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Posted on Jun 03, 2021

How to Create Conflict in a Story (with 6 Simple Questions)

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About Linnea Gradin

The editor-in-chief of the Reedsy Freelancer blog, Linnea is a writer and marketer with a degree from the University of Cambridge. Her focus is to provide aspiring editors and book designers with the resources to further their careers.

Conflict is so ubiquitous that it can be hard to pinpoint. It’s rarely something tangible or concrete. In literature, it can take so many different forms that there’s no single best way to find the conflict in a story. And yet, there are some basic steps that any reader or writer can take to demystify conflict. 

If you haven’t checked out our post on external vs. internal conflict or our detailed list of conflict types yet, make sure to do so!

This article will give you a character-led process that can help you identify the different elements of conflict that keep stories focused and compelling. To demonstrate this process, we’ll reverse-engineer the 2001 film Legally Blonde as an example . If you’re ready, don your favorite pink item and prepare to bend and snap your way into a book-worthy conflict!

Q1: What does your character want?

The first step to working out a story’s central conflict is identifying what your protagonist wants to have or achieve . This should be an external goal: something in the real world and not something abstract like “self-fulfillment.”

Writer’s Step: Identify what your character wants most in life and the steps that they are willing to take to get it.

Example: Legally Blonde

At the start of the film, sorority girl Elle Woods wants two very simple things:  

• To marry her WASPy boyfriend and become Mrs. Warner Huntington III; and
•  Acquire all things pink. 

But when her boyfriend, Warner, dumps her on account of her being too blonde (and therefore, not suited to his political ambitions), Elle sets some new goals: 

• Follow Warner to Harvard Law School; and
• Prove that she does indeed make a suitable wife with substance and style.

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Q2: What is in their way?

Once you’ve identified what the character wants, you’ll need to figure out what’s stopping them from getting it. 

In any story, a character can’t immediately get what they want because that defeats the whole point of telling it in the first place. Something needs to disrupt the status quo — some kind of obstacle that forces the protagonist onto a new path. So the next step is to identify what is standing in the character’s way.

Writer’s Step: With your character’s goal in mind, determine the most obvious, logical roadblocks that will prevent them from getting what they want.

Once Elle has made a plan, three main things prevent her from achieving those goals:

• Getting accepted to Harvard Law, perhaps the most competitive postgraduate program in the country;
• Social stigma. Even though Elle is privileged in most ways, “serious society” (as personified by the students and faculty of Harvard Law) looks down on pink-clad, blonde-haired sorority sisters. Warner, true to his political ambitions, is easily swayed by public opinion.
• Even if she can get into Law School and overcome the social stigma, Elle still has to convince Warner that she’s a “suitable” wife.

Q3: How can their strengths help them (at first)?

If you know what the character wants and what’s stopping them, you’re on to a good start. Now it’s just a matter of getting around the obstacle that is blocking their path to success. Most characters will have some natural ability that will help them achieve their goal. Sometimes it comes easy, and sometimes they have to dig a little deeper, but they’re likely to be more ready for the challenge than it initially might seem.

Writer’s step: With all your character’s traits in mind, determine what will be essential in helping them jump the hurdles in front of them.

Elle has a go-get-it attitude and is convinced she can do anything she puts her mind to. Together with her sorority sisters and by utilizing her extensive social network, she buckles down on her studies and manages to get accepted to Harvard Law. 

As a deeply personable and relentlessly positive sorority leader, she's accumulated the social skills and work ethic necessary to win over her peers and prove people wrong. Her unique interests even make her the ideal candidate to help the professor’s client — a fitness influencer accused of murder. In short, her ‘blondeness’ turns out to be her greatest asset.

Q4: What must change to overcome the final hurdle?

Not all obstacles can be overcome without a little bit of change and often a healthy dose of internal conflict. To achieve what they want but haven't been able to get, something needs to change in the character’s life or mind on a deeper level. This requires both time and effort, as well as some serious inner contemplation.

Writer’s Step: Again, with all your character’s traits in mind, identify where there’s room for growth or what their limiting factor is. What is stopping them from crossing that finish line, and how can they overcome it?

When Elle has identified why Warner rejects her as a realistic candidate for the wife position — that she’s not serious enough — she tries to become the version of herself that he wants. The problem is that she doesn’t realize that that doesn’t represent real change. In fact, it’s been part of the issue the whole time — she has no ambitions or dreams of her own, except becoming Warner’s wife. 

To regain Warner’s interest, Elle realizes she needs to find her own path and inner strength. But she needs to go through many trials and errors before she can come to that conclusion.

Q5: What consequences will this change have?

Making changes is always easier said than done, and old habits die hard. Especially if they turn out to clash with something else that is important to the character, forcing them to sacrifice something for the sake of their goal. That’s how internal conflict arises and incites personal growth and change. 

In the end, the changes that a character makes are likely to have either positive or negative consequences. Or both. 

Writer’s Step: Figure out the different ways your character might change. What are the consequences of these changes?

Elle’s situation is a classic Catch-22. She wants Warner to want her and is willing to change to achieve the appropriate level of refinement that he is looking for. In the process of pursuing Warner, however, she might end up stumbling into real change — a change that might, in turn, force her to give up some of her old habits and behaviors (and not the ones she thought). She must ask herself: is Warner worth it?

If the answer is yes, she’ll have to give up on her frequent salon visits and her pink closet, and start behaving according to the socially acceptable norms. 

If the answer is no: she’ll have to give up on what she originally wanted — becoming Mrs. Warner Huntington III — and discover a new goal.

Q6: How can other characters bring these conflicts to life?

Conflicts rarely arise in a vacuum. However, people are particularly good at instigating a fight, making them the perfect vessels to show and not tell character growth or develop a plot. Characters can bring conflicts to life in at least three ways:

1. They can create the resistance necessary for conflict to arise

Antagonists and side characters are often (but not always) the ones who instigate a conflict. They might want the same thing that the protagonist wants — or have a different way of achieving it — which creates an opposing force that the protagonist can clash with.

2. They give layers and nuance to the conflict

Side characters can also help the protagonist resolve the conflict by offering different perspectives or alternative solutions that the character wouldn’t have been able to think of themselves. Likewise, round antagonists can bring nuance to the conflict by making the issue at hand more moreally grey.

3. They can make an abstract conflict tangible

Lastly, other characters can be manifestations of the central conflict itself. They can turn a conceptual struggle like “character vs. society” into something the protagonist can confront head-on. 

Imagine a story about a woman facing discrimination in the workplace. We can bring the conflict of systemic discrimination down to a more tangible level by inserting a sexist boss and complicit coworkers. This shows how discrimination has become part of the system while also showing how it affects people individually. In this way, the author can comment on social injustices and tell an engaging story of resistance and overcoming.

Writer’s step: Consider how your secondary characters can bring your story’s conflicts to life — either by opposing or supporting your protagonist.

Even though Elle is a fascinating character in her own right, her story only comes to life because she interacts with other characters. So, who are the supporting players in Legally Blonde, and how do they fit into the conflict?

1. Warner Huntington III, the ex-boyfriend and dream-husband.

Warner represents the external conflict between Elle and a world that undermines and underestimates women, especially when they don’t fit into a traditional, conservative mold.

2. Vivian Kensington, Elle’s law school classmate and Warner’s new girlfriend.

Like Warner, Vivian highlights the central motif of the movie by representing what Elle needs to become if she is to be taken seriously (and it’s probably not a coincidence that she is a brunette). 

She is also a de facto antagonist that Elle needs to defeat to win back Warner.

But Vivian’s character arc also dovetails nicely with the central argument of the movie to emphasize the point that women should support women and get rid of men like Warner.

3. Professor Callahan, a sexist law professor. 

Callahan represents larger systems of sexism that make it difficult for women like Elle to be seen as capable.

4. Emmett, a sweet and supportive junior lawyer at Callahan’s firm, who will become Elle’s new boo. 

As Elle’s new love interest, Emmett represents an alternative way to view women and a new way for Elle to resolve the primary conflict. While marrying Warner would require her to change and lose her identity, Emmett wants her to be true to herself.

That makes him an essential factor in letting Elle see that her “blondeness” is an asset to her and not a liability as everyone else makes it seem.

Emmett is just a supporting character that highlights Elle’s character arc, which is more about self-empowerment than finding love. 

5. Paulette, a salon owner who’s looking for advice on dating.

Paulette is only a minor character, but she helps Elle realize the value she can bring to people’s lives without changing herself or trying to fit into the mold that Warner, Harvard Law, and society have set out for her.

In the end, Legally Blonde combines both external and internal conflict, manifested through Elle and the various side characters, and speaks to female empowerment as well as knowing your worth. And just as Elle went through a journey to discover what she needed, so can any character in a story. All they need is:

• Obstacles standing in their way;
• Strengths that will help them overcome early obstacles;
• A final obstacle that will require them to change; and
• Consequences to making that change.

With all these elements in place, any writer can establish a strong conflict that will power their story.

Going through these steps to find the conflict in a story takes care of a lot of the heavy lifting of writing or analyzing a story. If you’re an author, it’s now just a matter of thinking about how best to dramatize these conflicts and get your character to that point when they get what they want (or realize what they need). 

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7 Types of Conflict in Literature: How to Use Them (with Examples)

By Gina Edwards

“Nothing moves forward in a story except through conflict.”

This is what Robert McKee, the author of Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting , calls the Law of Conflict, and storytelling is governed by it.

The finer details like story setting, character, and plot events all give the reader context and understanding, but conflict , according to McKee, is the “soul” of story. Every kind of story, every genre – novel, short story, science fiction , romance, mystery, historical , young adult , etc. – requires it.

In her book Writing Fiction , Janet Burroway says that, in literature, “only trouble is interesting.” It’s a bit ironic that in real life, we resist trouble; we shy away from conflict. Yet readers crave it in fiction.

First-time authors often find the idea of putting their characters into conflict an upsetting one. Just as they want to avoid conflict in their own lives, they don’t want to place their characters into uncomfortable, confrontational situations. They’ll focus on eloquent setting description or complex character development but then give the main character no conflict to resolve. Don’t make that mistake.

Why Conflict Is Key

7 types of conflict in fiction, how to create conflict in your novel, layered conflict makes compelling fiction.

Quite simply, conflict keeps your story interesting. Conflict is opposition – either internal or external (more on that below). Conflict is what comes from the challenges your protagonist must solve or resolve on the way to achieving his/her/their goal. It offers a teasing carrot of uncertainty about whether your protagonist will achieve that goal, keeping your readers engaged and turning pages to discover whether (or not) the conflict is resolved.

And that’s what every author wants, right? To carry the reader all the way to THE END?

Without conflict, your main character is simply experiencing a series of largely uninteresting slice-of-life moments. Without conflict, there is no story.

There are two basic kinds of conflict: external and internal, which have been further categorized and codified in many different ways over time. Here are seven different types to consider.

External Conflicts

External conflict pits the character against some exterior force or world-view and happens outside the character’s body. Five of the seven types of conflicts are of the external kind.

1. Person vs. Person

Also called man vs. man and protagonist vs. antagonist , this is the most common type of external conflict. It is clear and universally understood as a good vs. evil story in which an unambiguous challenger opposes the main character.

The heart of this type of story involves two characters with opposing outlooks, opinions, or goals. The story will become richer when both characters believe themselves to be right or when there is no clear right or wrong between their differences.

• In The Hunger Games , Katniss Everdeen must go up against other contestants in order to survive – her vs. them
• In The Wizard of Oz , Dorothy faces off against the Wicked Witch
• Murder mysteries with the investigator vs. murderer also are person vs. person stories

2. Person vs. Nature

This type of conflict counters a character against some force of nature, such as an animal or the weather.

• A classic example is Ernest Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea
• In Life of Pi , the protagonist must face a tiger trapped in the boat with him
• The drought is a formidable opposition in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath , as is the setting in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (read more about the use of setting here )

3. Person vs. Society

When a novel sets a character against a tradition, an institution, a law, or some other societal construct, it is a Person vs. Society story.

• Atticus Finch opposed his racist community in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird
• Wilbur fights for his survival against a society that eats pigs in Charlotte’s Web
• In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale , the society treats women as property of the state; Atwood makes the story even more interesting by layering in environmental disasters (Person vs. Nature) to intensify the conflict

4. Person vs. Technology

When science moves beyond human control, conflicts of Person vs. Technology develop. Stories in this conflict type include:

• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

5. Person vs. Supernatural

Vampires, werewolves, aliens, and ghosts – any typically unbelievable, supernatural, or inexplicable phenomena – provide Person vs. Supernatural conflicts. Examples of such stories include:

• The Shining , by Stephen King
• The Haunting of Hill House , by Shirley Jackson
• The War of the Worlds , by H.G. Wells
• The Exorcist
• Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach series
• Almost anything by Edgar Allan Poe

Internal Conflicts

The two remaining types of conflicts are internal – ones that happen inside the character’s mind or heart. When your main character has an inner turmoil that’s causing some emotional pain, it increases the tension of the story.

6. Person vs. Self

A character battling inner demons, one who has an inner moral conflict (think Hamlet ), or is simply striving to become a better person is in a Person vs. Self conflict.

• Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games (again!) must reconcile her need to survive in the battle arena with her desire not to kill another human being
• Daniel Scott Keyes's short story Flowers for Algernon has a main character struggling with losing his intelligence to a congenital mental disability, with the focus on the character’s feelings about his circumstances: the conflict between his intellect and emotion are central

7. Person vs. Destiny (Fate/Luck/God)

This is an ambiguous conflict type. Sometimes aspects of it get split up and parsed out among the other categories. For example, since accepting fate can be seen as an inner personal struggle, some define it as Person vs. Self instead. Or some might reframe Person vs. God as being person against religion and, therefore, would put it in the external conflict type of Person vs. Society. The categories don’t really matter as long as you understand the concept.

Examples of this conflict type include Star Wars , The Odyssey , and Lord of the Rings .

• Although Star Wars contains plenty of external conflicts, a major part of the storyline is Luke’s destiny to become a Jedi Master
• In The Odyssey , Odysseus encounters all sorts of mystical creatures
• Fate has made Frodo the ring-bearer in Lord of the Rings

When a character has a want or a goal and encounters some obstacle, the result is a conflict. The obstacle must be faced by a character readers care about. Additionally, the obstacle must oppose a want or a goal that’s meaningful to that character. The result? Conflict.

Conflict can vary in degree or intensity, but every conflict must have several key characteristics.

• The conflict must be clear, specific, and relevant to the character; it should not be an abstract or trivial problem – either to the character or to the reader
• It must exist within the character’s realm, not separate or remote from their world
• The conflict must not be overcome too easily
• Finally, the conflict must happen to a character(s) the reader cares about (not necessarily “likes,” but has some compassion for)

In summary, conflict results when a compassion-worthy character who wants something intensely encounters a significant obstacle. Add in relevant action and you’ll have a story.

Every novel needs a major conflict. More complex stories have multiple conflicts, as noted above for Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale , which has both Person vs. Society and Person vs. Nature conflicts. Furthermore, a story that contains external conflict can be made more complex, layered, and interesting by including characters who also have inner conflict (see The Hunger Games in the examples above).

James Scott Bell, in The Art of War for Writers , makes this distinction between inner conflict and inner struggle:

An inner conflict is plot-centric; it is an internal obstacle either triggered by or somehow directly connected to the story – the plot. Whereas inner struggle is something that plays against the character’s strengths; it’s something the character brings to the plot, usually from her past, either long ago or recent past (but before the first page). The plot will put the protagonist in situations where she has to deal with this inner struggle, and she’ll carry that struggle with her throughout the story. If the character is in a series, it will run throughout the book series.

