CONFLICT THESAURUS

HAVING TO PICK THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS



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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:
No-win scenarios, failures and mistakes, moral dilemmas and temptations, increased pressure and ticking clocks, loss of control

EXAMPLES:
Injuring or killing someone in self-defense
Having an abortion or facing pregnancy-related medical risks
Seeking a medical solution that will have severe side effects or letting a serious illness go untreated
Allowing parents to choose one's marriage or career (thereby maintaining the relationship) or defying them to pursue personal happiness (and risking alienation)
Making the choice to succumb to blackmail rather than be exposed
Ending a close but toxic relationship
Choosing a high-paying job that compromises the character's morals or a financially dissatisfying job that allows them to be true to their values
Having to lay off employees to save a business or hold onto them, causing the company to go under
Going public with a scandal and becoming a target (instead of turning a blind eye and remaining safe)
Surrendering a dream to meet someone else's basic needs (by taking in an ailing parent or allocating finances to help an underserved portion of the population) or fulfilling one's ambition and living with uncertainty or guilt
Having to choose between putting a critically ill pet to sleep or going into debt to secure an expensive treatment

MINOR COMPLICATIONS:
Knowing a decision must be made and none of the results will be satisfying
A relationship being damaged
The character being criticized by others for their impossible choice
Making the best decision and still having to live with unpleasant results
Mental distress from being in the situation
In the wake of the character's indecision, someone else stepping in and choosing the option the character is most opposed to
Feeling misunderstood by others
Having to justify the choice to those who have something at stake

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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