If your story feels stuck, the problem probably isn’t your characters. Or your prose. Or even your plot.
It’s your conflict—or lack of it.
Conflict is what makes your audience care. It's how you test your characters, raise stakes, and create moments that matter. Whether it's two people in love with opposite goals or one person at war with their own reflection, conflict is the engine that keeps stories alive.
Let’s dig into how to write conflict in a story that actually moves it forward.
What Conflict Actually Means in Storytelling
It’s Not Just Fighting
Conflict isn’t just shouting matches or villain vs. hero showdowns.
It’s anything that puts pressure on your character. Anything that pulls them between what they want and what’s in the way.
It’s the Story’s Core Tension
Without conflict, you don’t have a story. You have a summary.
Conflict creates momentum. And your job is to make sure it builds, escalates, and tightens with every scene.
The 6 Core Types of Conflict (And When to Use Them)
1. Character vs. Self
The internal tug-of-war. Perfect for stories focused on emotional growth, tough decisions, or moral ambiguity.
Example: Frodo fighting the Ring’s influence in LOTR.
2. Character vs. Character
The most obvious—and often the most fun.
Put two people with opposing goals in a room. Let the sparks fly.
Example: Katniss vs. the Careers in The Hunger Games.
3. Character vs. Society
When your character challenges norms, systems, or injustice.
Example: Tris in Divergent challenging a faction-based system.
4. Character vs. Nature
Storms, wilderness, time running out. Great for survival stories or characters up against something massive.
Example: The Martian. One dude vs. Mars.
5. Character vs. Supernatural
Ghosts, curses, fate, mythic forces. Useful for horror, fantasy, or spiritual battles.
6. Character vs. Technology
AI, surveillance, dystopian tech-gone-wrong.
Example: Jurassic Park. Humans vs. hubris-coded dinosaurs.
The Rules of Writing Great Conflict
Rule #1: Start With What They Want
No desire = no tension.
Figure out what your character wants and why it matters to them. Then threaten it. Complicate it. Give it a cost.
[.ai-prompt]Use this AI prompt to help you out:
"My character wants [insert desire]. What are 3 emotionally or physically dangerous ways I can block that goal in the story?"[.ai-prompt]
Rule #2: Make Opposing Forces Just as Strong
A weak antagonist (person, system, belief, etc.) makes the win feel cheap. Conflict works when the opposition is just as compelling and justified.
Even better? When both sides are right and wrong.
Rule #3: Layer Internal and External
Conflict hits harder when the battle outside mirrors the one inside.
Does the protagonist have to stand up to the villain and overcome self-doubt? Now we’re cooking.
Rule #4: Escalate or Die
Flat conflict is a snooze.
Raise the stakes. Tighten the screws. Take away options. Introduce consequences.
The longer the audience is unsure how it ends, the more glued they are.
Rule #5: Don’t Let It Solve Too Easily
No one wants a “just kidding!” resolution.
Make the character earn their outcome. The win should cost something.
The Old Man and the Sea
At first glance, it's man vs. marlin. But it’s really Santiago vs. everything stacked against him—old age, failure, pride, and the relentless ocean. The fish is just the surface-level tension. What keeps the story alive is how deeply personal the struggle becomes. It’s not about the catch. It’s about proving he still can.
The Hunger Games
Katniss isn’t just surviving the arena. She’s navigating a system rigged against her, forming fragile alliances, battling fear and guilt, and trying to protect the people she loves. The beauty of this story is how each level of conflict—external and internal—tightens with every decision she makes. Every arrow she fires is about more than aim. It’s about intention.
Lord of the Rings
This one is conflict lasagna.
Frodo is fighting the pull of the Ring. Sam is battling hopelessness. Gandalf and Saruman’s ideological clash drives entire wars. And even the smaller characters, like Boromir, wrestle with desire and duty. Every journey has tension. Every choice matters. And every character is tested in ways only they could be.
Jurassic Park
Yes, it’s man vs. dinosaur. But the real threat is unchecked ambition. The conflict isn’t just about surviving velociraptors—it’s about surviving our own arrogance. Ian Malcolm isn’t wrong when he warns them: they were so preoccupied with whether they could they didn’t stop to think if they should.
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Chaos personified. On the surface: a mother fighting through infinite multiverse versions of herself to save her daughter. Underneath? It's a story about meaning, regret, identity, and connection. The googly eyes and absurdist comedy don’t distract from the conflict—they amplify it. The emotional core of the story—parent and child trying to understand each other—gives the cosmic conflict its real weight.
Writing Subtle Internal Conflict
Not all conflict needs fireworks.
Some of the best tension comes from quiet resistance, restrained emotion, and emotional pressure just under the surface.
Use:
- Subtext-heavy dialogue
- Actions that contradict words
- Delayed decisions
Conflict Isn’t a Scene. It’s the Glue.
Connect Every Part of the Story With Tension
If a scene has no conflict, it better be setting up a big one.
Use conflict to shape:
- Scene transitions
- Character arcs
- Theme development
Use the Storyteller OS to Track It All
StoryFlint’s Storyteller OS helps you plan conflicts that build and connect.
You can:
- Map internal + external conflict by character
- Track where tension spikes or drops
- Connect plot, arcs, and themes in one view
Want conflict that doesn’t fizzle out halfway through? This system helps you build it to last.
Final Thoughts: Don’t Be Nice to Your Characters
You love them. Sure.
But your job is to challenge them.
Push. Twist. Confront. Break a few things.
That’s how characters grow—and how stories get good.
Want more help building emotional arcs that fuel conflict? Check out this article on how emotional stakes shape story conflict. It’s packed with insights to make sure your characters aren’t just tested—but transformed.
