CONFLICT THESAURUS

A DEADLINE BEING MOVED UP



Never struggle with Show-and-Tell again. Activate your free trial or subscribe to view the Conflict Thesaurus in its entirety, or visit the Table of Contents to explore unlocked entries.

CHOOSE MY PLAN

HELPFUL TIP:

Conflict is your story’s secret sauce, supplying tension, relationship friction, and complications to a character’s journey. It comes in a million different forms, so identify the obstacles and problems that will hit your character the hardest by using the Character Builder to uncover their primary insecurities, fears , and desires. Don’t forget to include everyday conflict scenarios that will frustrate them and keep the pressure high.
CATEGORY:
Increased pressure and ticking clocks

EXAMPLES:
Needing to have important paperwork completed
Securing funds to pay off a debt
Needing to have materials prepped for a earlier meeting than expected
Being forced to complete plans for a rally or other event sooner
Discovering the timeline to fulfill a promise has been bumped up
Needing to secure resources sooner (for a battle, to prepare for imminent danger, etc.)
Finding out a window of opportunity is closing faster than anticipated (to escape, to overcome an obstacle, to impress the right people, to prove one's innocence, to save someone's life etc.)

MINOR COMPLICATIONS:
Disrupting one's schedule and personal plans
Inconveniencing other people if their support is needed to complete a task
Losing sleep
Having to sacrifice quality for efficiency
Disappointing loved ones by placing their needs last
Having to ask people for help that the character may not want to contact—because it makes them look weak, they may expect something in return, or the other person is a rival
Scrambling to make changes to fit the new timeline (cutting back on the scope of the project, changing the venue, having to pay more to expedite things or obtain supplies, etc.)

POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS RESULTS:
...

RESULTING EMOTIONS:
...

POSSIBLE INTERNAL STRUGGLES:
...

PEOPLE WHO COULD BE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED:
...

NEGATIVE TRAITS THAT COULD MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE:
...

IMPACT ON BASIC NEEDS:
...

WOUNDS THIS COULD LEAD TO:
...

POSITIVE TRAITS TO HELP THE CHARACTER COPE:
...

POSITIVE OUTCOMES:
...