CONFLICT THESAURUS

WORK-LIFE BALANCE BEING THREATENED



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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, power struggles, loss of control, ego-related conflict

EXAMPLES:
A divorce making it hard for the character to concentrate at work 
Having to plan a funeral for a loved one during a peak sale season
A co-worker quitting, leaving the character with double the workload
Employers hinting that the character should postpone maternity leave
Having to leave an important meeting to bail an adult sibling out of lockup
An injury or chronic illness that limits one's ability to work (prolonged sitting becoming painful, the character having limited mobility or suffering migraines when staring at a screen, etc.)
Bills piling up and forcing the character to take a second or third job 
Starting a new job just as a home sells and the character needs to move
Being called at work because an elderly loved one has fallen at the care home
One's work-from-home situation being threatened by a child's suspension or a partner also working from home
Struggling with an addiction or battling a mental condition
An important deadline being moved to coincide with a spouse's due date
Having to step in to coach little league while working weekends
Travel becoming a regular part of the job, adding friction to an already stressed marital relationship

MINOR COMPLICATIONS:
Having to readjust and needing time to do that
Other people being negatively affected
Friction with loved ones 
One's schedule being turned upside down
Being preoccupied with work and not being present with family
Needing to cancel or rearrange commitments
Having to give up leisure or personal care activities
Not receiving empathy from others
Being reprimanded at work or missing out on promising professional opportunities
Becoming the target of office gossip

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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