100 Internal Conflicts Your Character May Face

Conflict is everything in the story. Without conflict, the narrative is not strong enough to engage the audience. External and internal conflict are necessary to create characters and story arcs that bring the audience into the story and are what keep them invested throughout the entire duration of the movie or TV episode (and series).

Here, we’ve provided 100 essential internal conflicts that you can use for your characters and stories.

100 Internal Conflicts in Screenplays

1. People and Self: Fight personal fears, doubts, or inner demons.
2. Morality and Desire: The conflict between what is right and what is wanted.
3. Responsibility and personal happiness: Balancing obligations with personal well-being.
4. past and present: grappling with past events or decisions.
5. ambition and satisfaction: The desire for success conflicts with the desire for a simple life.
6. independence and belonging: The need for self-identity and the need for integration.
7. courage and fear: Overcome fear and do what is necessary.
8. Confidence and self-doubt: Believing in yourself versus feeling inadequate.
9. Accept and reject: Fear of rejection and desire for authenticity.
10. hope and despair: Keep hope in difficult situations.
11. revenge and forgiveness: Seek revenge or let go and forgive.
12. identity crisis: Struggles with self-consciousness and purpose.
13. truth and deception: Decide whether to tell the truth or maintain a lie.
14. love and responsibility:Choose between love and responsibility.
15. Temptation and virtue: Resist temptation or give in to temptation.
16. accept death: Accept your own death.
17. optimism and pessimism: Stay positive or succumb to negativity.
18. persistence and surrender: Determination in the face of adversity.
19. Guilty and innocence: Fighting feelings of guilt or lack of guilt.
20. attachment and separation: Balance emotional connection and detachment.
21. Self-preservation and sacrifice:Choose your own safety or sacrifice for others.
22. pride and humility: Overcome arrogance or embrace humility.
23. generosity and selfishness: Kind behavior versus self-centered behavior.
24. Trust and Doubt: Build trust or harbor suspicion.
25. Empathy and Indifference: To connect with others or become emotionally distant.
26. pulse control: Resisting impulsive decisions or actions.
27. Public image and authenticity: Maintain illusion and sincerity.
28. deny and accept: Refusal to accept a harsh truth or face it head-on.
29. Vulnerable and invulnerable: To open oneself up to others or to put up walls.
30. freedom and obedience: Embrace individuality and adhere to social norms.
31. Timid and brave: Overcome fear or give in to fear.
32. Materialism and Minimalism: Pursuit of wealth and property versus simplicity.
33. redemption: Seeking to make amends for past mistakes.
34. Grief and moving on: Coping with loss and finding ways to move forward.
35. betrayal and loyalty: Coping with betrayal or maintaining loyalty to others.
36. fullness and emptiness: Seek a fulfilling life instead of feeling empty.
37. despair and patience: Taking action out of desperation versus waiting for the right moment.
38. obsession and balance: Struggling with compulsive behavior or finding balance.
39. Rationality and irrationality: Making logical decisions versus irrational actions.
40. forgiveness and resentment:Choose to forgive or continue to resent.
41. Altruism and self-interest: Act for the greater good rather than pursuing personal gain.
42. accept changes: Accept inevitable change.
43. Addiction and Recovery: Fighting addiction or seeking recovery.
44. Survival instinct and self-sacrifice: Prioritize your own survival or sacrifice for others.
45. Conscience and Immorality: Listening to Conscience and Engaging in Unethical Behavior.
46. Optimism vs. Reality: Balance optimistic and realistic perspectives.
47. parents’ expectations: Meeting or violating parents’ expectations.
48. Skepticism and Faith: struggling with doubt and faith.
49. competition and cooperation: Pursue competition or promote cooperation.
50. sympathy and indifference: Show kindness and empathy rather than indifference.
51. Insecurity and confidence: Overcoming insecurities.
52. Morality and expediency: Choose ethical behavior over expediency.
53. moral integrity: Stand up for your moral principles in challenging situations.
54. Narcissism and selflessness: Balance self-interest with concern for others.
55. Responsibility and irresponsibility: Accept or avoid personal responsibility.
56. fear of failure: Overcome the fear of failure.
57. unrequited love: Coping with unrequited love.
58. Rebellion and obedience: Resistance to authority or conformity to social norms.
59. Defensiveness and Vulnerability: Being on the defensive or making yourself vulnerable.
60. Escapism and reality: Escape from reality or face reality.
61. Regret and Acceptance: Dwelling on past regrets or seeking acceptance.
62. identity theft: Dealing with identity theft or loss of identity.
63. selective memory: Choose to remember or forget certain experiences.
64. aging and mortality: Coping with knowledge of the aging process and death.
65. disloyal: Dealing with the consequences of infidelity.
66. loneliness and connection: Struggling with loneliness or seeking meaningful connection.
67. Integrity and corruption: Maintain integrity or succumb to corruption.
68. Judgment and empathy: Making judgments and showing empathy towards others.
69. fear of unknown: Dealing with the fear of the future.
70. competing desires: Balancing conflicting desires or goals.
71. shortcomings and abilities: Overcoming feelings of inadequacy.
72. Nostalgia and progress: Hold on to the past and embrace change.
73. resentment and forgiveness: Let go of resentment or hold on to it.
74. Hesitation and action: Overcome hesitation and take decisive action.
75. cultural identity:Resolving conflicts related to cultural identity.
76. anger management: Control anger and its destructive potential.
77. perfectionism: The pursuit of perfection and acceptance of flaws.
78. meet expectations: Meet the expectations of others or follow your own path.
79. fear of abandonment: Coping with the fear of abandonment by loved ones.
80. trust issues: Difficulty trusting others due to past experiences.
81. imposter syndrome: Feeling like a fraud despite being successful.
82. Jealousy and contentment: Overcome jealousy and find contentment.
83. happiness and success: Balancing personal happiness and achieving success.
84. Empowerment and Victims: Take control of your life instead of feeling like a victim.
85. Attachment to material wealth: Let go of material attachments.
86. distrust of authority: Questioning authority figures or blindly following them.
87. Confront prejudice: Overcoming personal biases and biases.
88. gender identity: Accept your gender identity.
89. national identity:Resolving conflicts related to racial identity.
90. crisis of faith: Questioning one’s religious beliefs.
91. resist change: Refuse to change or embrace change.
92. Pacifism and Aggression:Choose non-violence or resort to aggression.
93. balance of power: Managing power and its impact on others.
94. existential crisis: Thinking about the meaning of life and existence.
95. desire for revenge: Seeking revenge and letting go of anger.
96. internal strength: Discover and tap into your inner strength.
97. fear of rejection: Confronting the fear of rejection in relationships.
98. fear of commitment: Overcome the fear of relationship commitment.
99. fear of change: Coping with the fear of life changes.
100. ego and humility: Balance ego and pride with humility.