To illustrate, let’s say you want your female main character to be assertive . Two qualities that might battle against assertiveness are shyness and indecision . Then consider what in the protagonist’s background could be a reason for her struggle between assertiveness and yet being shy or indecisive . Maybe someone important in her life told her she’d never amount to anything. Maybe she had a hard-scrabble, poor childhood she desperately wanted to get out of, but as a child she saw too many adults around her fail in every attempt to do so themselves. You get the idea?

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Olen Butler says inner conflict is a defining mark of a literary work. A book might also possess characteristics of a particular genre, but inner conflict can give a novel a sense of being the literary kind.

Whether or not you’re striving for a literary work, if you use two or more of the seven types of conflict identified above, making sure at least one is internal, your writing will be compelling.

How do you feel about using conflict in your writing? Let us know in the comments!

Do you know how to craft memorable, compelling characters? Download this free book now:

Creating Legends: How to Craft Characters Readers Adore… or Despise!

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Gina Edwards

Gina Edwards is a writer, retreat leader, certified creativity coach, and editor. Through retreats, group coaching, and the community Women Writing for CHANGE, she provides safe spaces for women writers—aspiring and published—to claim their voices, write their stories, and leave their legacies. Gina, her clients, and her writer-friends are on a collective mission to positively impact the world through their written words.

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What is Conflict in a Story? Definition and the 4 Types of Conflict Examples

by Fija Callaghan

As we saw in our article on plot , all story is driven by actions, reactions, and choices. And all choices are driven by conflict.

Conflict can be something as simple as choosing a brand of cereal at the supermarket—do I buy the one I know I really want, or do I get the one that’s on sale? Or it can be a socio-internal quandary—do I risk moving across the country to take a fantastic job opportunity, or do I stay in a place where I already know I’m comfortable and safe?

Your character’s conflict can also be a direct opposition to another person, or it can be a fight against an impersonal, external force, like a big storm.

The type of conflict your protagonist faces and, more importantly, how they deal with it, can reveal a lot about their character. It’s also what causes them to begin making choices that form the backbone of the story.

Let’s look at some of the major types of conflict you can use to propel your story forward.

What is conflict in a story?

In a story, conflict is any moment where the protagonist wants something, but someone or something is standing in their way. Often this is another character who either wants the same thing as the protagonist or wants something that’s in direct opposition. Conflict can also come from the natural world, society as a whole, or from within the protagonist themself.

For example, if your character wants a promotion at their job, their conflict could stem from another character who also wants that promotion, or a family member who doesn’t want the protagonist to apply for it so that they can spend more time at home. Maybe even both!

Alternatively, your character’s conflict might come from within. For example, maybe your character is struggling because the promotion would ease their financial troubles, but it would also involve doing things that compromised their own personal ethics.

The central conflict might be a matter of the protagonist balancing their needs and desires, choosing what’s worth fighting for and what’s worth sacrificing. It’s for you as the writer to decide which choices are the right ones for the story.

Why does conflict matter in storytelling?

In a compelling story, creating conflict is what powers the events of your plot. Without some sort of inner or outer opposition (and we’ll look closer at internal conflict and external conflict down below), your characters would go on living their lives exactly as they always had.

If you don’t give your characters something to struggle against, your story won’t have any deeper meaning or create an emotional response in your reader.

All stories begin with a change in circumstance that we call the inciting incident . You may have heard this mentioned before as a moment early on in the story where your protagonist’s world is forever, irrevocably, altered. What’s talked about less is that this moment, the inciting incident, cannot exist without conflict .

For example, one of the most famous types of inciting incidents in storytelling is the formula called “a stranger comes to town.” This is where a new character arrives in the protagonist’s world and knocks it squarely off center. This could be something like a traveling theater coming to deliver a very special one-night performance, or a troubled new kid arriving at the main character’s school.

While these are both great places to begin a story, neither is a story in and of itself —not without conflict. If the traveling theater delivers an enjoyable family-friendly show before moving on, or if the new kid settles into a productive routine and does their homework on time and is quickly forgotten, then nothing has actually happened .

We don’t just need these strangers to arrive at the beginning of the story—we need them to arrive and start messing things up!

The same is true for each pivotal plot point. Throughout our story, the protagonist and the characters around them will face conflict, make choices in response to that conflict, and resolve the conflict (or not); and the choices that they made will lead them into other plot points, other conflicts, and other layers of story.

This is useful to remember if you’re ever stuck in your writing and not sure how to move forward; the answer is almost always more conflict .

The 4 types of conflict your characters will face

As we saw above, opposing forces in a story can present itself in many different ways. It can be overt, characterized by ticking time bombs and villain monologues and hostages tied to railroad tracks; or, it can be subtle, stemming from deep psychological shadows and moral uncertainty and primal human weakness.

All types of conflict have their place in storytelling and, in fact, very often several types of conflict in a story will be layered one on top of the other. Let’s look at the different types of classic storytelling conflicts in literature.

1. Character vs. Character

The character vs. character conflict (also called the interpersonal conflict) is a situation in which two people, or groups of people, find themselves fighting for contrasting desires that are absolutely exclusive to each other.

This is the classic “hero vs. villain” story that we all learned to recognize as children: Spiderman vs. Doctor Octopus, Peter Rabbit vs. Mr. McGregor, the Pevensie children vs. the White Witch. This can also be a conflict between two otherwise good characters, such as two best friends fighting for the same wedding venue, or two business owners competing for customers in a small town.

In these stories, your characters will fight tooth and nail for what they want,; they may question why they want what they want (this ties into internal conflict, which we’ll look at next); and by the end of the story one or both of your characters will either end up with nothing or they’ll learn to want something different.

You may close your story with the defeat of one character—usually your antagonist—or your two opposing forces may come to some sort of peace with one another.

2. Character vs. Self

Also called the internal conflict, this is where a character struggles with two conflicting desires or needs—such as whether to do something against their personal ethics in order to succeed or survive, or whether to alter a deeply-ingrained set of beliefs when faced with new information or a new circumstance.

In most cases, these conflicts come from flaws that are already present in the character when the story begins: fear, greed, addiction. Then, when the rising action of the story introduces a need to overcome these flaws, the character begins making difficult choices that propel the story forward and ultimately make them a very different person than when they started out.

You’ll often find the interpersonal and internal conflicts used together quite effectively, as the antagonist of the story causes the protagonist, or hero, to begin making choices that aren’t entirely comfortable and examining their own internal weaknesses.

Your protagonist may also consider why their initial goal was so important to them in the first place, and they may discover that what they’ve actually been chasing is something much deeper.

3. Character vs. Society

The society conflict sees the protagonist pitted against a collective, impersonal antagonistic force such as a government body, an unfamiliar culture, or a conflicting demographic. This type of conflict is often used in dystopia-type stories, like The Hunger Games , where only the protagonist and the reader realize that there’s something deeply wrong with the society as a whole.

It can also be an instance in which the main character is thrown into the alien cultural practices of an unfamiliar landscape and is forced to adapt, and quickly. Sometimes, like in Joanne Harris’ Chocolat , it might be a matter of the protagonist and the society coming around to some sort of understanding and acceptance of the things that make them different.

These types of stories can be used to show injustices and points of discussion in our own society, and encourage readers to examine their own relationship with the world around them.

4. Character vs. Nature

These are stories in which the main character, or central characters, are battling against a force of something beyond anyone’s control. This could be something like being lost at sea and surviving against impossible odds, or preparing a town against the threat of an incoming hurricane.

The most famous example of nature conflict is in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick , in which a sea captain makes it his mission to conquer the white whale at the center of the story—to overcome nature itself. Although the whale is a living, sentient being, in this story it’s shown as an impersonal force of the natural world. The ship’s crew also face storms and other natural challenges characteristic of being at sea.

In contemporary and futuristic literature, this “character vs. nature” dynamic can sometimes come in the form of a conflict against technology. Although this presentation of our natural landscape is quite different, it follows the same principles of conflict against a broad, impersonal, uncontrollable force of the world around us.

How to find the right conflict for your story

It’s important to note that while most story conflicts fit into one of these four categories, many compelling stories will have more than one type of conflict running at the same time.

Really, some degree of conflict exists any time a choice is made (in story as well as in our own lives), and in a well-crafted narrative there’ll be multiple levels of internal and external conflict at any given moment. It is by overcoming conflict that our characters change and grow.

As you may remember from our article on character , all story stems from a place of human need and desire. What our characters want and need most will inform every moment of the plot, which means that the conflicts that drive this plot also have to be directly intertwined with our character’s journey.

Pinpoint your protagonist’s desire

In order to find the right conflict for your story, begin by asking yourself what your protagonist wants—for example, do they want to have their creative work recognized, to see more of the world beyond the confines of their small town, or for the man they love to leave his unhappy marriage and be with them instead?

Now, ask yourself: Why don’t they already have what they want? What’s standing in their way?

Perhaps your protagonist hasn’t shown anyone their work because they’re too afraid of ridicule and rejection (character vs. self).

Maybe they haven’t left their hometown because they’re locked into a respected position, such as a doctor or a priest, and they have too many people relying on their presence there (character vs. society).

Maybe the love interest’s wife has him tied into difficult circumstances because she doesn’t want him to leave, or maybe the man himself is too adverse to uncertainty and change (character vs. character). Can you see the stories beginning to shine through?

Once you have a clear idea of what your protagonist wants and what’s preventing them from getting it, your story’s conflict will naturally fall into place.

How to resolve your story’s conflict (the right way)

Once your characters have fought their way through the conflict that you’ve thrown at them, you’re going to need to give them a resolution.

The most important thing to remember is that the resolution to their conflict must come from them —from their actions, needs, and understanding of the world (not coincidentally, these are usually the same things that caused the conflict in the first place).

Let’s see if you can identify the problem with these resolutions:

The creative main character—let’s say they’re a painter—accidentally leaves some of their sketches behind at a café. A major publisher of children’s books stumbles across it, finds out who they are, and offers them scads of money to illustrate their upcoming new book.

A man is stuck in a small village and dreams of faraway adventure. Then a member of the town council contacts him and tells him that in exchange for decades of exemplary service, he’s being gifted with a generous early retirement so he can live and explore where he pleases.

The central character has fallen in love with someone who is married. Suddenly the spouse dies, leaving the main characters free to build a happily-ever-after.

Do you see what all of these resolutions have in common?

The protagonist doesn’t do anything .

These are all examples of the plot device deus ex machina , or “god from the machine.” This is a term left over from Greek stage dramas where a god-like figure would be lowered onto the stage via pulley, and they would then swoop into the entanglements of the plot and save the day.

It refers to any moment where an external, unforeseen force—this can be another character, a new discovery, a natural disaster—shows up out of the blue to magically sweep away the conflicts of the story and give our heroes a chance at a happy ending.

These types of resolutions leave the reader (or viewer, in theater and film) feeling unsatisfied and cheated out of a good story.

It’s okay to give your protagonist a few moments of good luck (not too many!), but the overall resolution to the story’s major conflicts need to come from them—from the choices they make, from the things they learn about the world and about themselves, from the way they grow as a person through the events of the plot.

Resolution in a story comes from the protagonist gaining a deeper understanding of their own weaknesses and learning how to overcome them. In many ways, it should be a direct reflection of what caused the conflict in the first place.

When you’re wrapping up your story’s plot and resolving the major conflict, ask yourself how your protagonist has changed over the course of the story (and if they haven’t… you need to go back and look at your character arcs again). Do they still want the same things they did at the beginning? How would they approach those goals knowing what they do now?

Use what they’ve learned to look at the story’s conflict in a new way.

Conflict is the driving force behind your story

Even with rich, evocative settings and vivid, relatable characters, you need conflict in order for ideas to become a story. Conflict in a story is what links one plot point to another; it’s what gives your characters something to fight for and a reason to change and grow as they fight for those things.

Whether your central conflict is between your protagonist and another character, between them and the wider world, or even between them and the shadows deep within themself, engaging conflicts will keep your readers turning pages for the entire journey.

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My philosophy, monday, july 12, 2021, the 8 types of conflict (with examples, possible resolutions, and stakes).

Every story needs a character in a setting engaged in conflict. But sometimes writers get hyper-focused on one or two types of conflict, and never explore or include the other types. This can make a story feel flat or repetitive (similar to what I touched on in my plotlines post ). Sometimes the writer senses that there is something wrong, so tries to add more to the story, but they end up either adding more to the same conflict, or simply adding the same type  of conflict. Like always, I'm never going to say you can't ever  do this, but just that it's almost always more satisfying if you put in a variety. Variety gives a story more depth and breadth--and also keeps things interesting.

Conflict is key in moving plot, character arc, and theme forward--in other words, the whole story forward. No conflict = no story. If there is no struggle, the character never grows. If there is no opposing argument, the theme never carries its weight. If there is no antagonistic force, no climax is earned. 

Early on in my writing journey, I was only introduced to five types of conflict. And indeed you can find arguments about what does and does not count as a conflict type (and some types can overlap). But today I've put together a comprehensive list of the most prevalent categories--and I think just about any conflict will fit within one of them . I'll also share a few things about each along the way. 

1. Person vs. Self

At the most intimate level, we have person vs. self conflicts. In regards to plotlines, you may have heard this called the "inner journey." 

There is usually a flaw, weakness, or misbelief the protagonist and/or another key character has and is struggling to overcome, which helps make up the character's arc. Often at some point, the character struggles with conflicting belief systems. For example, in A Quiet Place, Part II , Emmett struggles between believing people aren't worth saving vs. believing people are worth saving. As he comes to believe the latter, he completes his character arc.

Any key character may struggle with doubt, assertiveness, confidence, costs, conflicting wants, or something else. They may be in conflict with themselves about what to do or who to believe. Even characters who don't arc drastically can have internal conflicts. 

And of course, you can have an internal conflict that isn't fleshed out into a full plotline, but may be an incident. A character may have a brief internal struggle about whether on not to trust someone they've just met, and that may only last a scene. 

Person vs. self conflicts are great at making a story feel personal and deep.   They are often the most empathetic conflicts.

Frodo caught between wanting to destroy The Ring, and being tempted to keep The Ring.

Simba struggling between believing he is meant to be king vs. turning his back on being king. 

Jean Valjean trying to decide whether he should reveal his identity and save a man from going into prison in his place.

Possible Methods of Resolution:

Having a personal revelation (an epiphany) Making a personal choice Taking a personal action Giving into a personal weakness Overcoming a personal weakness Learning new information

Common Stakes (Negative vs. Positive):

Psychological death  vs. life, or a better, healthier psychological life Loss of identity or sense of self vs. clearer sense of identity or a better sense of self Becoming something undesirable vs. becoming who they want to be Becoming unfit to do what is necessary vs. gaining the power and wherewithal to complete the task Coming to terms with a painful reality about one's self vs. fully accepting one's self How one's changing nature affects others (or the environment) around the character negatively or positively Having to live with painful regrets vs. having the peace of overcoming Loss of power (over self, or the internal conflict affecting an outside power) vs. gaining power (self-mastery, or the internal conflicting providing an external power)

2. Person vs. Person

In person vs. person conflicts, the character is (you guessed it) in conflict with another person. This is often what people think of, when they think of "conflict."

If your antagonist is a person, then your protagonist will be in conflict with him or her. Usually person vs. person conflicts mean that the characters have different goals or at least different methods for obtaining a goal. In Harry Potter , Harry and Voldemort are in conflict because they want opposing outcomes and have different views of the Wizarding World. But sometimes Harry also gets in conflict with Hermione about what methods they should use to reach their goals.

Most often the protagonist and antagonist will be embodying opposing belief systems, so their person vs. person conflict is an example of these two belief systems clashing and trying to claim dominance ( which plays into theme ). 

And usually, the protagonist and their ally (or allies) will clash about what is the best way  to move forward in the plot.

