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.
Being Given Bad News
Category: Power Struggles, Increased Pressure and Ticking Clocks, Failures and Mistakes, Relationship Friction, Duty and Responsibilities, Moral Dilemmas and Temptation, Losing an Advantage, Loss of Control, Ego, No-Win Situations, Miscellaneous Challenges
Examples:
Being told a loved one was in an accident
That one has cancer or another disease
A promotion went to someone else…
Minor Complications:
Rearranging one’s schedule
Dropping what one’s doing and re-prioritizing
Cancelling plans…
Potentially Disastrous Results:
A money shortage that causes one to default on a mortgage or loan, being unable to cope without the thing that is now missing ( a loved one, steady employment, a place to live)
Giving up on a direction in life because this news was such a setback or disappointment
Jumping into the wrong opportunity out of fear or a need for security without considering possible repercussions and fallout of that choice…
Possible Internal Struggles (Inner Conflict):
Internal struggles with guilt, regret, and feelings of failure
Bouts of depression or anxiety
Worrying about protecting others (dependents, a spouse, the people one leads, etc.)…
People Who Could Be Negatively Affected: family members, one’s spouse, extended family, co-workers, neighbors (this will depend on the type of bad news).
Resulting Emotions: agitation, anguish, anxiety, appalled, betrayed, bitterness, confusion, denial…
Personality Flaws that May Make the Situation Worse: abrasive, addictive, antisocial, controlling, cowardly…
Positive Outcomes:
Gaining perspective about what’s really important in life
Feeling heartened than the outcome wasn’t worse
Realizing one needs an emergency plan and then creating one…
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.
Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.
Fantastic!!! Thank you for sharing!