CONFLICT THESAURUS

BEING ASSIGNED AN UNPLEASANT TASK



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HELPFUL TIP:

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

NOTES:
For entries in a similar vein, see BEING ASSIGNED AN UNDESIRABLE PARTNER, BEING THE BEARER OF BAD NEWS, HAVING TO PUNISH SOMEONE, and BEING SADDLED WITH UNEXPECTED RESPONSIBILITY.

EXAMPLES:
The character having to reprimand an employee who happens to be their friend
Being assigned an impossible-to-please client
Having to clean up someone else's bodily fluids
Being the executor for someone with feuding family members
Cleaning the home of a hoarder
Having to be a juror in a drawn-out trial
Confronting someone about an addiction or another difficult topic
Searching for survivors or human remains at the site of a disaster
Serving a warrant, divorce papers, subpoena, or other legal document
Executing or assassinating someone
Assisting someone with personal care tasks (bathing, using the restroom, removal of lice, etc.)
Removing children or pets from an unsafe home
Carrying out an unpleasant medical procedure
Having to inform someone about the death of their loved one
Having to give a patient a devastating diagnosis

MINOR COMPLICATIONS:
Procrastinating and therefore compounding the problem
The character shirking their responsibility so someone else has to take care of it
Facing fear, anxiety, and pressure
Key details being left out, making the task more difficult
Dealing with ailments brought on by stress (nausea, stomach pain, loss of appetite, etc.)
Giving bad news to someone who doesn't take it well
Preparing oneself to take on the unpleasant task only to have it postponed
Worrying about not knowing what to say or having the right answers

POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS RESULTS:
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RESULTING EMOTIONS:
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POSSIBLE INTERNAL STRUGGLES:
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PEOPLE WHO COULD BE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED:
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NEGATIVE TRAITS THAT COULD MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE:
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IMPACT ON BASIC NEEDS:
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WOUNDS THIS COULD LEAD TO:
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POSITIVE TRAITS TO HELP THE CHARACTER COPE:
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POSITIVE OUTCOMES:
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