Conflict is very often the magic sauce for generating tension and turning a ho-hum story into one that rivets readers. As such, every scene should contain a struggle of some kind. Maybe it’s an internal tug-of-war having to do with difficult decisions, morals, or temptations. Or it possibly could come from an external source—other characters, unfortunate circumstances, or the force of nature itself.
It’s our hope that this thesaurus will help you come up with meaningful and fitting conflict options for your stories. Think about what your character wants and how best to block them, then choose a source of conflict that will ramp up the tension in each scene. For the full entry of this and 200+ additional conflict scenarios, check into our best-selling resources: The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles, Volumes 1 and 2.
Failing at Something
Category: Power struggles, failures and mistakes, relationship friction, duty and responsibilities, losing an advantage, loss of control, ego
Examples:
Blowing an important business opportunity (failing to land a client, losing out on a promotion, doing or saying something that results in a demotion, etc.)
Getting fired
Having to file for bankruptcy…
Minor Complications:
Continuing to live in circumstances that are less than ideal
Living beneath one’s true potential
A pattern of underachieving due to a fear of failure or change…
Potentially Disastrous Results:
Being estranged from loved ones
A drastic change in lifestyle due to a new financial situation
Avoiding responsibility for the part one played; being destined to repeat one’s mistakes…
Possible Internal Struggles (Inner Conflict):
Doubting oneself
A burgeoning fear of failure
Being obsessed with one’s failures; not being able to see one’s strengths…
People Who Could Be Negatively Affected: loved ones, friends, co-workers, rivals
Resulting Emotions: Anger, anguish, anxiety, appalled, apprehension, defensiveness, denial, depressed…
Personality Flaws that May Make the Situation Worse: Addictive, controlling, defensive, impulsive, inflexible…
Positive Outcomes:
Learning from one’s mistakes so they aren’t repeated
Taking advantage of new opportunities that wouldn’t have been possible without the failure (starting a new business, changing careers, enjoying time on one’s own instead of jumping into a new relationship, etc.)
Being able to see oneself realistically and accurately for the first time…
If you’re interested in other conflict options, you can find them here.
Use Conflict to Transform Your Story
Readers have a lot of choices when it comes to selecting books, so make it easy for them to choose yours. Conflict will help you deliver a fresh story premise every time, drawing readers in through meaningful challenges that reveal a character’s innermost needs, fears, weaknesses, and strengths.
To assist you, we’ve created a two-volume resource with 225 possible conflict events. Each volume contains expert advice on how to use conflict to improve your story along with a plethora of scenarios to challenge your characters.
For more information, read up on these GOLD and SILVER editions. You can also view the books at Goodreads to see what other authors are saying about them.
Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.
[…] The Right Writing urges us to vary characters’ reactions to tragedy, and Becca Puglisi suggests using the conflict of failing at something and tells us the character-building detail writers shouldn’t […]