These are just rules of thumb, of course, and the person vs. person conflict can also be as brief as a character getting into a heated debate with a stranger on the street. It can come across as obvious as a fistfight or as subtle as a smirk. Many times, the conflict will be expressed through subtext . 

In most stories, the protagonist will have many person vs. person conflicts, with different people.

Batman fighting The Joker.

Jim and Pam arguing about how to deal with Michael in The Office.

Belle turning down Gaston's continual pursuits in Beauty and the Beast.

Defeating the other person physically, intellectually, or emotionally Agreeing to disagree Being defeated by the other person physically, intellectually, or emotionally Coming to a compromise One character comes to embrace the other character's perspective, so they are on the same side Going separate ways

Death (psychological, professional, or physical) vs. life Physically or emotional pain and injury vs. Physical or emotional health and safety How the outcome will affect the character's future lifestyle negatively or positively Opportunities (gained or lost) Plot goal lost or achieved  How the outcome will affect loved ones or the world negatively or positively

3. Person vs. Nature

Here, a person is in conflict with nature. This is a struggle that usually comes from the setting. It could be surviving in the wilderness after a plane crash, dealing with disease, an earthquake, starvation, or a bear. Person vs. nature conflicts show characters at the mercy of Mother Nature; this often emphasizes a lack of control.  Despite his best efforts, a person may be blindsided by illness or an earthquake. Some disasters can't be prevented, only coped with. We can try to prepare, or deal with the outcome, but we often can't simply stop nature.

Unlike most other types of conflict, there (arguably) isn't really anyone or anything to blame . Nature is indifferent. We can't really blame the clouds for not raining, or the ocean for the tsunami that wiped out our homes. Even if someone puts us in that situation, ultimately, it's Mother Nature that deals the blow.  Without a clear entity to blame, this sometimes leads people to find someone or something else to blame, to take their hurt out on. 

Person vs. nature conflicts can be a great way to illustrate unfairness in the human experience. They also tend to reveal human tendencies, as characters typically find themselves in desperate situations.

In Hidalgo , Hopkins and his horse must weather a sandstorm. 

In  Hatchett  by Gary Paulsen, Brian must survive in the wilderness after a plane crash. 

In The Martian , Mark Watney must survive on Mars.

Armed with proper preparation (ex. having no clean water but having brought iodine) Gaining knowledge (ex. discovering how to cure a disease) Gaining experience and skill (ex. figuring out how to spear fish for food) Finding ways to properly cope with the situation (ex. going under a desk during an earthquake) Help from others, being rescued Suffering or death

Death vs. life Physical pain and suffering vs. comfort and safety How death or suffering of the character will affect other characters, the world, or plot vs. how their physical safety affects those things How lack of resources or stamina impede progress vs. having resources and stamina improve progress Loss of valuable time vs. gaining valuable time Loss of valuable resources (ex. a fire burning down a house or food becoming contaminated) vs. gaining valuable resources (ex. finding shelter or clean drinking water) Exposing others to illness or danger vs. limited or preventing exposure

4. Person vs. Society

A "society" in a story is any type of collective. It may be as big as a government or as small as a school club. It's a group of people who work as a unit. The character may be in conflict with a culture, tradition, or an established law. It may be a conflict with a lifestyle or a taboo. 

Societal conflicts are less personal than one-on-one conflicts. Often the character is pitted against ideologies that can't be overcome directly or quickly. For example, in The Hunger Games , Katniss is pitted against Panem's government--it has laws, traditions, and ideologies that she can't defeat with sheer force. These things have to be undermined or challenged through smaller actions.

Other times, the collective may work more as a "person"--just multiple people joined together as one. For example, a character may need to overcome a group of bullies who all heckle him together. The fact there are multiple, makes the bullying worse, but doesn't add much more to the dynamics outside of that. 

The character will be different from the collective in a significant way, and the collective will usually try to get the character to bend to their will. Because the opposing force is a collective, it often feels like the odds are stacked against the character.

Worth noting is that it's not unusual for a particular character to become the "face" of the society. For example, President Snow becomes the face of Panem's government, even though from the series' beginning to the series' end, the true antagonist is the society (one of the reasons I think Mockingjay is often misunderstood 😉).

It's also possible to develop a society vs. society conflict in a story. It may be the protagonist is part of a collective that is going head-to-head with an opposing collective. 

Katniss ultimately refusing to be a piece in the Hunger Games

Lyra fighting for truth in a society that wants to keep humankind ignorant in His Dark Materials

Hamilton fighting his way to the top in Hamilton

Helping the society have a revelation (epiphany) Destroying, dismantling, or punishing the collective Convincing society that it is wrong Persuading the collective to allow the character to pursue her goal A compromise with the society Educating society on a better way forward Being forced into submission or defeated by society Eventually siding with society Being exiled from the society or put to death Being persuaded by society to give up

Death (psychological, professional, or physical) vs. life Loss of identity and individuality vs. stronger sense of identity and individuality Affecting society (negatively or positively) by refusing to conform Society being corrupt vs. being enlightened Individual being corrupt vs. being enlightened Believing and perpetuating harmful ideologies and narratives vs. helpful and accurate ones Imprisonment vs. freedom Inviting danger to loved ones vs. safety for loved ones

5. Person vs. God

In modern times, the person vs. god conflict often gets left off lists. It is usually combined with or even replaced by the person vs. fate conflict. But because fate conflicts don't necessarily have gods, and god conflicts don't necessarily include fate, I've decided to put them in separate categories.

One may argue that the person vs. god conflict actually fits into the other categories , and I think that's fair. At the same time, it feels distinct from many conflicts, so I'm giving it its own space. In the end, just remember that these categories are meant to help us gain better discernment, which is certainly my intention. 

Here, a person is in conflict with a god, or even the  God. It may be a person trying to outsmart or even kill a god, or it may be a person struggling to reconcile with God.

In His Dark Materials , Lord Asriel is in conflict with the Authority, which is seen as God. In Princess Mononoke , several characters aim to obtain the head of a forest god in order to bring immortality to the emporer. 

A character may face a personal, internal conflict with God, believing God wants her to do something she does not want to do, for example. Or maybe she is angry at God. Or seeks forgiveness from God. In Les Mis , Jean Valjean hopes to be found worthy of God's mercy. 

Other characters may be in conflict with the concept  of God. Maybe their society believes in a concept of God that the character knows isn't true. (For this reason and others, I'd argue that even an atheist character can have a person vs. god conflict.)

God may seem to retaliate in the form of nature. Jonah was swallowed by a whale. 

With all that said, one may argue that Lord Asriel and the Authority fit into a person vs. person conflict. The forest god fits into a person vs. supernatural conflict. Jean Valjean could arguably fit into a person vs. self conflict. Fighting the concept of a god could fit in a person vs. society conflict. And being swallowed by a whale may be argued to be a nature conflict. 

Nonetheless, this is a category of conflict that goes far back, and I'd be remiss to leave it off. Besides, one can't help but debate if Jean Valjean's relationship with God is really a conflict with himself. I mean, if one believes in a god, and believes to be able to communicate with that god--would that even be considered a conflict with the self? In any case, I still feel person vs. god has a place.

In Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, the antagonist is seen as a god and the key characters want to destroy him.

In  His Dark Materials , Lord Asriel aims to bring about the downfall of the Authority (God).

In Les Mis , Jean Valjean hopes to find mercy from God. 

A god is defeated The character is defeated by a god The character eventually joins the same side as God God is revealed to not actually be a god The god is persuaded by the character The character gains a better understanding of God The character ignores, dismisses, or stops believing in God

Spiritual death and damnation vs. paradise and redemption; eternal misery vs. eternal glory Physical death vs. physical life Cloudy sense of self and purpose vs. divine clarity of one's self and purpose Remaining in ignorance vs. gaining knowledge and wisdom How the outcome of the conflict affects others, society, or the world, negatively or positively Imprisonment (mental, spiritual, or physical) vs. freedom  Losing meaning in life vs. finding meaning in life

6. Person vs. Fate

I feel out of all the conflict types, this one is most often misunderstood.  

Traditionally, person vs. fate is seen as a part of person vs. god, but as I mentioned above, not all fate conflicts actually include gods. In fact, most of those around today, don't. 

Here, the character is in conflict with a destiny. Something is predetermined or foreordained and the character is struggling with that. Certainly the event can come from the will of the gods, but it doesn't have to.  In fantasy, this information often comes from a prophecy. In horror, this may be a kind of curse. In Final Destination , the characters are trying to cheat their deaths--they are fated to die. It can even play into the concept of the universe having a particular order or law (perhaps dharma ?), that must be upheld or fulfilled (like the Circle of Life). 

If you want to broaden the concept further, the "law" or destiny need not be otherworldly. For example, a man on death row arguably has a predetermined fate. This has a slightly different tone than what is traditionally placed in this category, but still fits within it, more or less. One may also broaden the category to look at things such as terminal illnesses or arranged marriages. Even in these cases, there is a sense of a "higher" power being in control (even if that power isn't otherworldly).

The character may openly take action to fight against fate, or the character may have more of a personal struggle with either accepting fate or the costs of the fate. Often characters who fight against fate are punished (and the fate portrayed as inevitable), but it's possible to write a story where that is depicted positively and/or where they succeed in altering fate. With this conflict type, consider whether or not the fate is altered, whether that is a good or bad thing, and whether the character ultimately embraces or rejects fate. Are they punished or rewarded for that? Was the effort worth it?

Usually person vs. fate conflicts emphasizes free will within strict limitations. While some writers choose to ultimately emphasize a lack of free will, others choose to emphasize the power of free will. Free will may alter fate, or the character may realize they have the power to  choose  how to face and accept an inevitable fate.

Sometimes it's interesting to explore the origins of the "destiny." In Dr. Faustus , Dr. Faustus sells his soul to the devil to gain all knowledge--he only has himself to blame for his inevitable fate. Was gaining all knowledge worth an eternity in hell?

Oedipus Rex is prophesied to marry his mother and kill his father. And in his effort to keep this prophecy from happening, he fulfills it. 

In The Lion King , Simba is destined to be the king to fulfill the Circle of Life, but rejects that idea in the second half of the middle.

In Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince , Harry struggles with accepting the prophecy that was revealed in the previous book.

The character unknowingly brings about his fate, in his efforts to thwart it The character eventually embraces her destiny The character successfully alters fate Another character intervenes, bringing about the destined outcome Fulfilling a prophecy in an unexpected way

Death vs. life Disrupting divine order vs. upholding divine order; or chaos vs. order Lack of choices vs. power of choices Experiencing limitations vs. power and opportunities How the outcome affects society and the world, negatively and positively How the behaviors and outcome affect one's soul (ex. ultimately going to hell vs. going to heaven)

7. Person vs. the Supernatural

A character may be in conflict with something otherworldly . This may be magic, a ghost, a vampire, or a portal--pretty much anything speculative. This type of conflict can seem to overlap with person vs. person conflict. For example, a character may be in conflict with a werewolf. It may also seem to overlap with person vs. nature conflict , such as a character trying to heal a magical ailment. 

This conflict type often emphasizes a struggle with the unknown. Characters may have to learn how the supernatural functions in order to overcome the conflict.  Getting the necessary information typically proves difficult because the character has few resources to turn to. Usually there is a mystery, to some degree. 

Mulder and Scully taking on the paranormal in The X-Files .

In The Ghostbusters , characters take on ghosts.

In Stranger Things , characters must confront creatures of The Upside Down. 

Defeating the supernatural element Being defeated by the supernatural element Learning to live with the supernatural element Limiting the influence of the supernatural element Making one's self inaccessible to the supernatural element

Death (psychological, professional, or physical) vs. life Physically or emotional pain and injury vs. Physical or emotional health and safety How the outcome will affect the character's future lifestyle negatively or positively Opportunities (gained or lost) Plot goal lost or achieved  How the outcome will affect loved ones or the world negatively or positively Remaining in chaotic ignorance vs. gaining valuable knowledge

Frankly, all kinds of stakes could fit here, depending on how the supernatural manifests.

8. Person vs. Technology

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

In Oblivion , it is revealed that an alien artificial intelligence is working to acquire Earth's resources and destroy humanity. 

In Ralph Breaks the Internet , the characters must learn how to navigate and use the internet to save Sugar Rush.

Learning how to use the technology Defeating or disabling the technology Overcoming technology with other (or new) technology Overcoming technology with human heart, intellect, or physicality Being defeated by technology

Death (psychological, professional, physical, or sometimes spiritual) vs. life Loss of humanity (literally or figuratively) vs. preservation of humanity Being dependent (on technology) vs. being self-reliant Danger in exploration vs. safety in what is familiar and simple Having one's view of reality altered vs. coming to the truth about reality Improvement in life and society vs. decay in life and society The potential of the technology (negative and positive)

As you work on your stories, check to make sure you have a variety of conflicts. Obviously some types work better for certain genres than others . You probably wouldn't want to put a supernatural conflict in a romance, for example (unless of course, you are writing a paranormal romance, then definitely do that). 

Something important to keep in mind is that conflicts are usually most effective when they have a sense of cohesion and progression. A story that has a bunch of conflicts that aren't connected or don't move anything forward, is scarcely a story at all . Usually conflicts build in intensity, which moves the plot forward. If a conflict doesn't directly move a plotline forward, then it should usually move the character arc or the theme forward--by the impact it has on the character or the thematic topic it explores. 

If you need help brainstorming more specific types of conflict, check out the conflict thesaurus on Writers Helping Writers . 

Announcement: Hello everyone! If you are an email subscriber, you might have noticed your email looks a little different 🤔. I switched my feed services to follow.it . Follow.it also lets you change your delivery channels--for example, you can get my tips delivered to you through Telegram instead of email. They will soon have more options up, such as WhatsApp, FB Messenger, WeChat and more. (If you want to change your delivery method for my tips, go here , and scroll down to "Output Channels.") If you aren't already subscribed, what are you waiting for? 😉 When you subscribe, you get a free copy of my booklet, Core Principles of Crafting Protagonists , so sign up here . 

Happy writing!

3 comments:

I've written stories with some of these conflicts but doubted myself because I couldn't really see stakes - good to see them pointed out. Stakes don't have to be life or death.

Hi Tim, Yes, it's so easy to get stuck on thinking everything must be life or death to be powerful. Definitely some things are worse than death. And they also don't have to be so intense to be meaningful and significant.

thats helpful

I love comments :)

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Conflict is not a secret sauce to telling stories; it’s the basic ingredient. It moves the plot forward and makes characters more engaging. Without genuine conflict in your story, it’s just a narration of events where nothing exciting happens. So, let’s find out how to create conflict that is engaging. We also have some examples of conflict in literature to ease the process!

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What is conflict? 

Before you learn how to create conflict, you need to learn what it is.

Simply defined, conflict is an element of struggle. It’s the barrier that a (central) character must overcome in order to achieve what they want or need. Essentially, it’s what goes wrong in the novel.

Let’s take the most basic example: In Little Red Riding Hood , the conflict is the Big Bad Wolf. Without the wolf, Little Red Riding Hood would safely reach her grandmother with no threat to her life. If this happens, there is no tension in the story. Now, what reader would want to read a story like that?

There has to be some scandal in the industry, some turmoil in the family, or some personal enmity between characters. These are the big and small issues that amount to conflict in a story. Conflict can be major (societal problems like sexism) or minor (familial struggles, personal enmity). A story becomes more interesting if characters have to solve a series of minor conflicts before they combat the major one.

For example, Arya and Sansa’s enmity in A Game of Thrones is a minor conflict while the same between Ned Stark and Cersei is a major one.

Did you know that there are five important types of conflict? It’s impossible to know how to create conflict in a story when you’re unaware of the different shapes it comes in! Let’s tackle that head-on.