What is external conflict?

Different from internal conflict, external conflict refers to a specific story conflict centered on the protagonist, including all externally manifested conflict elements in the context of the film’s narrative.

The protagonist must undergo a visible physical journey for all to see. Without external conflict, there’s nothing compelling on screen.

External conflict creates an external arc that serves as a conduit that leads the audience into the character’s innermost emotions. Without the outward actions, reactions, and ensuing consequences surrounding the outer conflicts faced by the characters, visual storytelling lacks substance. Film and television rely on their visual qualities to convey compelling stories, so external conflict is a must.

Read more: Actions, Reactions, Consequences: Exploring the Hero’s Outer Arc

What is internal conflict?

Internal Conflict delves into the hidden or overlooked inner emotions of the protagonist and their evolution throughout the story. This becomes the character’s internal arc, which connects to the external arc in the protagonist’s storyline.

External arcs provide a window into a character’s inner emotional landscape. if outer arc Shows the character’s physical journey inner arc is an emotional journey that resonates with the audience – connecting them to the protagonist through empathy and catharsis.

But our primary connection to characters comes not from their outer arcs (unless we personally experience the physical challenges the protagonist faces) but from their inner arcs, because emotions are universally relatable.

• exist Star Warswe may not find common ground with Luke Skywalker embarking on a galactic quest against the Empire. However, we can sympathize with the challenges a young person faces in growing up and finding purpose in life.
• exist Die Hardwe might not agree with a police detective being besieged by terrorists in the Nakatomi Building while trying to save innocent hostages. However, we can sympathize with a man trying to repair his marriage, realizing that he could have done more to save it before disaster struck.
• exist first bloodwe may not sympathize with Special Forces Vietnam veterans fighting alongside the National Guard against local and state authorities. But we can sympathize with a man who returns home and feels adrift in the country he fought for.

You can also use them as fun story prompts to find and develop your next story.

Want more ideas? Check out our other story prompts!

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

As a production writer, he attended numerous studio meetings, meeting with companies such as Sony, DreamWorks, Universal Pictures, Disney and Warner Bros., as well as numerous production and management companies. He previously signed a development deal with Lionsgate and has had several writing assignments, including producing the miniseries BLACKOUT, starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Hayley Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric Larsa and Bruce Bucklina star in the thriller Hunter’s Creed and many more thrillers from Lifetime. Follow Ken on Twitter @ken电影 and Instagram @KenMovies76.