phone, having to redo an assignment from scratch, etc.)
Getting a poor grade on an assignment or being reprimanded at work

POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS RESULTS:
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RESULTING EMOTIONS:
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POSSIBLE INTERNAL STRUGGLES:
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PEOPLE WHO COULD BE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED:
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NEGATIVE TRAITS THAT COULD MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE:
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IMPACT ON BASIC NEEDS:
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WOUNDS THIS COULD LEAD TO:
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POSITIVE TRAITS TO HELP THE CHARACTER COPE:
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POSITIVE OUTCOMES:
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