The Different Types of Conflict in Literature
What kept you reading the last book you couldn’t put down?
Chances are, it wasn’t just beautiful prose or an interesting setting. It was conflict that pulled you through till 3 am in the morning.
We mainly read a story to understand these: how characters navigate challenges, how they transform through struggles, and how they reveal something about the human condition.
Different types of conflict do this by:
- Driving the plot forward with tension and purpose
- Revealing characters’ deepest motivations and vulnerabilities
- Creating emotional investment that pulls readers into the narrative
- Exploring complex themes beyond surface-level storytelling
- Making your characters’ journeys feel authentic and meaningful
All in all, any good story is powered by its conflicts! Without conflict and conflict resolution, characters have nothing to overcome, no reason to change and readers have no reason to care.
So, without further ado, let’s understand the types of conflict and how they function and intertwine so you can craft stories that resonate.
What is an Internal Conflict?
Internal types of conflict happen when your character’s mind and heart are at war with each other.
Be it battling their doubts, fears, competing desires, and/or moral dilemmas, when your character goes through them, you know it’s an internal conflict.
Internal conflicts add psychological depth to characters, making them relatable and human.
The 3 Main Types of Internal Conflicts
There are three main types of inner conflicts.
1. Moral conflict add layers to your character’s character
Characters facing tough ethical choices create deep internal type of conflicts.
Let’s take Frodo Baggins’s example from Lord of the Rings.
As Frodo carries the One Ring to Mount Doom, he faces a relentless internal struggle.
He understands that destroying it is the only way to save Middle-Earth, but the Ring constantly tempts him, whispering promises of power and control. The longer he bears its weight, the more it twists his mind.
He becomes possessive, growing jealous when others so much as glance at it. Gollum exploits this paranoia, convincing Frodo that Sam is after the Ring, leading Frodo to push away his closest friend.
Each step toward Mount Doom is not just a physical trial but a battle against the Ring’s corrupting influence, testing whether his sense of duty can withstand its grip.
2. Psychological conflict drives your character’s profile
Another type of internal conflict is when characters battle mental health issues, addiction or past trauma.
Jay Gatsby from the book The Great Gatsby is a classic example. You know how he’s haunted by his past and obsessed with recreating it? He believed that he could win Daisy back if he just amassed enough wealth and status.
His psychological struggle with identity, longing, and self-worth stands out! It also drives his every action, making his story a tragedy of internal psychological type of conflict.
3. Emotional conflict makes you think that you are the main character
We all have emotional conflicts, commonly known as relationship conflicts. It could include conflicting emotions like love and hate, loyalty and betrayal or hope and despair.
Think of how Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice wrestles with her feelings for Mr. Darcy, torn between her initial prejudice and growing admiration.
Her conflict between pride, personal values and love makes her character’s conflict type added to the overall story arc.
3 Ways to Write About Internal Types of Conflicts
Here’s how you can create intriguing internal conflicts in your story:
1. Use thoughts, body language, and subtext to show and not tell
Rather than explicitly stating a character’s internal conflict (or self-conflict), show it. You can do it through:
- Physical reactions (clenched fists, racing heart)
- Contradictory behaviors (saying one thing while doing another)
- Small decisions that reveal inner turmoil
In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen reveals Elizabeth’s conflicted feelings about Darcy not through direct statements but through her changing reactions. When his name is mentioned, she becomes defensive in her responses and thoughtful in her reconsiderations of their interactions.
Now, these added subtexts to her changing choices. That makes sense, right?
2. Add inner monologues, unreliable narrators, and interpersonal conflicts
First-person narration and interior monologues give readers direct access to a character’s inner conflicts.
What that means is that by using “I” and sharing the main character’s direct thoughts, feelings, and perceptions, this narrative technique offers an unfiltered view of the character’s inner landscape.
Similarly, interior monologues take this intimacy even further. They reveal a character’s most private thoughts, often exposing the gap between what a character says out loud and what they’re truly thinking.
Unreliable narrators like Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, create an additional layer of internal conflict. Here, readers have to sort through what the narrator believes versus what might actually be happening. Intriguing, right?
3. Use symbolism and foreshadowing in internal conflicts
Physical objects or recurring motifs can make internal struggles external.
Think of Jay Gatsby’s green light in The Great Gatsby. The green light, which shines at the end of Daisy Buchanan’s dock, symbolizes:
- Gatsby’s ultimate dream is to be reunited with Daisy and relive their past love (relationship conflict management with his present and future self)
- It also represents the distance between them – both physically across the bay and emotionally due to time, social class, and circumstances.
No matter how much Gatsby reaches for it, just like he reaches for his dream, it remains just out of his grasp, highlighting his inner conflict between hope and the painful reality that his dream may never come true.
It further tells of his longing for the past, his obsession with Daisy, and his complete refusal to accept reality.
Every time he reaches for the light, it foreshadows his inevitable downfall. Ultimately, mirroring his internal struggle between hope and self-deception.
Now do you believe in a conflict’s magic in your story?
What is an External Conflict?
This happens when your main character struggles with an outside force.
It includes battles against other characters, society, nature, technology, or even supernatural forces.
This type of conflict creates obstacles that push the story forward. They are made to test the protagonist’s resilience, beliefs, and their choices.
5 Common Types of External Conflicts
Below we explore main types of external conflicts.
1. Character vs. character plots add thrill to your story
This is the classic clash between two individuals. Whether it’s an outright rivalry, a battle of wits, or simply a struggle of opposing ideals.
Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty for example. Holmes represents logic and justice. Moriarty, on the other hand, embodies chaos and crime. Due to their task conflicts, they aren’t able to collaborate or coexist peacefully.
Their conflict resolution isn’t just about intelligence. It’s a battle of worldviews, making their encounters thrilling.
2. Character vs. nature creates primal conflict in your story
When the main characters battle nature’s conflicts, survival itself becomes the central conflict management.
In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen faces the relentless dangers of the arena. Everything from harsh weather to scarce food to deadly traps.
She’s not just fighting against other tributes; she’s battling starvation, dehydration and the unforgiving environment designed to break her.
Nature, quite literally, was her greatest opponent. And her ability to adapt, find food and endure extreme conditions, is her biggest strategy. You can also think about workplace conflict here, when you don’t control the consequences.
3. Character vs. society adds cultural prejudices
Unlike, task conflicts, characters who challenge social norms, unjust systems or cultural expectations face conflict management with society itself.
In 1984, Winston Smith fought against a totalitarian regime. His struggle isn’t just against Big Brother but against society. A society that punishes independent thought AND controls every aspect of his life.
This type of conflict resolution challenges everything for a compelling character. His beliefs, his morality, and his ability to resist conformity.
4. Character vs. technology adds nuance to your story
As technology advances, this conflict type has become increasingly prevalent. Characters might battle artificial intelligence, surveillance systems or tech gone awry.
Remember when Victor Frankenstein’s creation turns against him? It ends up showcasing the dangers of playing god.
The monster isn’t just a creature, it’s a representation of the unintended consequences, i.e. the unintended consequences of creation or playing god to something that has free will. Ones that were left unchecked, driven by ambition and tech progress.
5. Character vs. supernatural adds struggles that nobody sees coming
These are conflicts that compelling characters face when fighting against supernatural forces, monsters, or alien beings.
The conflict often represents human fears of the unknown. Or, the struggle against unpredictable forces. So, it’s also referred to as fate conflict.
In Macbeth, the three witches set Macbeth on a path of destruction, representing fate, temptation, and the power of the unknown.
His battle with supernatural prophecy ultimately mirrors his battle with his ambition and guilt. The thrill of not knowing makes the story worth every minute spent on it.
4 Tips to Write a Great External Conflict
Great external conflicts aren’t just about big battles or dramatic showdowns. They shape the entire character arc and keep readers engaged. Here’s how to craft them effectively:
What Happens at the Intersection of Internal and External Conflicts?
The greatest stories feature both types of conflict working together.
Outside conflicts often trigger or intensify internal ones. While inner conflicts affect how characters approach external challenges.
Together, They Intensify.
Consider Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games again. She isn’t just fighting to survive the Hunger Games. She’s fighting to keep her humanity.
Every death chips away at her soul, forcing her to wrestle with this brutal moral question: Can she do what she needs to do without losing who she is?
What makes her incredible is how her love for her sister, Prim, completely overrides her survival instinct. When she volunteers as tribute, it’s not heroism. It’s pure, raw love that becomes the spark of something much bigger.
Do you see how these two types of conflict work in tandem to make a great story like The Hunger Games?
Layered Conflict Arcs Evolve
Strong stories feature conflicts that evolve together. As characters overcome initial external obstacles, they face new ones that challenge them in different ways, forcing growth and adaptation.
Michael Corleone in The Godfather begins with an external conflict (protecting his family from rival gangs) but faces an increasingly complex inner conflict as he transforms from reluctant outsider to ruthless don.
His character arc is defined by how these conflicts change him.
Let’s take a look at how Severus Snape (from the Harry Potter series) handles both types of conflict
Externally, Snape is seen navigating the war between Voldemort and the Order of the Phoenix.
Internally, he struggles with his unrequited love for Lily Potter, his hatred for James Potter and his quest for redemption.
These tangled conflicts make him one of literature’s most complex characters!
7 Ways to Write Conflict that Stand Out
If your conflict feels predictable or shallow, readers won’t be invested. Here are 7 ways to make sure your story’s tension grabs them and doesn’t let go.
1. Make It Personal
The best conflicts aren’t just about external battles; they cut deep, hitting characters where it hurts the most.
If your character doesn’t care about what’s at stake, why should your reader?
Take Hermione Granger for example. As a Muggle-born witch, her fight against Voldemort is deeply personal. His ideology seeks to oppress and eliminate witches and wizards like her, making her very existence a challenge to his beliefs.
When she launches S.P.E.W. (Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare) to protect house elves, she’s not just making a political statement, she’s challenging an entire system.
Her external conflict becomes a nuanced battle for dignity and equality, transforming a simple good-versus-evil narrative into something profoundly human.
2. Create Conflict that Doesn’t Have an Easy Way Out
Nothing kills tension faster than an obvious solution.
The best conflicts back characters into a corner, where every choice carries weight.
If there’s a simple way out, the stakes aren’t high enough.
3. Make it Hit Emotionally
Conflict should feel as intense as it sounds.
If a character is fighting for their life but we don’t see the fear, the exhaustion or the hope slipping away, the moment falls flat.
Readers connect with emotions, not just action.
4. Throw in Surprises
If readers can predict what’s going to happen next, the conflict loses its power.
Twists don’t have to be shocking. They just need to challenge expectations.
A betrayal from an ally, a hidden truth coming to light or a sudden shift in power can all turn the conflict on its head in an organic way.
5. Make the Odds Unfair
A great conflict puts the protagonist at a serious disadvantage. If they have the upper hand or an easy path to victory, where’s the suspense?
The more outmatched your character is, the more satisfying it is when they finally start to turn the tide. That is if they even can!
6. Let Conflict Change the Character
A well-written conflict doesn’t leave characters the same.
Whether they rise to the challenge, break under the pressure or become something they never expected, the struggle should leave a mark.
Ask yourself by the end of the story, how is my character different than when it started?
7. Let Conflict Reveal Unsettling or Hidden Truths
Some of the best conflicts don’t just challenge the protagonist. They reveal something uncomfortable, either about:
- Protagonist themselves
- Someone they love
- The world they thought they knew
All in all, conflict should strip away illusions.
Summing Up the Art of Conflict
Just like your life story is boring without conflicts, your character’s story is too.
Conflicts are more than just something bad happening to your character. It’s their crucible. One that reveals who they truly are or the engine that drives meaningful change for them.
After all, the unforgettable stories weave these two conflicts together so beautifully that they create layers of tension that resonate intellectually and emotionally.
We can finally agree that it’s not in moments of comfort but in moments of conflict that we discover who we truly are. And that’s a truth you want to write about.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Types of Conflict
Here we answered your questions about conflicts in writing:
How does internal conflict differ from and external conflict?
Internal conflict occurs within a character’s mind, involving personal struggles, moral dilemmas, or emotional challenges.
External conflict involves tangible obstacles between the character and their goals, such as other characters, nature, or societal systems.
How do I create conflict?
Here are five steps to create conflict for your narrative:
- Make the stakes personal and meaningful
- Ensure conflicts arise naturally from the characters’ motivations
- Create obstacles that challenge characters genuinely
- Avoid contrived or artificial conflicts
- Allow characters to grow through their struggles
How much conflict is too much?
Balance is key in any story. So, conflict should drive the narrative while revealing character. Creating meaningful tension does not overwhelm the story’s core themes. The way to balance it in your story is to allow moments of resolution and character reflection.
How do professional writers approach conflict?
Conflict is a surgical tool for character dissection. So the most powerful conflicts reveal a character’s soul, challenge their deepest motivations, and expose the complex truths hidden beneath their surface.
By creating multi-layered challenges that resonate with a character’s core, you transform conflict from a mere plot device into a profound exploration of human nature.
Where can I learn more about developing conflict in my writing?
The best way to learn to develop conflict in your writing is by going to writing workshops, creative writing courses, and genre-specific novels that break down narrative craft.
Finding writing conferences, devouring books on story structure, and studying how master writers build compelling narratives is another way.
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