Types of conflict

There are two major types of conflict: external and internal. These can be further divided into five important types of conflict, as follows:

External conflict

External conflict is the tussle between a character and an outside force. This force can be another character, or nature, or even the situation they’re in.

Yes, it’s that simple. There are four types of external conflict:

• Character vs. character
• Character vs. nature
• Character vs. society
• Character vs. technology

Internal conflict 

This struggle happens within the mind of a character. Internal conflict in a story is a character’s battle with their own emotions, opinions, or ambitions. The most popular example of such a conflict is Shakespeare’s Hamlet .

There is only one category under internal conflict:

1. Character vs. self

We can now take a deep dive into each type of conflict, and visit a few examples along the way!

1. Character vs character 

This is the most common type of conflict in all stories. A classic example: Hero against the villain.

Superhero comics and movies are entirely based on this conflict. The heroes are out to uphold the law while the villains are out to break it. This conflict of values and interests leads to their clash. The origin stories of both the protagonist and antagonists are rooted in such conflict.

Conflicting values

Most often, character vs. character struggles have the basis of a conflict of values. Often, this works with or alongside a conflict of interest to make different storylines. For example, what if Batman and the Joker together want to stop the Riddler? Here, Batman and Joker have conflicting values, but their interests are the same. This makes for an engaging story, doesn’t it?

Therefore, the character vs. character conflict can take any shape based on the surrounding circumstances. It’s the most common conflict because it’s that versatile: you’ll find it everywhere!

2. Character vs. nature 

Popular in both books and movies, this is when characters have to face the wrath of nature in different forms.

The unpredictability and immense power of nature makes for a strong challenge to the characters. Often, this conflict is quite difficult to overcome.

While every apocalyptic movie comes to mind, forces of nature don’t always mean geographical occurrences like a tsunami or a volcano. A disease like cancer is also a force of nature. So, stories like The Fault in Our Stars and The Normal Heart are also examples of character vs. nature type of conflict.

3. Character vs. society 

When a character feels out of place in the social life around them, their struggle amounts to this type of conflict. Cyberpunk and dystopian novels often feature a conflict where the character stands up against unequal or oppressive social structures.

This conflict is well represented in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 through the protagonist’s struggle against his dystopian world . Another notable example can be Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale .

Most tragic plays feature this conflict in some capacity. The protagonist’s inability to overcome their conflict with the surrounding society eventually leads to their death.

4. Character vs technology 

Common in sci-fi stories, this conflict usually unfolds in a future where technology has become highly advanced. Technological advancements then reach a level where machines and A.I. begins to pose a threat to humanity. Naturally, the human characters then have to battle technology.

In Isaac Asimov’s The Evitable Conflict , machines in the far future decide to take control of humanity and break the first law of robotics. This is a pretty typical example of conflict between character and technology.

This conflict is appealing because it brings back the Renaissance-era questions of intelligence, creation, and divinity. The next time you watch a Terminator movie, you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about!

5. Character vs self 

Hamlet can’t arrive at a decision about how to exact revenge upon his uncle. He struggles with his own self, and not any outside force. This is an example of the sole internal conflict, which is character vs self.

This type of conflict often brings forth themes of mental instability and madness. Often, characters succumb to this struggle and lose their grip on reality.

This also features as a minor conflict in many stories. In this case, it helps the characters become better or more able versions of themselves, allowing them to evolve.

How to create conflict

Conflict is embedded in every story. If you have a story to tell, it will naturally have a “situation”, unfolding from a beginning to an end. The question is, how do you refine this situation into an exciting battle between different powers?

How to create conflict from the base elements of a story like character and setting? This is nothing short of a craft, and we’re here to help you master it.

Here are our five tips for writing conflict like a pro:

1. Create conflict with a purpose

Remember, the conflicts in your story aren’t just hurdles that your characters need to cross. They need to serve a thematic and literary purpose.

Basically, it should make sense why character A is against character B. Or, for that matter, how character A battles against a robot uprising. The place to do this is in your characters’ backstories and character traits.

Ground your conflict in your characters, and show your readers how it affects them. Conflict, external or internal, is only effective if it has a purpose.

2. Set differing goals and agendas

Remember the scene in Marvel’s The Avengers where the six superheroes interact for the first time? Why is this scene so effective?

No one likes to watch people agreeing with each other. Dialogue gets interesting only when people disagree, and the plot becomes gripping when they try to find ways to counteract each other.

Make sure to set different, opposing goals for your major characters. It’s a given that heroes and villains will be set against each other. But your story becomes more engaging when friends or allies also have distinct, clashing viewpoints.

It’s like Batman and Joker working together to defeat the Riddler. A narrative is entertaining when not just the characters, but also their agendas are in conflict with each other.

3. Define the problem 

The easiest way to set the narrative in motion is to start with a problem. It can be a mystery, a theft, or an old secret being revealed. How many times has a movie begun with a gimmick being stolen?

Give your characters simple goals like getting back the stolen item, rescuing the kidnapped child, or searching for the lost treasure. This helps you develop the plot, and provides a chance to complicate or deepen the theme of your story.

4. Play on setbacks and failures 

A way to make the middle of your story is to fail your characters. Make them lose the battle, or fail an exam, or get negative results in a crucial experiment stage.

Your protagonist’s struggles with their emotions and mental health help the readers get to know them better. How they deal with failure may also lead to other conflicts you can explore. So, don’t be afraid to let your characters get defeated.

5. Keep your genre in mind 

There are certain conventions about how different genres feature conflict in a story. Take cues from the types of conflict you observe in other works. When you sit down to watch an apocalyptic movie, don’t you expect to watch humans struggle against nature?

If you’re writing a story in fifteenth century England, your conflict is likely to feature the Wars of the Roses . If it’s  romance you write, the main couple’s struggles to be together will form your central conflict.

Your characters’ struggles need to align with the generic conventions your audience will come to expect.

To enhance your novel further after writing an engaging conflict and completing your piece, you can consider taking our editing and proofreading services . 

Still have doubts about how to create an engaging story? We’ve answered a few in the next section. Keep reading!

• How to Write Dialogue: 7 Rules, 5 Tips & 65 Examples
• What is the Setting of a Story? Meaning + 7 Expert Tips
• 5 Elements of a Short Story & 6 Stages of a Plot

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120 Story Conflict Ideas and Examples

Creating conflict in your story is essential for capturing your readers' interest and driving your narrative forward. In order to reveal character motivations and examine deeper meanings within your story, the protagonist must be presented with a challenge derived from conflict. Here are 120 story conflict ideas and examples based on the most common types of conflicts in fiction . From character versus the self to character versus the supernatural, we cover all the major literature conflicts and offer ideas that can get you writing right away.

Need more help? Try out HubSpot's AI Content Writer , the AI Story Generator , or our own Writing Prompt Generator for additional conflict ideas and examples.

Character vs. self

• A soldier copes with post-traumatic stress.
• A surgeon's hands fail him, becoming unsteady and threatening his career and his patients' lives.
• A young man, determined to become a musketeer, is consistently pulled into duels due to his pride.
• A criminal seeks to make amends for his past crimes as his life draws to a close.
• A person is overwhelmed by grief when his lover dies.
• A parent finds herself repeating a cycle of abuse and strives to break the cycle.
• A conqueror realizes that he has become a tyrant but struggles to change course.
• A serial killer struggles to justify his crimes.
• A rapper stutters each time he gets up in front of a crowd.
• An evil wizard finds it difficult to make friends.
• A drug dealer becomes a drug user.
• A devout Catholic doesn't want to admit to herself that she is gay.
• A student who is an exceptional singer wants to try out for the school musical but has stage fright.
• A man's girlfriend gets pregnant, but he isn't ready to be a father.
• A child blames himself for his parents' divorce.
• An old woman wishes to reconnect with her family but is slowly losing her memory.
• A woman wishes to travel the world but is too scared to leave her home.
• A man is rich beyond his wildest dreams but has become increasing lonely in the process.
• A man wishes to reconnect with his high school sweetheart but is ashamed to talk about what he has done with his life after graduation.
• A woman is about to walk down the aisle at her wedding when she realizes that she isn't ready to be married.

Character vs. character

• An arsonist evades a detective determined to capture him.
• A wedding planner is at odds with a bridezilla.
• Road rage pits two drivers against each other.
• An author is kept from publishing his book by a publisher who wants to ruin his career.
• An unhappy customer demands to speak to the manager.
• An android confronts its creator, demanding to be freed from indentured service.
• A bully steals a kid's lunch money every day.
• A referee at a football game wants a quarterback to get hurt during the game.
• A knight swears to seek vengeance against his tyrannical king.
• A sailor organizes a mutiny against his captain.
• A marriage ends in a bitter divorce.
• Two political candidates campaign against each other.
• Two college students have a crush on the same person.
• An entrepreneur discovers that her most trusted employee is building a competing business.
• A new mother and her mother-in-law battle over the "right way" to care for a new baby.
• A man confronts the person who assaulted him.
• A man seeks to find the murderer who killed his father.
• A mother is unable to connect with her rebellious daughter.
• A teacher is being harassed by a particularly unruly student.
• Representatives from two warring nations meet to start peace talks.

Character vs. society

• A Marxist revolutionary attempts to take down a mega-corporation.
• A real estate developer faces town opposition to his proposed subdivision.
• A person with evidence that ghosts exist must convince the world of his findings.
• A person attempts to stop a fledgling fascist political party from taking over the country.
• A Franciscan missionary attempts to Christianize the indigenous peoples of the New World.
• A teacher struggles to convince a town to provide more school funding.
• A man chains himself to a tree in order to prevent it from being cut down by a new building development.
• A doomsday prophet attempts to convince others that the end is near.
• A private investigator must convince the media that a popular elected official is corrupt.
• A Mormon woman decides she wants to become part of the priesthood.
• A town shuts down your restaurant due to a health code violation.
• A woman in 1918 fights for her right to vote.
• A regime declares that a kindergarten teacher is an enemy of the people.
• A man is ridiculed online after a video of him is turned into an embarrassing meme.
• A painter creates controversial art that galleries refuse to show.
• A grocery store owner fights gentrification in his neighborhood.
• A famous actress is harassed by the paparazzi.
• A man faces discrimination.
• A person is permanently banned from playing a MMORPG.
• An undercover spy is exposed and hunted down by several governments.

Character vs. nature

• After a plane crash, a person must survive on a desert island.
• An orphan must scrounge and survive in a far-future urban wasteland.
• A man tries to escape a cattle stampede.
• A hiker is bitten by a poisonous snake.
• A man wakes up to find himself buried to his neck in sand.
• A kayaker becomes lost at sea.
• An android struggles to find sources of power during a nuclear winter.
• A camper becomes lost in the woods.
• A dream-walker finds himself trapped inside his nightmare.
• A hiker encounters a grizzly bear protecting her two young cubs.
• A vampire seeks shelter as dawn breaks.
• A school crossing guard works during a monsoon.
• A person flees his town during a forest fire.
• A person is buried alive inside a coffin.
• A man accidentally turns down a flooded road during a rainstorm, and his car starts filling with water.
• A person races to escape an erupting volcano.
• A person slips through ice while crossing a frozen pond.
• A person seeks shelter during a hurricane.
• A farmer's land is plagued by locusts.
• A person climbs Mount Everest.

Character vs. technology

• A skydiver jumps out of a plane, but his parachute does not open.
• A person is stuck inside a virtual reality game.
• A man is unknowingly brainwashed by his cell phone.
• An interpreter is replaced by translation technology.
• A lifeguard at a wave pool finds that the equipment is malfunctioning.
• A criminal is being hunted down by a police drone.
• A space pirate finds himself marooned on a derelict craft and must repair the ship.
• A person must disarm a bomb before it explodes.
• A person must fight robots in gladiator combat.
• A person is chased by an artificially intelligent car.
• A man must initiate an EMP surge before toasters take over the world.
• A video rental store owner competes with the rise of streaming services.
• A computer programmer has to destroy the AI she created because it is too powerful.
• A man is stuck on a broken roller-coaster.
• A person must stop a worldwide computer virus.
• A woman travels across the country with a faulty GPS.
• A woman discovers that her boyfriend is an evil cyborg.
• An old man must figure out how to use his newly gifted cellphone to call his grandson.
• A repairman is unable to fix a refrigerator.
• A broken time machine sends a person to the wrong time period.

Character vs. supernatural

• A person is possessed by a demon.
• A clown finds that children are being turned into circus attractions.
• A person is being hunted by a werewolf during a camping trip.
• A knight must slay a dragon.
• A photographer captures monsters by trapping them in photographs.
• A person is haunted by a ghost.
• A man gives his girlfriend a vintage engagement ring, but she soon discovers that it carries a terrible curse.
• A sailor discovers that his wife is a siren.
• A person is tricked into swapping places with their reflection.
• A vampire seduces a woman.
• A mom must find her child, who has been kidnapped by goblins.
• A man flees a group of zombies.
• A warrior must fight a dark wizard.
• A woman must trap the fairies that infest her home.
• A witch turns a person into a goat.
• An archeologist awakens a mummy.
• A boy confronts the monster under his bed.
• A farmer must deal with cursed vegetables the size of his tractor.
• A man is lost in an ever-changing maze.
• An old man must evade the grim reaper for as long as he can.

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What is Conflict?

A struggle or clash between opposing forces., the pinnacle of plot: understanding conflict in creative writing.

Conflict is the driving force behind any great piece of literature, propelling characters into action and keeping readers on the edge of their seats. Whether it be a physical struggle between two characters or a deeply internal battle within one's self, conflict in creative writing creates tension, emotion, and ultimately, a gripping story.

Without conflict, stories can fall flat and become uninteresting. There must be something at stake, something to be gained or lost, in order to engage readers and keep them invested. Conflict can come in many forms, such as man vs. man, man vs. society, or even man vs. nature. It can also be emotional, stemming from within a character's own beliefs or desires.

When crafting conflict in creative writing, it's important to understand the motivations behind each character's actions. Why are they fighting? What do they stand to lose? How can they potentially overcome this conflict? These questions must be answered in order to create a rich and engaging story that connects with readers on a deeper level.

Ultimately, conflict is the pinnacle of plot in creative writing. It creates stakes, raises the emotional intensity, and compels readers to keep turning pages. So the next time you sit down to write, think about the conflicts your characters will face and how you can use them to create a captivating story.

Conflict is a crucial element in literature that drives the plot and engages readers on an emotional level. Here are two examples of how conflict has been skillfully used in great works of literature to create compelling stories:

In the novel, protagonist Scout Finch is faced with many conflicts, including the trial of an innocent black man and the discrimination she faces for being 'different' in her small Southern town. These conflicts create tension and emotion throughout the story, while ultimately imparting messages of justice and morality to readers.

This novel follows a group of young boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and must confront various conflicts, including leadership struggles and the temptation to give in to primal instincts. The conflicts between the boys ultimately lead to tragedy, highlighting the dangerous consequences of a lack of order and morality.

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What is conflict?

The beautifully crafted opening sequence of ‘ Blue Velvet ’ directed by David Lynch (USA, 1986) ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwuzI8Y0uW0 ) tells us everything about what conflict is and what it looks like: suburban life, children crossing the road, a man watering his garden, the whole neighbourhood washed in hazy, warm light. Soft, melodic music. Then a hissing sprinkler catches up in some branches, the man falls unconscious to the ground and the camera pans low, travelling through the grass, where monstrous insects mix with the dark soil and the music fades into a cacophony of screechy sounds. 

All levels of sensorial conflict are present, anticipating the duality of worlds that the film is going to show us from here on in. 

‘Conflict’ comes from the Latin verb confligere , which means ‘to strike together, to fight’. So, a conflict is a battle between different elements.

That is why, when talking about conflict in scriptwriting, we don’t simply refer to the central ‘battle’ between our main character and their antagonist force. 

