Finding the Conflict in a Story

"There are five types of conflict situations to be found in stories: inner, relational, social, situational, and cosmic."

Inner conflict occurs when characters are unsure of themselves, or their action, or even what they want.

Relational conflict centers on the mutually exclusive goals of the protagonist and the antagonist.

Social conflict deals with conflict between a person and a group (pitting a person against a larger system).

Situational conflicts develop as characters disagree about how to best survive and within each scene, different points of view emerge. Some characters panic, others become leaders, trying to persuade the group to follow them.

Cosmic conflict occurs between a character and a supernatural force. In order to watch the conflict unfold, we need to see the character project his problems with an invisible force onto a human being who just happens to be in the way."--Linda Seger, Making a Good Script Great.