Identifying Your Character’s Internal Conflict:
A character traversing a change arc will have one overarching internal struggle that will plague them throughout the story. Because they’ll have to acknowledge and settle this inner conflict to achieve success, it’s vital to know what it is. It can stem from various sources, so use this tool to brainstorm options.

To identify the character’s main internal conflict, establish key pieces of their arc:
Emotional Wound: What traumatic event from the past still haunts your character?
Outer Motivation: What is your character’s main story goal?
Inner Motivation: What missing need will be met by achieving that goal?
To deepen the story, look for places where certain factors might clash (driving the members of your story’s cast apart) or, alternatively, create common ground to bring them together.

Emotional Wound:
Outer Motivation:
Inner Motivation:
Inner Conflict: