CONFLICT THESAURUS

CONFLICTING INTERNAL NEEDS OR DESIRES



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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:
No-win scenarios, moral dilemmas and temptations, duty and responsibility

NOTES:
By definition, conflict forces characters to choose between competing needs or desires. The most powerful conflicts involve choices whereby the outcomes both have value. While this entry explores some examples of this kind of conflict, you can find many more by searching the database for Moral Dilemmas and Temptations.

EXAMPLES:
The character wanting children when their partner does not
Struggling with peer pressure
The character wanting to leave a job that a friend helped secure
Wanting to stay in a location while a significant other wants to move 
Wanting to end a marriage but needing to stay for the children's sake 
The character struggling with their faith and considering leaving their religion
Yearning to have both a career and a family but not being able to do both
Deciding between a less-satisfying job that pays well and lower-paying, fulfilling work
Objecting to war but wanting to serve one's country 
Defending a guilty defendant during a trial 
Deciding whether or not to serve as a witness to a violent crime
A character who values privacy craving a career that would put them in the spotlight
Unburdening one's guilt by sharing an uncomfortable truth 
Not knowing what to do when one's personal desires conflict with a loved one's
A character wanting to be accepted by others while staying true to himself
The character being tempted to do something they know they shouldn't

MINOR COMPLICATIONS:
Dealing with criticism from others who don't know the whole story
Making a decision that disappoints friends, family, an employer, or mentor
Having to convince loved ones to come around to the character's way of thinking
Making the right decision but doing it in a way that hurts others
Resenting the people on the other side of the issue, even if they're not deliberately trying to make the character's life difficult
Choosing to compromise on something really important
Being afraid to make the wrong decision
Difficulty weighing the pros and cons of the decision
Having to listen to other people tell the character what they would do in his situation

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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POSITIVE TRAITS TO HELP THE CHARACTER COPE:
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POSITIVE OUTCOMES:
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