CONFLICT THESAURUS

DISCOVERING A SPOUSE'S SECRET



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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:
Power struggles, failures and mistakes, relationship friction, moral dilemmas and temptation, losing an advantage, loss of control, ego-related conflict

EXAMPLES:
The spouse is having an affair
The spouse has been hiding an unhealthy addiction
The spouse lost their job and kept it from the character
The spouse has another family
The spouse is gay
The spouse has been hiding an escalating mental condition
The spouse is a serial criminal (killer, rapist, child abuser, drug or human trafficker, etc.)
The spouse has lied about their past (a wounding event, their biological parents, their medical history, etc.)
The spouse is fighting a terminal or communicable disease
The spouse has an unusual paranormal power
The spouse has been manipulating or gaslighting the character
The spouse has been engaging in illegal activity at work (embezzling, passing off other people's ideas as their own, blackmailing, etc.)

MINOR COMPLICATIONS:
Lost sleep due to worry
Minor stress-related health problems (headaches, an ulcer, high blood pressure, etc.)
Relationship friction with the spouse
Awkward conversations with others as the character tries to gain information
Having to explain the situation to other loved ones
Embarrassment over being the last to know
The character missing work so they can meet with people (doctors, lawyers, a private investigator, etc.)
The character publicly standing up for the spouse, then realizing they'd been played

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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