Conflict is also in the skilful crafting of contrasting sensorial elements, weaved into the scenes; it becomes a contrast of sounds, insertion of small elements of disturbance, use of light and shadows. 

There has been a lot written about the importance of conflict. No story can really exist without some form of obstacle (or pressure , as Robert McKee calls it in his ‘ Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting ’, 1997): it gives our main character something to do and propels the narrative to its conclusion. 

Conflict is deeply rooted in the history of mankind, in the eternal dilemma of choosing between good and bad, light and dark (think about the ancient religion of Manichaeism and its depicted worlds of Light and Darkness ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaeism ).

Now, as a scriptwriter knows very well, when it comes to practically translating a carefully thought-out central conflict into the script, things are often not so straightforward, and the concept of conflict suddenly becomes something challenging to execute visually AND effectively at the same time.

Perhaps a good way to deeply understand how conflict works and how a scriptwriter can handle it on the page, is to look at ourselves. 

Whilst surfing through social media the other day, I came across a few articles about the consequences of the Covid pandemic and the imminent easing of the lockdown: what kind of future do we want to live in, what kind of human beings do we want to be from now on? 

These are political, social and philosophical matters for sure.  

However, I found them strangely related to the craft of scriptwriting too; Covid has been a huge opposing force for us all and the lockdown was the ultimate inciting incident. 

Within the setup of our own ordinary lives – with dreams, goals, perspectives and plans of all sorts – a dark force started looming over our heads, until it materialised in an event that forced us all to change, if not everything, a lot about our lives. 

We were catapulted into a mysterious, unknown world, where previous rules had to be hurriedly scrapped and replaced by new ones. 

We suddenly went into survival mode: stay inside, protect yourself from others and protect others from you . 

Plans, dreams, schedules were either suspended or cancelled completely, replaced by an existence in limbo.  

In order to retain our sanity – and a resemblance of our past normality – we fought the lockdown by engaging in lots of activities: working out, cooking fresh meals, clearing out drawers, meeting loved ones on Zoom for a drink, sewing masks to hand out to neighbours. These were all visible expressions of the external conflict we were having with the virus.

At the same time, we had to confront ourselves and our deepest fears (internal conflict): what if my elderly mum dies and I am not at her bedside? What if I get the virus and I die alone in my bedroom? How can I stay positive? Who am I without my routine? Mental fragility, heightened feelings, adrenaline. In other words, highly dramatic charge. 

From a sensorial perspective, we would look out our windows and see a world of unusual quietness and stillness, washed in hazy, warm spring sunshine. Where is our antagonist? Is it across the road, personified in the lovely neighbour who frankly doesn’t seem to be washing his hands enough? Or is it wrapped inside the parcel that I’ve just been delivered?

Some of us even doubted it really existed. If you can’t see it, it’s not there.

Covid put us under so much pressure (both real and perceived), at such a profound level, that many of us wondered if we would come out of it. 

So now we should make a choice: either change and become better humans (whatever “better” means) or return to what we were before Covid. 

Whichever option we will go for, individually and as a community, for sure we will never be the same people we were before Covid.

We have gone through what we call a transformational arc . 

If the virus hadn’t happened, perhaps those articles would still have been written, but those existential questions would not have arisen with such compelling force.

The word ‘drama’ comes from the ancient Greek verb, δράω , which means ‘to do, to act’. 

So, drama is action. Without action, which is the result of choices, there would not be drama.

And we make choices because we are put before a crossroad and we must decide.

So, when we choose what world we want to live in and what kind of human being we want to be from now on, is because Covid has placed such a huge crossroad on our paths that we are in effect required to take charge of the resolution of this story. 

I’m not suggesting that you as a scriptwriter should necessarily rush into writing stories about your own experience of the lockdown; there will be plenty of those, no doubt.

But I do encourage you to respond to a ‘call to action’:

• Go inside yourself. Open up your own stories. Discover what lies beneath the surface. Perhaps keep a journal or a diary.
• Open up your own inner narratives. Your own life: the conversations you had with a loved one whom the lockdown prevented you from visiting, the blinding sunlight that challenged your captivity, the noise of a crowded commuter train vs the quietness of the empty streets. Write down any deep discomfort that had a grip on you during those days. Conflict is there. 

The stories you will create might not be autobiographical, but there will be a bit of your own struggles in them; even just in one line of dialogue or one image. 

As humans, we are the subjects of conflict and change, as writers we are the reporters of them. 

Conflict affects us and our future, it forces us to reveal who we were and who we want to be. 

Now make the same happen to your characters. 

One thought on “ What is conflict? ”

Brilliant article about the importance of conflict and how it relates to our lives too. Finding that relevance makes it seem real in our stories. Very insightful and inspirational. Thanks, Inga.

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How to Create Conflict in Your Scenes

Conflict plays a fundamental role in every novel, regardless of genre. It is the driving force that propels your plot forward.

If you are writing a story where all your character’s wants and desires come to fruition with little to no resistance, that would be a boring read. Even if it’s a feel-good story with a happy ending, you still want to have your readers feeling unsure about the possible outcome until the very end. One way to achieve this is to create compelling conflicts in every scene of your story.

So, What Is Conflict?

In a novel, conflict is created by any opposition that stands between your main character (or protagonist) and their goal. Your goal as a writer is to ensure that this opposing force is much more intimidating than your main character.

For example, if your main character’s goal is to win a championship belt and the character standing between him and this goal is a man who is one foot and three sizes smaller than him, then this story wouldn’t be a very interesting read. However, if it was a Goliath vs. David scenario, where your main character is David, then I would certainly want to see how things might unfold.

The ultimate goal of every writer is to keep your readers engaged to the very last page. Though this is a very difficult task, one way to go about achieving this is to create strong conflicts.

The opposing force that creates conflict should be greater than your main character, as you’ll want to create a solid possibility that your protagonist might not overcome this obstacle. Yet, at the same time, you don’t want this opposition to be so large that the chances of your protagonist becoming the victor are clearly improbable.

Your Main Character Should Directly Influence the Conflict

The conflict in a scene should depend on the main scene character. For this, you’ll need to know your character’s hopes and dreams, the things that they value in life, the things that they are venomously against, and dilemmas that would be most difficult for them.

For instance, your scene protagonist might be a female who values being a traditional wife, country living, and occupying a family home that has been passed down through generations. Knowing this information can lead to the creation of a plethora of conflict possibilities.

Inserting a husband who is going through a midlife crisis and suddenly wants to move the entire family to the city, is one way to introduce conflict in this scenario. Another way to introduce conflict is to create a best friend who has become a radical feminist and is intent on destroying the protagonist’s marriage so that the protagonist can also be “free from the chains of domestication.”

The opposition that causes conflict in your scenes doesn’t have to be another character. This opposition can take many different forms. Introducing an organization that aims to undertake commercial development expected to encompass the protagonist’s home is yet another way to introduce conflict in this scenario.

The Different Types of Conflicts You Can Create

As you have seen in the previous section, the possibility of conflict is endless once you identify what is important to your protagonist. The different types of conflict-causing oppositions that you can use are also in a wide pool. Some of the more popular types of conflicts include:

Character vs. Self

This type of conflict is also called an internal conflict, as it occurs within a character’s mind. This might manifest itself as a struggle between conflicting desires, beliefs, or emotions within the same character. In some extreme cases, this might be presented as mental health struggles, such as when a character is struggling with multiple personality disorder.

All other conflict types in this collection are external conflicts, as they occur between the main character and an external force.

Character vs. Character

Character vs. character is arguably the most popular type of conflict in fiction. This is mainly because the character vs. character conflict is the easiest to produce. Once you identify your protagonist’s goals, desires, values, and even significant personality traits, then it’s quite easy to create a character that opposes any combination of them.

However, if you want to create a compelling antagonist, who is not simply evil and one-dimensional, then you’ll need to put as much effort into developing the antagonist’s character as you did the protagonist. Your antagonist should also have a set of compelling goals and desires.

Superman vs Lex Luthor

One very formidable antagonist is the Lex Luthor character, from the Superman series. Lex’s character is complex and multi-dimensional. He is driven by a desire for power, success, and recognition, which is something that we can all relate to (to some degree).

Lex’s opposition to Superman isn’t simply because Lex is evil, but because he is fearful that Superman (who is an alien) might pose an immense threat to humanity. And this is a very reasonable fear.

What further complicates things is Lex’s complex moral compass. He often engages in morally questionable actions and then sees himself as the hero, operating under the end justifies the means philosophy. Lex is also jealous of Superman, as Superman has power that Lex’s money can’t buy.

Character vs. Unknown/Supernatural

In a character vs. unknown/supernatural conflict, your protagonist faces an antagonistic force that is initially mysterious or paranormal. Common examples of character vs. unknown conflicts are crime novels, where the detective hunts the anonymous serial killer. These types of character vs. unknown conflicts can also assume the title of character vs. character or character vs. group conflict.

Character vs. supernatural conflict is found in science fiction novels. In a science fiction novel, sometimes the supernatural antagonist is known to the protagonist, but most times this force is initially unknown.

Character vs. Destiny/Fate

This type of conflict occurs when a character battles against the notion that the course of their life is predetermined. A popular example of this is when a character is expected to carry on some family legacy, such as a business or occupation. Another example of a character vs. destiny/fate conflict is having a character’s desires oppose a fortune teller’s prediction. 

Character vs. Society/Group

A character can be in opposition to societal values and norms, or a specific group in society. The character vs. society/group conflict is a major theme in The Hunger Games, where Katniss Everdeen opposes the regime and their annual Hunger Games.

Character vs. Nature

The character vs. nature conflict occurs when a character warns against or tries to prevent some type of natural disaster, such as a volcano eruption or a hurricane. This type of conflict is also present in stories where there is a plane crash in the middle of the jungle, or a ship is lost at sea.

Character vs. Technology

This type of conflict explores the tension between a protagonist and some type of advancement in technology. This advancement in technology can have implications such as a breach of privacy or the potential extinction of humanity.

Scene Conflict Analysis of The Hunger Game

The first chapter of The Hunger Games has several short scenes, where Katniss Everdeen (the protagonist in each scene) identifies a goal, then must overcome some sort of opposition, but eventually achieves her goal. This is until the final scene of the chapter where we arrive at the reaping, which was constantly foreshadowed from the first scene.

Katniss vs. The Reaping

This scene begins with Katniss (the protagonist) and her family heading to the reaping ceremony (the antagonist). Like the main conflict of the novel, this scene conflict is one of character vs. society. It is also a character vs. destiny/fate conflict as the names selected during the reaping are left entirely up to fate.  

Katniss’ Goal

In this scene, Katniss aims to make it to the end of the reaping without hearing the names of the people she cares about (including herself).

The Power Dynamics

Given that participation in the reaping is a mandatory stipulation of the government, Katniss and the other children of District 12 have no other option than to participate. Refusals to attend the reaping ceremony will result in imprisonment.

The reaping ceremony and by extension the government is clearly more powerful than Katniss.

The possible outcomes

• Neither Katniss nor any of the people important to her are selected.
• Prim (Katniss’s Sister) is selected.
• Gale (Katniss’s only friend) is selected.
• Madge (Katniss’s only closest classmate) is selected.
• Katniss is selected.

The most devastating option in the list of outcomes for Katniss is Prim’s name being selected. However, this is the least likely scenario as Prim’s name has only one occurrence in the collection of names, whereas Katniss and many other children have their names entered over twenty times.

Given that some children in other districts train their entire lives for the Hunger Games, while the children in Katniss’s district don’t have the resources to do so, any child selected from District 12 has been given a death sentence.

The Eventual Outcome

Prim’s name is selected, but Katniss volunteers to replace her, which is another devastating outcome, but less so than if it were 12-year-old Prim.

Final Thoughts: 7 Essential Steps in Scene Conflict Creation

Identify Protagonist Scene Goal : When creating conflict in your scene you’ll first need to identify what your scene protagonist wishes to accomplish, and why this goal is important to them.

Identify Protagonist Scene Opposition: Your scene antagonist doesn’t have to be evil, but some of his goals and desires most conflict with those of your Protagonist.

Display the Power Dynamics: Ideally, your antagonist must be more powerful or more intimidating than your protagonist.

Identify The Possible Outcomes: Any scene can have a collection of different outcomes. This is where you’ll need to identify even the most unexpected possibilities. For example, a sixth possible outcome of the scene from The Hunger Games above would be if, in celebration of the 75 th anniversary of The Hunger Games, they decided to select two females from Division 12, and Katniss and Prim were selected.

Identify The Stakes: You’ll need to clearly outline why it is that your protagonist needs to emerge as the victor against the antagonist. The highest stakes are that of life and death, but other devastating options include the possibility of a ruined reputation or imprisonment.

Escalate Tension Gradually: You should use the lead-up to the outcome to create tension and suspense for your reader.

Present the Outcome: Finally, you’ll need to present the outcome to your readers, you have the option of delaying this and allowing them to speculate a little, but eventually, they’ll need to let them know what happens. Usually, the most unexpected or devasting outcome is the best option.

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K. S. Kean is a budding fiction author with a passion for assisting fellow writers in honing their skills. She enjoys reading a variety of genres, but her favorites are thrillers and mysteries.

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7 Different Types of Conflict in Literature with Examples

In literature, even in its earliest forms, conflict is a crucial and major narrative element. Alongside other literary components, conflict helps develop the story and propels the overall storyline.

It is what brings spice and entertainment value to the story. Writers are always faced with the conundrum of creating a story that is compelling and interesting. Here are 7 types of conflict in literature to use in your writing: 

• Man vs. Man
• Man vs. Himself
• Man vs. Destiny
• Man vs. The Elements
• Man vs. The Unknown
• Man vs. Society
• Man vs. Technology

The use of conflict, if melded well in the narrative, is a handy literary technique to address this entertainment aspect.

Now, let’s delve into what conflict is and its importance in writing a story.

What Is Conflict in Literature?

Conflict is a literary device in the literature that shows the struggle between two opposing factors. The conflict is meant to create tension within the story and move the story along.

There are two categories of conflict, which are internal and external conflicts. The internal conflict takes place in the character’s mind while the external conflict comes from outside forces.

These external conflicts usually come in the form of antagonists or uncontrollable circumstances.

1. Man vs. Man

The man vs. man type of conflict pits two characters against one another. This is a very popular type of conflict because it compels the two characters to face off during the climax of the story.

It is this upcoming event that puts spice into the man vs. man type of conflict.

The Iliad. The Iliad is one of the earliest written works that humanity has ever known, and it centers on the epic Trojan War. At the very center of this conflict were two warriors—Achilles and Hector.

Achilles was a warlord who fought for the Greeks while Hector was the prince of Troy. Achilles was a conqueror of men—proud—and a lover of war.

Whereas Hector was a defender of his people and only wished to save his beloved nation from the predations of marauding Greeks.

Both men were sublime warriors, but that is where the similarities end. Both men are also fated to meet in a climactic battle where only one man lives.

2. Man vs. Himself

The man vs. himself type of conflict pits the main character against his or her own impulses and inner demons. This type of conflict creates a more introspective read and pits the main character against his or her own inner demons.

Crime and Punishment. One of the best examples of man vs. himself is Fyodor Dostoevsky’s classic book Crime and Punishment.

The story follows the moral quandaries of a former law student named Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov. He lives in poverty and hates a pawnbroker who he considers a very greedy and detestable person.

He kills her and steals her belongings. He soon goes on an introspective journey where he wrestles with his inner demons.

3. Man vs. Destiny

The “man vs. destiny” conflict pits the main character against destiny itself. The main concept for this type of conflict is that the main character is fated to fulfill a certain action and strives to change his or her destiny.

Oedipus Rex. One of the most famous examples of man vs. destiny is the myth of Oedipus. Born the son of Laius the king, he was prophesied to kill his father.

