1. Conflict

2. A conflict is a problem or a struggle in a story between two opposing forces.
There are two different types of conflict:
External Conflict
Internal Conflict

3. External Conflict Internal Conflict Person Versus Person
Person Versus Society
Person Versus Nature
Person Versus Fate
Internal Conflict
Person Versus Self

4. External Conflict Person Versus Person
This type of external conflict involves one person in a struggle or a problem with another person.
More than likely, one character is the protagonist (trying to accomplish a goal), and the other is the antagonist (character trying to stop another from achieving a goal).

5. External Conflict Person Versus Society
This type of external conflict involves one person in a struggle or a problem with a group.
An example of this type of conflict might involve a protagonist who is trying to gain acceptance or create change with others.

6. External Conflict Person Versus Nature
This type of external conflict involves one person in a struggle against nature.
An example of this type of conflict might involve a protagonist who is trying to survive in nature. The character is awaiting rescue and/or trying to find his/her way back to civilization. Think of Man Vs. Wild.

7. External Conflict Person Versus Fate
This type of external conflict involves one person in a struggle against his/her own fate or destiny.
Some believe that our future has been predetermined. In other words, it’s been set, and there’s nothing we can do to alter its course. In Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, many question whether it was fate or free will that caused the deaths of the two characters.

8. Internal Conflict Person Versus Self
An internal conflict is when a character has a problem or struggle within. The character is trying to decide what to do or what to think.
An example might be a protagonist in a story who has low self-esteem. This character may be struggling within because he/she views him/herself as being inferior to others.
Another example might involve a character in a story who is struggling with a
difficult decision (moral dilemma) or a guilty conscience.

9. Review
What’s the difference between an external conflict and an internal conflict?
Can there be both types of conflicts in the same story?
Be able to explain and identify each of the following as either external or internal conflict:
Person Vs. Person
Person Vs. Society
Person Vs. Nature
Person Vs. Fate
Person Vs. Self