Creative Writing

Conflict: The Basics

Conflict in stories might refer to any kind of disagreement, annoyance, or lack of harmony. Conflict may or may not be violent. People have conflicts every day, from small to large.

• A conflict may be large or small, complicated or simple. It may be dramatic, funny, or somewhere in between.
• Small conflicts add up. Stories often have a lot of little conflicts that might become, or be a result of, one big conflict.
• Conflicts may come from inside a person or from an outside factor.
  • Inside = Internal conflict (Should I or shouldn't I?)
  • Outside = external conflict (Person vs. Person or Thing)

Below are some basic conflicts and examples:

• Person vs Person
  • Example: Jack and Jill want different toppings on their pizza.
• Person vs Self
  • Example: Jack wants to eat a whole pizza for lunch, but knows he should save some slices for tomorrow. What choice does he pick?
• Person vs Nature
  • Example: Jack is on a walk and it starts raining. Jack needs to get out of the rain.
• Person vs Society
  • Example: Jack is stuck in a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam.
• Person vs Destiny
  • Example: Jack needs to get home by a certain time, but is getting delayed by many random things.
• Person vs Supernatural
  • Example: Jack needs to prove his neighbor is a ghost.
• Person vs Technology
  • Example: Jack doesn't have access to internet, but he needs to pay his bills.

Conflict: Actions and Consequences

"For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction" - Isaac Newton's 3rd Law of Motion

This quote also applies to a person's actions and resulting consequences in a story. Because every action has a consequence (good or bad), these consequences can move the plot of a story forward.

A writer may brainstorm about the different conflicts that plot might involve. This brainstorming can include writing down questions about the story.

An example is included on the Example of Outline tab.