Fearing for his life, the king has Oedipus sent away to be killed. However, he survives and is adopted by a shepherd, and later raised as the son of another king.

Years later, while on a journey, Oedipus meets an old man and his servants. They get into an argument, and he accidentally kills the old man. The old man turns out to be Laius, his real father.

4. Man vs. The Elements

The “man vs. elements” conflict pits the main character against nature. This type of conflict uses nature as the central antagonist.

Robinson Crusoe. The story of Robinson Crusoe follows the adventures of a young man named Robinson Crusoe who is shipwrecked and marooned on a deserted island.

He faces a life of hardship and loneliness. He is a castaway with only his dogs and farm animals for company. He also has to inhabit a land where the flora and fauna are unknown to him.

5. Man vs. The Unknown

The “man vs. the unknown” concept pits the main character against the unknown nature of life itself. This type of conflict gives your story a more foreboding feel.

Kafka on the Shore. Renowned author Haruki Murakami’s immersive story follows the journey of a young teenaged boy named Kafka who runs away from home. The story has a metaphysical feel that uses various unknown forces as the conflict in the book.

6. Man vs. Society

This type of conflict pits the main character against society as a whole. With this type of conflict, society is usually portrayed as corrupt and is the main evil in the story.

The main character must strive to change or at least survive in this corrupt society.

Les Miserable. This classic by Victor Hugo follows the story of Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who makes his fortunes and becomes the mayor of a town. However, despite reaching such a lofty post, his past as an ex-convict still haunts him.

7. Man vs. Technology

This type of conflict pits the main character against technological advancements. The main concept for this kind of conflict is that despite technology’s incredible advantages, there is still a dark side to it.

1984. This classic by George Orwell takes place in the year 1984. It is a dystopian future ravaged by war and civil strife.

The world is now under a totalitarian regime where everyone is forced to adhere to the regime’s rules. The regime uses television screens, cameras, and hidden microphones to keep tabs on the people.

How to Use Conflict in a Story

The ingenuity of a writer in building a storyline varies; some have a solid idea from the beginning while others let the plot present itself as they are writing it.

Regardless of one’s process and writing technique, these tips can be handy in introducing conflict in your story.

1. Creative writing prompts for creating conflict

Aside from knowing the types of conflict, you will also need to use creative writing prompts in order to pull off your conflict properly. If you are going to write writing prompts for your conflict, it does not have to be overly long.

What’s important is that you have a list of writing prompts. Write whatever comes to mind and use your imagination freely.

2. Base your conflict choice according to your genre

When it comes to writing conflict for your story, you should base it according to the genre you are writing in. For example, if you are going to write a story about survival, then you could use the man vs. nature type of conflict.

On the other hand, if you are going to write a book about warfare, then you could use the man vs. man or man vs. society kind of conflict.

3. Your characters are a key element for your conflict choice

Yet another aspect to take into account is your characters. Make sure to create compelling characters and flesh them out.

After fleshing them out, you should make conflicts that will truly challenge your characters. The more difficult the conflict to deal with, the more compelling your story will be.

4. Your antagonist is key to creating great conflict

If you want to enhance your story further, you should write great antagonists. Remember that your antagonist is the main source of conflict within your story.

Take the time to fully flesh out your antagonist and strategically place him or her in your story.

Writing is a skill inasmuch as it is knowledge; it takes constant practice to get better at it as well as understanding to master the art.

Learning the fundamental and basic literary elements, such as conflict, can help you, as a writer, develop your own unique style and content.

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How To Create Story Conflict

Learning how to create conflict in your stories is crucial.  Imagine reading a story that begins where the main character has no flaws or fears, lives in a great environment, has happy well-balanced relationships, a great job and boss, has fantastic hobbies, plenty of money etc.

In other words I am asking you to think of a story that gets better and better. A character starts off happy, remains happy and gets happier. Does this sound interesting?

Then imagine reading more and more pages about this wonderful person and their wonderful life. How many more pages do you think you will turn before you put the book down? The same goes with films and television – conflict is everything.

I think a good book is one you are dying to get your friends to read so you can discuss it and one where you have to bite your tongue not to tell them what happens in the end.

None of us want to know the end of a story before we have read it because we are aware that the enjoyment of ‘finding out’ will be spoiled. What is the point of reading a book if you are not the least bit curious to know both what happens next, and how it happens?

CONFLICT – A JOURNEY THROUGH OBSTACLES

This is why, whether we consciously realise it or not, we all want something to happen to the characters in a story. By this I mean something that affects the character enough to change their path and set them off on a journey through obstacles. Simply put, this is what makes a story differ from a straightforward report or list of events. This is conflict. If we want to create a story we need to create conflict.

Some people like to see characters overcome all the obstacles and end up at the proverbial happy ending and some of us like an ambiguous ending where the reader gets to project their own thoughts and imagination on to an undefined future and are left with something to think about.

The question of story versus character is one that has provoked much debate among writers. There are those who argue strongly that it is character that matters most and that character development should take priority over story. The argument goes that it is the revelation of the layers of character underneath the initial observation of looks and personality that make the story.

LET CONFLICT REVEAL CHARACTER

I would argue that we need both to create a character.

Conflict is change and this is what forces hidden and therefore interesting characteristics to the surface. We are aware of this in our lives. There are people who surprise you by their response to conflict or crisis and those who don’t – who are the most interesting?

Are people who do exactly what you expect all the time interesting? We might like them but sometimes it takes a crisis to learn ‘the truth’ about a person.  The events, obstacles, etc. in a good story inform this crisis. Crisis is crucial when you create a plot for your story.

In real life crisis is something that varies from person to person and so it is for stories. A crisis doesn’t have to be huge to be interesting – it just has to cause conflict – problems and obstacles for our characters to overcome. Without this there is no story, just description and no matter how wonderful your description is, it is not what turns pages.

Best of luck with your writing.

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Creative Writing Lesson 4: Conflict, Conflict, Conflict

Writing is about fighting.

Conflict isn’t important for what it is but for what it tells us about your characters. Your character isn’t what you tell us they think or feel. Your character is what they do. Action is character: what they do shows us who they are. A lot of writers make the mistake of trying to tell us who their characters are, when 100% of the time they would be better of sticking them in a tricky situation and showing the reader how they get out of it.

So, what does conflict mean, and how do we right good conflict?

Remember the Basic Structure

So, we’ve established our wounded character is unhappy in their life but a personal flaw stemming from their wound. Then something happens to interrupt their normal like and confronts them with obstacles that force them to confront their flaw.

Desire + Obstacle + Flaw = Conflict.

Without desire why would the protagonist attempt to overcome the obstacle? The greater their desire – their need to succeed – the greater the emotional impact of the scene.

Without the obstacle there is no story: “Fred wanted be loved. He met Eddie and they fell in love. Now Fred is loved.” See what I mean?

Why do we need the flaw?

Lots of stories skip flaws and are worse for it. Our retired-CIA assassin wants to avenge his murdered wife (please don’t write this story again), and there are a room full of hired thugs in his way. Okay, desire, obstacle, followed by an action scene where you know exactly what will happen. Now, give him a drug addiction he’s trying to overcome – he wants to get off the drugs, but when he stops taking them his reflexes are slowed and his fight with the thugs results in injury. It’s immediately more interesting. I’m sure you can think of better wounds – incorporate them into your conflict, and your story will illuminate.

Thus, good story we are locked into a cycle of conflict, action, and resolution, until they overcome their flaw or succumb to it.

Good Conflict Challenges Flaws – Bad Conflict is Boring

We’ve established that the conflict must a) directly link to their wound and b) require a difficult decision (otherwise it isn’t a real obstacle.) Ideally, the reader should be thinking “Oh my God, what are they going to do now?”

And this is how conflict reveals character. Because conflict requires action. And action tells us more about a person than any number of words.

So, what makes good conflict. Here are some easy examples:

Theo is about to break up with his girlfriend when she tells him she is pregnant.

The engine room door must be sealed to contain the fire, but two of Rey’s team are still inside and shouting for help.

Sandy pops out for a quick cigarette when through the window she spots her wife giving her best friend head.

See what I mean? Oh my God, what are they going to do?

Here are some bad examples of conflicts:

The adventurers need to get into the dungeon, but a group of goblins bar the way.

Riley is scared she will lose control if she summons the power of the void to defeat the reapers.

Tom must give his first lecture to 100 students but fears public speaking.

Why don’t these work? Well, first, there isn’t a hard decision. We’ve told the reader there is danger/emotion, but the decision seems obvious: fight the goblins, summon the void, go out and give the speech. The third is the best, but even if Tom decides to run away, we don’t get the emotional identification because it seems so obvious what he should do.

Can we fix the three bad conflicts? Maybe…

Elarius is badly wounded. If he lets his comrades fight the goblins alone, they may die, but if he joins the battle he certainly will.

Does Riley wait for the refugees to escape and risk the Reapers breaking through, or gamble she can control the void to protect the refugees and strike the Reapers at the same time?

Tom, a biology professor scared of public speaking, has been told that if he doesn’t emphasise in his first lecture that evolution is only a “theory” he will lose his job.

These are better, although still not as good as the first three. How do we improve them? Make things worse! Elarius is thinking of his husband and kids at home. He is also having an affair with one of his comrades. The more your characters suffer, the more your reader will enjoy the story.

Write a 200 word Scene Driven by Desire and Weakness

Having established this notion: conflict = desire vs obstacle + flaw, and that a story is constructed from a cycle of conflict, action, and resolution (until the character overcomes their flaw or is destroyed by it), your job is to write me the most powerful conflict scene you can manage in 200 words.

Here are your criteria.

1) Following on from the last exercise, give me a protagonist and antagonist who are both wounded and have a strongly justifiable (and contradictory) desire.

2) Show me they have a REALLY good reason for wanted to overcome the obstacle.

3) Make the obstacle as BIG as possible. If your characters aren’t suffering, they should be.

4) Have both the protagonist and antagonist’s actions informed by their flaw.

5) Resolve the conflict WITHOUT resolving EITHER’S flaws – give me an outcome that is a) unresolved but b) raises the stakes.

If you’re stuck, here are some starting points:

• A breakup where neither partner wants to break up but feels they must
• A battle where a controversial artefact might be best preserved or destroyed
• A seriously ill person for whom the best treatment is not clear
• A secret that must be preserved, but the parties cannot agree how best to do so.

These are just suggestions. If you have your own idea, use it! Remember, you only have 200 words, so get to the point and hit all the bases.

Post your response in the comments below or join the AU Forum .

Find out more about my (totally free) writing lessons here.

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Blogs / Character / Character vs Self Conflict in Writing

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Character vs self conflict in writing.

In the realm of storytelling, the conflict between a character and themselves, often referred to as “character vs self” or “man vs self,” delves into the internal struggles and psychological battles that define a character’s journey.

And let me tell you, my writerly friend, it’s that internal conflict that keeps readers turning pages and connects them to your wonderful characters.

This type of conflict is essential for character development, providing depth and complexity to the narrative.

What Is Character vs Self?

Character vs self conflict is an internal battle that takes place within a character. It involves the character grappling with their own emotions, desires, beliefs, or fears.

This conflict often revolves around making tough decisions, overcoming personal flaws, or dealing with internal crises. It is a powerful tool for revealing a character’s true nature and driving their growth throughout the story.

And character growth is super important if you want readers to love your characters.

The character vs self conflict is not about external forces but the internal forces within a character.

These forces can include fear, guilt, doubt, or even deeply ingrained beliefs that the character must confront and overcome. This struggle can manifest in various forms, such as a battle with addiction, a moral dilemma, or a crisis of faith.

By delving deep into a character’s psyche, writers can create an interesting and relatable narrative that resonates with readers on a personal level.

Character vs Self Examples

Hamlet in hamlet by william shakespeare.

In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet’s internal struggle is the centerpiece of the play.

He wrestles with his conscience, contemplating revenge for his father’s murder while grappling with his own doubts and fears. Hamlet’s soliloquies, particularly, “To be or not to be,” epitomize his existential crisis and internal conflict.

Hamlet’s internal conflict is driven by his indecision and his contemplation of life and death.

His philosophical musings and moral dilemmas add depth to his character, making him one of the most complex and studied characters in literature. Hamlet’s internal struggle intensifies the play’s exploration of themes like revenge, mortality, and madness, making it a timeless masterpiece.

Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Frodo’s journey to destroy the One Ring is fraught with internal conflict.

He battles the corrupting influence of the Ring and his own fears of failure. His inner struggle highlights the themes of sacrifice, courage, and the burden of responsibility.

Frodo’s internal conflict is not just about resisting the Ring’s power but also about the weight of his mission and the toll it takes on his spirit. His journey is as much about his internal battles as it is about the physical quest, illustrating the profound impact of internal conflict on a character’s development and the story’s progression.

Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

Holden Caulfield’s internal conflict centers on his alienation and search for identity.

He grapples with feelings of loneliness, depression, and confusion about adulthood. His inner turmoil drives the narrative, providing insight into his complex character.

Holden’s internal struggle is a poignant exploration of adolescence and mental health. His disdain for the adult world and his yearning for innocence create an interesting narrative of internal conflict.

Salinger’s portrayal of Holden’s inner life captures the angst and uncertainty of growing up, making The Catcher in the Rye a resonant and enduring novel.

Jean Valjean in Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Jean Valjean’s internal conflict revolves around his struggle for redemption.

After being released from prison, he grapples with his past as a convict and his desire to lead a virtuous life. His moral dilemmas and the choices he makes are central to the narrative, showcasing his inner battles and transformation.

Many internal conflicts mark Valjean’s journey from a hardened criminal to a compassionate and selfless individual.

His encounters with kindness and his determination to do good, despite his past, highlight the powerful theme of redemption. Valjean’s internal struggles make him a profoundly human and relatable character.

Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Elizabeth Bennet’s internal conflict arises from her prejudices and her developing feelings towards Mr. Darcy.

She must confront her own biases and misconceptions to recognize her true feelings and find happiness.

This internal journey is a key element of the novel’s charm and depth.

Elizabeth’s initial judgments and her journey to self-awareness reflect the themes of pride and prejudice in the novel. Her internal conflict is intricately woven into her interactions with other characters, particularly Mr. Darcy, making her character growth and self-discovery central to the story’s resolution.

The Power of a Man versus Self Narrative

The man vs self narrative is a potent storytelling device because it taps into universal human experiences.

Readers can relate to characters facing internal battles, making the story more engaging and emotionally resonant. This type of conflict allows for deep character exploration, showcasing vulnerabilities, strengths, and growth.

Cool, or what?

Internal conflict is powerful because it mirrors real-life struggles.

Everyone has faced moments of doubt, fear, and indecision, making characters with internal conflicts more relatable and interesting. This narrative approach also allows for profound character development, as resolving internal conflicts often leads to significant growth and transformation.

The man vs self conflict also adds layers of complexity to a story. It can serve as a counterpoint to external conflicts, enriching the narrative and providing a deeper understanding of the character’s motivations and actions.

By delving into a character’s internal struggles, you can create stories that resonate on a deeper emotional level, leaving a lasting impact on readers.

Tips for Writing Character vs Self Conflict

Develop deep, complex characters.

To effectively portray internal conflict, your characters need to be well-developed and multi-dimensional.

Give them distinct personalities, backstories, and motivations. The more nuanced your characters, the more interesting their internal struggles will be.

Creating a detailed character profile can help you understand their fears, desires, and motivations. This depth will make their internal conflicts more believable and engaging. Consider their life experiences and how these shape their current struggles.

Complex characters with realistic internal conflicts are more likely to resonate with readers.

Show, Don’t Tell

Internal conflict is best conveyed through actions, dialogue, and internal monologue.

Show your characters wrestling with their thoughts and emotions. Use their behavior and decisions to illustrate their internal battles, rather than simply telling the reader what they are feeling.

