Internal and External Conflict

Identify the struggles that drive a story, both inside and outside a character.

Conflict is the struggle that drives a plot. External conflict pits a character against an outside force: another character, nature, society and its rules, or technology. Internal conflict happens inside a character's mind: a struggle with fear, guilt, a hard decision, or two loyalties. Many strong stories braid both together. Read this: 'The rope bridge swayed over the canyon. Tomas had promised his team he would carry the supplies across, but every time he looked down, his legs locked.

' The canyon is an external obstacle (character versus nature). His fear and his promise create an internal conflict: he must choose between safety and loyalty. Often, resolving the internal conflict is what lets a character face the external one. When analyzing conflict, name the type, give the evidence, and explain how the conflict creates tension in the plot. Asking 'What is stopping this character from getting what they want? ' usually reveals the conflict.

• 1External: character versus another person, nature, society, or technology
• 2Internal: a struggle inside a character's mind
• 3Many stories combine both kinds