- Character Struggling Internally With Self: Sometimes conflict is internal. When a character struggles with moral dilemmas, emotional challenges or desires he or she deems unsavory, the conflict is with the character's own soul or conscience.Just because conflict is internal does not make the conflict any less compelling or exciting.
Character Struggling Against Another Character: This is the most obvious form of conflict, when a character in a book struggles with another character in the book. This can be in the form of arguments, conflicting desires, opposing goals, physical confrontations or emotional dilemmas.
- Character Struggling Against Forces of Nature: Sometimes all the characters in the book are the good guys and the conflict in the book is between all the people and forces of nature that are out of the characters' control. In The Stand the people are pitted against a virus that rage out of control, wiping out large portions of the population.
- Character Struggling Against Society: When the character is repressed by society and not by a specific character, the conflict takes place between that character and society. One example of conflict between society and the main character is Frankenstein, in which the monster faces the judgment and horror expressed by all of society, leaving him loveless and despondent.
- Character Struggling Against Fantasy/Supernatural/Technology: This type of conflict is usually found in specific genres of literary style, such as fantasy, science fiction, horror and supernatural books. When the character comes up against poltergeists, robots, aliens, divine forces or supernatural villains, the main character must call upon his or her strength to defeat the fantastic enemy confronting him or her.
