Types of Conflicts
A problem that characters face in a story. What is a conflict? A problem that characters face in a story. Often the climax of the story is connected to the solution to a conflict. There are five types of conflicts.
Man Vs. Self When a character has problem inside of themselves, an internal conflict Examples A small boy trains to make the team A girl learns to respect herself
Two girls fight over a boy Man Vs. Person When a character has a problem with another character Example Two girls fight over a boy
Man Vs. Nature When a character has a problem with weather, animals, or hunger. Example An Eskimo must fish in extreme cold to feed his baby.
Man Vs. Society A character struggles against an issue affecting an entire community. Examples A woman refuses to move to the back of a bus because of the color of her skin. A group of students fight the school over the dress code.
Man Vs. Supernatural A character has a problem with ghosts, monsters, or things not of this world. Super = Beyond Natural = this world Example A child thinks that his house is haunted...
Man vs. Fate/Circumstance Example: Final Destination and Sleeping Beauty The character struggles against fate, or the circumstances of life facing him/her.
Man vs. Technology/Machine Example: The Terminator and Transformers The character struggles with a conflict with a machine or some sort of technology.
Internal/External Conflicts All conflicts are external except Man vs. Self. Man vs. self is an Internal Conflict because it has to do with a character/ person having a conflict with themselves.