Types of Conflict in Stories

Why This Matters

Conflict isn't just a story element—it's the engine that makes fiction move. Every scene you write, every character decision, every moment of tension traces back to conflict. In creative writing, you're being tested on your ability to identify, create, and layer conflicts that feel authentic and drive narrative momentum. Understanding conflict types helps you diagnose why a draft feels flat and gives you tools to fix it.

The seven conflict types fall into two fundamental categories: external conflicts (forces outside the character) and internal conflicts (struggles within). The best stories weave multiple conflict types together—a character fighting a storm while battling self-doubt, or rebelling against society because of an internal moral awakening. Don't just memorize these categories—know what emotional and thematic work each conflict type does, and practice recognizing how published authors combine them.

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Internal Conflict: The Battle Within

Internal conflict creates psychological depth and makes readers care about your protagonist. When a character struggles against themselves, the stakes become personal and universal simultaneously.

Person vs. Self

• Internal struggles—doubt, fear, guilt, competing desires—form the emotional core of character-driven fiction
• Identity and transformation emerge naturally from this conflict; the character's arc is the resolution of inner turmoil
• Universal relatability makes this conflict type essential; readers see themselves in characters wrestling with insecurity, temptation, or moral compromise

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Interpersonal Conflict: Character Against Character

Direct opposition between characters creates immediate tension and reveals personality through action. Conflict between people externalizes values, forcing characters to defend what they believe.

Person vs. Person

• Direct opposition between characters—physical, verbal, or ideological—generates the most visible dramatic tension
• Character motivation becomes clear through conflict; what characters fight for reveals who they are
• Plot catalyst function means most stories use this conflict to trigger events, even when deeper conflicts lie beneath

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Environmental Conflict: Forces Beyond Human Control

These conflicts pit characters against impersonal, often overwhelming forces—nature, fate, or the supernatural. The character's agency is tested against powers that cannot be reasoned with or negotiated.

Person vs. Nature

• Survival stakes create primal tension; storms, wilderness, predators, and disease threaten characters physically
• Human limitation becomes the theme; nature doesn't care about your protagonist's goals or morality
• Symbolic resonance allows natural forces to represent emotional states—a blizzard mirroring isolation, a flood representing overwhelming grief

Person vs. Fate/God

• Predetermined outcomes or divine forces challenge whether characters have meaningful choice
• Philosophical weight distinguishes this conflict; it asks whether free will exists and what gives life meaning
• Tragic structure often emerges, as characters struggle against forces they cannot defeat—only accept or defy

Person vs. Supernatural

• Beyond-natural forces—ghosts, demons, magic, mythical creatures—create conflicts that break ordinary rules
• Metaphorical function lets supernatural elements represent real fears: death, guilt, the unknown, loss of control
• Genre flexibility means this conflict appears in horror, fantasy, magical realism, and literary fiction with different tonal effects

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Systemic Conflict: Individual Against Structure

These conflicts position characters against constructed systems—social institutions or technological frameworks. The antagonist isn't a person but a pattern, making victory require changing minds or breaking systems.

Person vs. Society

• Institutional opposition—laws, norms, cultural expectations, class structures—creates conflicts where the enemy is everywhere and nowhere
• Themes of conformity and rebellion emerge naturally; the character must choose between belonging and authenticity
• Social commentary becomes possible; this conflict type lets writers critique real-world systems through fictional stakes

Person vs. Technology

• Human-machine tension explores dependence, surveillance, automation, and the ethics of innovation
• Contemporary relevance makes this conflict increasingly common; AI, social media, and biotechnology offer fresh story material
• Dehumanization fears drive the emotional stakes—will technology serve humanity or replace it?

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Which two conflict types both involve forces that cannot be reasoned with, and how do they differ in what they reveal about characters?

2. If you're writing a story about a whistleblower exposing corporate corruption, which conflict types are likely at play? Identify at least two and explain how they interact.

3. Compare and contrast Person vs. Self and Person vs. Fate/God—both involve internal struggle, but what makes them fundamentally different in terms of character agency?

4. A character is stranded alone on a mountain during a blizzard while struggling with guilt over a past decision. Identify the conflict types present and explain which one should drive the climax if you want an emotionally resonant ending.

5. Why do the most memorable antagonists in Person vs. Person conflicts often trigger Person vs. Self conflicts in the protagonist? Give an example from a story you know.