Use subtle cues and body language to show a character’s internal struggle. Descriptive language can also evoke the emotional and psychological turmoil they are experiencing. Instead of stating that a character is anxious, describe their racing heart, sweaty palms, and hesitant actions.

This approach makes the conflict more vivid and relatable.

Create High Stakes

Internal conflict should have significant consequences for your characters.

Whether it’s a moral dilemma, a life-changing decision, or a personal flaw they must overcome, the stakes should be high enough to create tension and drive the narrative forward.

High stakes make internal conflicts more intense and interesting.

The potential consequences of a character’s decisions should be significant enough to create suspense and keep readers invested. This could involve risking relationships, careers, or even their sense of self.

High-stakes internal conflicts add drama and urgency to the story.

Use Symbolism and Metaphor

Symbolism and metaphor can add depth to internal conflict.

Objects, settings, or recurring motifs can symbolize your character’s inner struggles. For example, a character’s dilapidated house might represent their deteriorating mental state.

Symbolism can subtly reinforce a character’s internal conflict and add layers of meaning to the story.

Metaphors can illustrate complex emotions and psychological states, making them more tangible for readers. For instance, a stormy sea might symbolize a character’s internal conflict, reflecting their turbulent emotions and sense of being adrift.

Reflect Realistic Emotions

Internal conflict is most powerful when it reflects realistic emotions and experiences. Avoid clichéd or melodramatic portrayals.

Instead, draw on genuine human experiences to create authentic and relatable internal battles.

Authenticity in portraying emotions ensures readers connect with your characters on a deeper level. Avoid over-the-top reactions that may seem unrealistic. Instead, focus on subtle, nuanced portrayals of internal conflict that mirror real-life experiences.

This approach creates more believable and relatable characters.

Allow for Growth and Change

One of the key purposes of internal conflict is to facilitate character growth.

Show how your characters grow as they confront and overcome their internal struggles. This transformation adds depth to your story and provides a satisfying narrative arc.

Character growth resulting from internal conflict can be gradual or dramatic, depending on the story. Ensure that resolving internal conflicts leads to meaningful changes in the character’s behavior, beliefs, or relationships.

This growth should be a natural outcome of their struggles and experiences, adding depth and resonance to the narrative.

Balance Internal and External Conflict

While internal conflict is crucial, you must balance it with external conflict.

This creates a dynamic and engaging story. External challenges can exacerbate internal struggles, providing opportunities for your characters to confront their inner demons.

Balancing internal and external conflicts enriches the narrative and keeps it engaging.

External events can act as catalysts for internal struggles, forcing characters to confront their inner demons. This interplay between internal and external conflicts adds complexity and depth to the story, making it more immersive and interesting.

Use Flashbacks and Memories

Flashbacks and memories can be effective tools for exploring internal conflict.

They provide insight into a character’s past experiences and how these have shaped their present struggles. Use them sparingly to enhance, rather than overshadow, the main narrative.

Flashbacks and memories can reveal the roots of a character’s internal conflict, providing context and depth. However, they should be used judiciously to avoid disrupting the flow of the narrative.

Incorporate Internal Dialogue

Internal dialogue can be a powerful tool for revealing a character’s internal conflict.

By sharing a character’s thoughts and feelings directly with the reader, you can provide deeper insight into their internal struggles. This technique allows readers to experience the character’s turmoil firsthand.

Internal dialogue should reveal the character’s fears, doubts, and desires. It can highlight their internal debate and provide clarity on their motivations and decisions. By giving readers access to a character’s inner thoughts, you create a more intimate and engaging narrative.

Gradually Build the Conflict

Internal conflict should develop gradually, mirroring the character’s journey.

Start with subtle hints of the conflict and allow it to build. This gradual escalation keeps readers engaged and creates a more realistic and interesting narrative.

Gradual development of internal conflict can be achieved through small, revealing moments that build tension. As the story progresses, these moments should intensify, leading to a climax where the character must confront and resolve their internal struggle.

This approach creates a satisfying narrative arc and ensures that the internal conflict feels authentic and impactful.

And finally, always remember that story comes first. Focus on:

• Creating engaging characters
• Penning interesting plots
• Structuring solid settings

A tool like Fictionary helps you turn your draft into an interesting story readers love. So, with a strong narrative foundation, your writing can truly shine.

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Novel writing ,

Tension in writing: how to grip your readers.

By Emma-Claire Wilson

We all dream of that day we read a review that says, “I couldn’t put this book down”. We want our readers to be eager to turn the pages; but how do we achieve that?  

By using tension. That’s how. 

Tension is not an easy technique to learn as a new writer , but it is essential for a long and fulfilling writing career. In this article, I will explain what tension is, why it is important to a story, and how to create it on the pages of your next work in progress.  

What Is Tension?

Tension building is a phrase used in creative writing circles when discussing the conflict that is explored in the novel by the main characters.  

It is essential to know that to create tension, you must first give your readers something to be afraid for ; but be aware, being afraid of something is not the same as being afraid for something.  

Being afraid of something is to fear something that may harm you; being afraid for something means to be worried that it might be harmed in some way. The it being something your character cares deeply for, or desires. 

Think of this in the context of your novel. You want your reader to be worried that something could get in the way of what your character truly desires. You want readers to be fearful that something will get in the way of the protagonist’s ultimate happiness.  

Tension Vs Suspense

Although many will see these two terms as being interchangeable, they often work hand in hand, but they are not the same.  

Tension happens as your reader anticipates conflict ( that thing that is stopping your character getting what they really want) impacting the thing your protagonist desires the most.  

Suspense grows steadily throughout the course of a novel while the conflict remains unresolved. 

 You can’t have tension, or even suspense, without a central conflict.  

Why Is Tension Important In A Story?

We now know that conflict (that thing stopping your character getting what they want) leads to tension (that thing that makes us care about the character resolving the conflict) which in turn leads to suspense (as we keep that resolution of the conflict from them) .  

This results in your reader feeling a compulsive need to keep turning the pages.  

Tension is also about tapping into the emotion of your character and creating a presumed emotional impact if they don’t get what they truly desire. You are creating an emotional connection between your protagonist and your reader, encouraging emotional investment. 

So, why is tension important? Essentially, without it, you will have a dull book that your reader does not feel emotionally invested in or compelled to finish. 

Which Genres Rely on Tension?

I don’t believe there is a single genre that does not use and embrace tension.  

Thrillers, mystery, suspense and even horror are easy to identify as those that rely on strong tension on the page, but the truth is, you can (and should) create and build tension in any genre.  

Take romance for example, and Romeo and Juliet . The tension in that story is created by telling the reader that it matters little how much the pair love each other, as their love is forbidden. Shakespeare created a central conflict so strong that it in turn created tension on the page for the reader.  

How To Create Tension In Writing

There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to building tension on the page – but there are 8 simple steps you can follow to make sure you have your reader begging for just one more page before bed. 

Character Led Conflict

To create tension in your novel , first your readers need to care about the protagonist. It’s essential that you have well developed characters that your readers find themselves rooting for.

You need to find the one thing your character wants the most in life. 

Then, find a way to keep it from them.  

The key here is to make sure this is specific to this character. To their life. It must be something that will emotionally affect them if they don’t achieve it; but here is the kicker, your reader needs to care too.  

Your reader needs to want your character to achieve their goal as much as they do. So, dig deep and find out what they really want, and just what they are prepared to do to get it.    

Conflicting Characters With Opposing Goals

The best way to keep something from your character, is to create someone (or something) to keep them from their goal. Your reader wants to see your character’s personality develop as they fight to achieve their goal, so put someone in their path with opposing goals or give them something to fight against. This rising conflict will increase tension and keep the reader engaged.

If you want your reader to be a page turning cheerleader, give they something to cheer for. 

Raise The Stakes – Then Raise Them Again!

What does your character stand to lose if they don’t achieve their goal? How will it change them, affect them, harm them? How close can you get them to their goal before taking it away again?  

You want your reader to want to jump into the book and fight for your protagonist.  

For narrative suspense and tension, you want your character to try and fail multiple times. Many authors use the rule of three , although it’s not a ‘rule’. In essence, have your character fail twice, each time raising the stakes, before they eventually succeed.    

Pacing Is Key

Pace is key, pace is King!  

Creating tension and suspense does not mean that every single chapter needs to be fast moving.  

Fast paced chapters, urgent, sharp and to the point, will create forward momentum and a sense of urgency; but slower paced chapters can be gentle, giving your character a chance to reflect on what they want and why.  

Slower paced chapters can also be packed with the emotion you need to get your reader to care. Play with pace; it can make or break a successful novel. 

Create Curiosity In Your Reader

One of the best ways to create and sustain tension as your story progresses is to keep your reader asking questions and engaged at all times. It’s essential to keep your reader curious, so have them asking enough questions in those quiet moments to keep them turning the pages.  

Internal And External Conflict

Internal conflict is just as important to tension as external conflict. Although we mention creating something or someone to keep your main character from their goal a lot, often the most difficult conflict to overcome is the one in your own head.  

How is your character stopping themselves from getting what they want? Fighting external sources is a great way to create fast paced chapters, but those quiet moments are when the internal struggle of your character will show itself. What do they need to change within themselves to achieve happiness?   

Master The Sub Plot

Sub plots are your friends! Embrace them.  

You don’t want your characters to live in a one-dimensional world. External factors and other people’s lives will affect your characters journey. How can you use the sub plot(s) to raise the stakes? Tension coming from multiple sources will create a sense that the world is closing in, adding to a sense of urgency and emotion on the page. You can even add a plot twist or two to keep the reader interested.

The Ticking Time Bomb  

From some of the earliest books we read as readers, to some of the most successful novels ever published, we see authors using the ‘ticking time bombs’ to add tension.  

Take Cinderella for example; there was literally a clock ticking down to her reveal. Another more contemporary example might be that of Dan Brown in his Robert Langdon books; working against the clock to solve the mystery before anyone else is hurt.  

Introducing a time limit/deadline injects your story with stress – having your characters work against the clock (either towards an actual or an imposed deadline) will force your protagonist to make snap decisions, heightening anxiety and conflict. 

Top Tips For Creating Tension

Now, we know what tension is, we know the difference between tension and suspense, and we know that conflict is key; but how exactly do you implement that in written form? 

Use All Your Senses

Your characters should be fully formed, well rounded people, so don’t forget that they have more than one sense. Don’t just see ; touch, taste, hear, and smell your surroundings. Immerse your character and you will immerse the reader. Have them feel ‘that icy breath’ on their neck, or the ‘quickening of my heart, a stampede through the African plains of my chest’. Don’t just tell them how to feel, make them feel it. 

Use Short Sentences

Play with sentence length, structure, and cadence. Placing short sentences together will force a quickened pace of reading. Use the cadence of your sentences to emphasise sudden events, or wistful moments. If you want the reader to feel a quick heartbeat, try mimicking the rhythm of a heartbeat with the words on the page.  

Consider Your Language

Think about the words you use and when. Use panic heavy conjunctions to emphasise pace and speed. Panic conjunctions such as ‘suddenly’ are often overused, but you could try ‘abruptly’, or ‘unexpectedly’ or even ‘without warning’.  

If you want the reader to see, feel and hear your character, make sure the language matches the action. 

Use Your Surroundings

The weather can be, and is often, used to help create tension, suspense, and emotion on the page. Pathetic fallacy is where we attribute emotions or feelings to weather patterns.  

For example, ‘the flowers danced in the breeze’ – now we know that flowers don’t dance, but this description allows the reader to know that this scene is a serene one.  

Whereas, with ‘the wind whispered its secrets through the trees’ – we know that wind doesn’t whisper, but this sense of foreboding creates tension on the page.  

Frequently Asked Questions

How do writers create tension and suspense  .

There is no hard and fast rule– but there are 8 simple steps you can follow to make sure you are creating tension and suspense. 

• Create character led conflict  
• Characters with opposing goals  
• Raise the stakes  
• Perfect your pacing 
• Create curiosity  
• Balance internal and external conflict 
• Master the sub plot  
• Consider a ticking timebomb 

How Do You Create Tension On The Page And In Dialogue?

Here are some of mytop tips for increasing tension on the page and in dialogue:

• Be clever with your use of short sentences, sentence structure and cadence 
• Use all your senses 
• Consider your language carefully – try using panic conjunctions and pathetic fallacy 
• Use interruptions during dialogue 
• Narrate tense moments in between dialogue 

What Are The Four Types Of Tension?  

Tension in fiction can generally be grouped into one of these four categories: 

• Tension of the task 
• Tension of relationships 
• Tension of surprise 
• Tension of mystery 

What Is The Difference Between Tension And Suspense?  

Tension happens as your reader anticipates conflict – that thing that is stopping your character getting what they really want – impacting the thing your protagonist desires the most.  

Suspense grows steadily throughout course of a novel while the conflict remains unresolved.  

Creating Tension

Mastering the skill of tension requires practise, but once mastered, you will have a loyal following of readers always eager to come back and read more. It’s all about balance, nuance and detail. Give your reader just enough time to breathe before you set them off running again, and always give them something to run towards.  

About the author

Emma-Claire Wilson is an author of book club fiction. Born in Scotland, she travelled the world as the child of military parents. Finally, she settled in Southern Spain with her husband, daughters, and rescue dog, Pip. Emma-Claire works as a journalist for English language magazines and newspapers in Spain and in 2015 launched The Glass House Online Magazine. When not writing emotional book club fiction, you can find her by the sea dreaming up new stories, or wrapped in a blanket with a book in her hand. See more on her author website or Twitter .

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Crisis vs. Conflict

Summary : Good storytellers differentiate between a crisis (an emergency, such as a car crash or an illness) and conflict (a clash of wills, a difficult moral choice, or an internal mental struggle). Beginning authors often focus on the exciting crisis rather than the conflict that makes readers care about the characters enduring the crisis.

The conflict that makes a story worth reading (and re-reading) involves the reader in the humanity of the characters involved in the crisis.   The best explanation I've seen of the difference between crisis and conflict comes from a Star Trek fan magazine I read as a kid.  I'm almost sure that the author was David Gerrold.  I'm reconstructing most of it myself in order to make my point, but it went something like this:

• The Enterprise encounters the slime monster.  It attacks the ship. ( Crisis )  Kirk kills it by freezing it. ( Resolution )
• The Enterprise encounters the ice beast.  It attacks a peaceful planet. ( Crisis )  Kirk kills it by melting it. ( Resolution )
• The Enterprise encounters the crystal demon.  It attacks a strategic Federation base.  The only way to stop it is to shatter it with sound waves -- but doing so will deafen an entire city of the galaxy's finest musicians.  Doing nothing would mean that the Romulans might occupy the planet, shatter the demon and deafen the city anyway.  Kirk has to decide what to do.  ( Conflict! )

The first two scenarios might be exciting to watch.  Imagine the screams of the slime monster, the howls of the ice beast, the tension on the bridge as the Enterprise closes in for the kill.  Sounds like fun, but it is only action , like a video game.

T he last scenario has the same potential for action, but in addition, it lends itself to introspection , to the exploration of values , to the examination of choices .  For example, we might see the tearful pleas of the city dwellers, the belligerent boasting of the Romulans, and an argument between Spock and McCoy.  We might even see the hero change in some way, too, as he tries to negotiate a moral path that takes into account what all parties have at stake.  This is true dramatic conflict .

Drama in Writing

A ccording to a dead French guy you've probably never heard of, drama involves " the spectacle of the will striving toward a goal, and conscious of the means which it employs ." (Ferdinand Brunetière; quoted in Lawson 59). (The author was actually talking about theater, but what he says applies equally to creative writing.)

The spectacle...

The word spectacle , like "spectacles" (eyeglasses) or "spectacular" (something worth looking at), implies that the author is showing what happens, rather than simply telling about it.

My handout, " Show, Don't (Just) Tell ," reminds us that some of the most expressive and interesting writing re-creates for the reader the very experience that the characters in the story are living.

...of the will...

The will is the human capacity to desire, and to make decisions accordingly.   If you describe the progress of a disease, or if you do a wonderful job recording the aftermath of an earthquake, you haven't necessarily written a good story.  You may have created a great medical textbook, accident report, or historical document, but a good story hinges on the will of the protagonist .

...striving towards a goal...

The reader should know what is at stake .  Characters, whether they are fictional or real, need to pursue a clearly defined goal.  It can be a complex and sweeping goal, such as "to boldly go where no man has gone before," or simple and specific, like getting a kiss from your date.  The story describes the actions of the characters as they try to achieve these goals.  Just as it's possible for Captain Kirk to explore the universe and chase girls at the same time, any story can offer several different goals, but the action of the story and the interaction of the supporting characters points the protagonist and the reader towards the most important goal.

...and conscious of the means which it employs.

What this means is that the hero can't simply stumble his or her way towards the resolution.  The hero has to make choices (or deliberately refuse to choose) in order for the story to work.  If your main character is simply along for the ride, then something is missing.  You can still have a great story about an ineffective main character, or one who fails to reach his goal, but the story should still be about the struggle.

F or instance, your protagonist might initially desire to survive a catastrophe at all costs; during the course of the story, when it becomes clear that survival is not an option, the character might instead decide to do as much good as possible before dying.  The character may die, along with all the people that he helps, but we still saw the spectacle of the hero's will striving towards his goal.   We also saw the character change.  The change could be for the better, or for the worse; or, the story could end with the hero's failure to learn anything at all (but perhaps your reader will be a little wiser).

Types of Conflict

The dead French guy (Brunetière) goes on to list several different ways that authors represent conflict:

• the individual vs. fatality (that is, a fight for survival)
• the individual vs. social law (justice, morality, etc.)
• the individual vs. another person
• the individual vs. himself
• the individual vs. "the ambitions , the interests , the prejudices , the folly , the malevolence of those who surround him "

Other resources:

• Brunetière, Ferdinand Brunetière.  The Law of the Drama . Trans. Philip M. Hayden. New York: Columbia University, 1914.
• Lawson, John Howard. Theory and Technique of Playwrighting.  New York: Hill and Wang, 1969.  Reprint.   Putnam, 1936.

by Dennis G. Jerz 1999 -- originally written 08 Aug 2000 -- posted to ORR 04 Feb 2002 -- minor updates 06 Jul 2004 -- minor updates

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The English Department and Writing Program offer a number of courses that support writers' development in a variety of genres and contexts. For First-Year students, we offer Academic English & Academic Inquiry seminars. For all undergraduates, we offer a variety of Communication Intensive  and other courses in areas such as:

• rhetoric & writing studies
• language & linguistics
• professional/technical communication
• literature, film & media studies
• creative writing & journalism

Each semester, the English department publishes detailed course descriptions , which include additional information about the courses being offered. For a complete set of department courses, please consult the General Bulletin or the Student Information System (SIS) , using course codes ENGL (English), WRIT (Writing & Rhetoric), AIAE (Academic English), and/or AIQS (Academic Inquiry).

For personalized writing support,  ENGL 180: Writing Tutorial (1 credit) is a weekly tutorial with a consultant from the Writing Resource Center that is designed to meet the specific writing goals of each student.

Sample courses from our literature, professional/technical communication, non-native speaker, language and linguistics, and creative writing offerings are described below. Many of these courses also count as Communication Intensive (CI) courses in the CWRU  Unified General Education Requirements (UGER) . In addition to the courses described below, we offer topical seminars  that highlight the diverse scholarly interests of our students and faculty. 

Sample Literature Courses

• ENGL 200: Literature in English (CI) -  This course introduces students to the reading of literature in the English language. Through close attention to the practice of reading, students are invited to consider some of the characteristic forms and functions imaginative literature has taken, together with some of the changes that have taken place in what and how readers read.  
• ENGL 257A: Reading Fiction (CI) -  This course introduces students to prose narrative forms in English by exploring their intersecting histories and their contemporary developments. We will introduce and develop the key terms, concepts and practice of literary studies. The specific focus of the course may vary. Recommended preparation: Academic Inquiry Seminar or SAGES First Seminar.  
• ENGL 257B: Reading Poetry (CI) -  This course will help you to read and enjoy poetry by introducing you to the history of poetic forms in English. We will introduce and develop the key terms, concepts and practice of literary studies by turning to poems for our test-cases; examples may include the sestina, sonnet and villanelle, ghazal, pantoum, haiku, and open forms. The specific focus of the course may vary. Recommended preparation: Academic Inquiry Seminar or SAGES First Seminar.

Sample Professional & Technical Writing Courses

• ENGL 217A: Business & Professional Writing (CI) -  An introduction to professional communication in theory and practice. Special attention paid to audience analysis, persuasive techniques in written and oral communication, document design strategies, and ethical communication practices.   
• English 217B: Writing for the Health Professions (CI) -  This course offers practice and training in the professional and technical writing skills common to health professions (e.g., medicine, nursing, dentistry). Attention will be paid to the writing processes of drafting, revising, and editing. Typical assignments include: letters, resumes, personal essays, professional communication genres (e.g., email, reports, patient charts, and histories), and scholarly genres (e.g., abstracts, articles, and reviews).  

Sample Courses Designed for Non-Native Speakers of English

• ENGL 146: Tools, Not Rules: English Grammar for Writers -  This course provides an introduction to English grammar in context for academic writers. It focuses on the study of language in use, including parts of speech, sentence grammar, paragraph structure, and text cohesion.  
• ENGL 147: Writing Across Disciplines (CI) -  In this course, students will develop their genre knowledge and metacognitive skills to prepare for the advanced writing, reading, and research tasks required in upper-level writing and disciplinary courses across the university. Through individual and group inquiry, students will analyze and discuss the conventions of academic genres to understand the textual and linguistic features and disciplinary expectations of each form of writing. Then, students will apply these generic conventions through the production and revision of writing within each genre. Throughout the semester, students will engage in workshops and discussions that foster skills in the areas of seminar participation, collaboration, rhetorical awareness, and critical thinking.  

Sample Rhetoric, Language & Linguistics Courses

• ENGL 255: Rhetoric and the Art of Public Speaking (CI) - This course uses the lens of classical rhetoric to explore contemporary political debate. While the word "rhetoric" is often used today to deride precisely what's wrong with political discourse, it more properly denotes the techniques of effective persuasion. By learning how rhetorical devices are used, we can empower ourselves to analyze policy debates and to make our own contributions.   
• ENGL 301: Linguistic Analysis -  Analysis of modern English from various theoretical perspectives: structural, generative, discourse analytical, sociolinguistic, psycholinguistic, and cognitive linguistic. Some attention to the major dialects of American English.   
• ENGL 310: History of the English Language -  An introductory course covering the major periods of English language development: Old, Middle, and Modern. Students will examine both the linguistic forms and the cultures in which the forms were used.   

Sample Creative Writing Courses

• ENGL 203: Introduction to Creative Writing -  A course exploring basic issues and techniques of writing narrative prose and verse through exercises, analysis, and experiment. For students who wish to try their abilities across a spectrum of genres.  
• ENGL 213: Introduction to Fiction Writing -  A beginning workshop in fiction writing, introducing such concepts as voice, point of view, plot, characterization, dialogue, description, and the like. May include discussion of literary examples, both classic and contemporary, along with student work.  
• ENGL 214: Introduction to Poetry Writing - A beginning workshop, focusing on such elements of poetry as verse-form, syntax, figures, sound, tone. May include discussion of literary examples as well as student work.

Conflict Resolution Skills: Definition, Examples, and How to Improve Them

We all know how difficult a business meeting or even day-to-day coexistence can become when there's an unresolved problem. People might avoid the elephant in the room, but eventually, it’ll be impossible to ignore. This is where conflict resolution skills come in handy—and why many job interviews include questions about how candidates would handle a conflict or stressful situation .

In this article, we'll define conflict resolution skills, share examples of key abilities to develop in the workplace, and offer some bonus tips on how to enhance them.

What are conflict resolution skills?

Let's start with the conflict resolution definition: This term refers to the processes and actions taken to facilitate a peaceful ending to a conflict, whether it involves two parties or more.

From there, we can move to the conflict resolution skills definition: These are the skills that enable a person to mediate differences and help find a solution that works for everyone. People equipped with these skills, who can identify conflicts and their roots, acknowledge different opinions, and build consensus between parties, are highly valued in the workplace.

But what is an example of a conflict resolution skill? Keep reading to find out.

Conflict resolution skills: Examples

Here are five examples of conflict resolution skills worth highlighting during your job search —or developing, if you haven't already.

1. Active listening

Other people's discomfort can alert you that a conflict is about to arise or is already happening. That's why active listening becomes a crucial conflict resolution skill in the workplace.

Listening carefully shows you care and helps your colleagues feel heard and understood. Give them your full attention, ask follow-up questions to clear up any concerns, and address issues as they come up. Letting people express themselves can give you valuable insights to manage and resolve the situation more effectively.

2. Proactive communication

Proactive communication is all about addressing potential issues before they escalate, helping to manage or prevent conflicts. It means anticipating conflicts and offering resources and strategies to keep things running smoothly.

Let's say two colleagues, Sarah and Mark, disagree about a project direction during a meeting. Sarah might approach Mark afterward and say:

“Hey Mark, I noticed we have different views on the project strategy. I really value your input and want to make sure we’re on the same page. Can we set up some time to chat about our ideas? I think we can come up with a solution that works for both of us and helps the project.”

By doing this, Sarah shows proactive communication by addressing the issue without blaming anyone, showing interest in Mark’s viewpoint, and suggesting a constructive way to resolve the disagreement.

3. Perspective-taking

Perspective-taking means recognizing that others can have different views, beliefs, or reactions than your own. Although it can be tough, especially if you disagree or feel attacked, it's essential to acknowledge these different perspectives.

Getting defensive or outright rejecting others' opinions often worsens conflicts, as it makes everyone dig in their heels. Your ego won’t help here—ignoring or arguing with someone just to prove them wrong only adds to the problem.

Instead, acknowledging their position by saying, “I understand where you’re coming from,” shows respect for their feelings and experiences. This can make it easier to find common ground and work towards solutions, even in challenging situations.

4. Accountability

Look at how your actions might have added to or made a conflict worse. Being accountable means taking responsibility for how your work and interactions affect others and the workplace.

It’s more than just handling your daily tasks—it's about understanding the broader impact of what you do. For example, if a retail worker argues with a customer, the manager is accountable because the worker relied on their training.

By understanding how your actions and behavior can help avoid conflicts, you build a stronger, more transparent support system, helping everyone grow and stay accountable.

5. Mediation

Mediation brings in a neutral third party, like a team leader or someone not involved in the conflict, to listen to both sides. The mediator helps ensure that everyone’s boundaries are respected and suggests solutions or perspectives to guide the parties toward an agreement or compromise.

Looking for less conflict at work? Check these amazing open jobs on The Muse and find the next perfect role for you »

How to improve conflict resolution and negotiation skills

Building these skills takes daily effort. Here are some tips to help you get better at resolving conflicts and negotiating in the workplace:

• Communicate assertively: Being assertive means expressing your thoughts, feelings, and needs openly and respectfully, without being passive or aggressive. It involves standing up for yourself while also considering the perspectives of others, which helps you handle tensions and reach agreements effectively.
• Use “I” statements: Share your views without blaming others. Phrases like “I think/feel/believe” can help you communicate your perspective while remaining open to others’ views.
• Stick to the facts: Focus on what actually happened rather than letting emotions take over. This helps keep the conversation logical and constructive.
• Apologize when necessary: If your actions have impacted someone else, a sincere apology can pave the way for forgiveness and open communication.
• Mind your non-verbal cues: Be aware of your tone, gestures, and facial expressions. Negative body language can escalate conflicts or make you seem disinterested.
• Aim for resolution, not just being right: Approach conversations with the goal of finding a mutually acceptable solution, rather than proving yourself right.
• Manage your emotions: Address conflicts calmly. If you’re too emotional, it’s better to wait until you can approach the issue with a clear mind.
• Seek compromise: Find ways to negotiate and agree on solutions that work for everyone involved. Compromises usually mean being flexible and willing to adjust your stance to meet common goals.

Bottom line

There are many sides to both problems and solutions. Being someone who can help find a middle ground between different views is really valuable. It shows you can set aside personal differences to focus on what’s best for everyone and get results.

Keep honing your conflict resolution skills in the workplace—they’ll make work relationships better and everyday situations easier, no matter what job you’re in.

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It Ends with Us Justin Baldoni's Clash Goes Past Blake Lively: 'Cast Will Have Nothing to Do with Him' (Exclusive)

"All is not what it seems," a set source tells PEOPLE. "There is much more to this story."

Andrea Mandell is the Senior Editor of Entertainment Projects at PEOPLE Magazine. She joined the brand in 2022 and helps lead special projects, film coverage, festivals, awards and more. 

The issues brewing behind the scenes of  It Ends with Us  surpass alleged creative differences between the film's director Justin Baldoni and star Blake Lively , a source tells PEOPLE.

"All is not what it seems," a set source tells PEOPLE. "There is much more to this story. The principal cast and [author] Colleen Hoover will have nothing to do with him."

Reps for Lively, 36, and Baldoni, 40, did not respond to PEOPLE's requests for comment.

It Ends With Us opened to a strong $50 million at the domestic box office over the weekend, with Lively starring as Lily Bloom, a florist who falls in love with a neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni), and a toxic relationship forms. The cast also includes Jenny Slate, Brandon Sklenar, Hasan Minhaj, Isabela Ferrer, Alex Neustaedter, and more.

Rumors of discord behind the scenes grew prior to the film's release as Baldoni did most of his press solo, and did not pose for pictures alongside the cast at the film's New York premiere . Fans were also quick to spot that Lively, Hoover and Slate do not follow Baldoni back on Instagram.

Reps for Slate, Sklenar, Minhaj and Ferrer, Neustaedter and Hoover did not respond to requests for comment.

Following a Hollywood Reporter story on Aug. 8 reporting there "was a fracture among the filmmakers in the post-production process, wherein two different cuts of the movie emerged," a source close to Baldoni attributed the discord to "creative differences" that had been "overblown" to PEOPLE Monday, claiming Lively "wants to direct the next movie, sidelining him and securing the rights from Colleen."

But there has not been a discussion yet of a second movie, says a Hollywood source.

Baldoni told  Variety  his production company Wayfarer Studios has the option on adapting  It Starts with Us  but "I haven’t even begun to think that far ahead. I’m trying to stay in the present as much as I can."

Reports of Baldoni's alleged behavior surfaced Aug. 9, when the Daily Mail published a report alleging Baldoni was "chauvinistic" and "borderline abusive" on the set of It Ends with Us. The same day, Page Six reported Baldoni created an “extremely difficult” atmosphere behind the scenes for the entire cast.

Never miss a story — sign up for  PEOPLE's free daily newsletter  to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

At the premiere in New York City on Aug. 6, Baldoni suggested to Entertainment Tonight that Lively should helm a sequel. "I think that there are better people for that one," he said. "I think Blake Lively's ready to direct. That's what I think."

Lively, who is also a producer on It Ends with Us , has spoken of putting her touches on the film's music , costumes , dialogue and more.

She told BBC at the London premiere, from which Baldoni was absent, "I really feel like we delivered a story that's emotional and it's fun, but also funny, painful, scary, tragic and it's inspiring and that's what life is, it's every single color."

It Ends with Us is now in theaters.

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