CONFLICT THESAURUS

UNDERESTIMATING DANGER



Never struggle with Show-and-Tell again. Activate your free trial or subscribe to view the Conflict Thesaurus in its entirety, or visit the Table of Contents to explore unlocked entries.

CHOOSE MY PLAN

HELPFUL TIP:

Conflict is your story’s secret sauce, supplying tension, friction, and complications to a character’s journey. It comes in a million different forms, so identify the obstacles and problems that will hit your character the hardest by using the Character Builder to uncover their primary insecurities, fears , and desires. Don’t forget to include everyday conflict scenarios that will frustrate them and keep the pressure high.
CATEGORY:
Failures and mistakes, relationship friction, increased pressure and ticking clocks, dangers and threats

NOTES:
This entry highlights conflict scenarios resulting from a character's misreading of a dangerous or life-threatening situation. For mistakes that aren't quite as serious, see HAVING POOR JUDGMENT.

EXAMPLES:
The character accepting a ride from a stranger 
Sustaining an injury after ignoring a hazard while hiking, skiing, or boating
Venturing out to drive in unsafe conditions
Getting too close to a wild animal
Taking a shortcut through a high crime neighborhood
Underestimating the number of drinks a friend has had and assuming they're fine to drive
Undergoing a risky elective surgical procedure that goes wrong
Deciding to ride out a hurricane or snowstorm that ends up being much more dangerous than anticipated
Opening the apartment building door to someone who has violent intentions
Meeting someone for the first time in a secluded place 
Leaving one's children at home alone when they're not responsible or mature enough
Leaving a small child unattended near a hazard (a steep hill, a pool, an open gate to the street)
The character believing they can manage their addiction
Attempting to break up a fistfight that escalates when someone pulls a weapon
Jumping into a body of water without knowing its depth or what lies beneath the surface
Putting off critical medical care for oneself or a family member

MINOR COMPLICATIONS:
Sustaining a minor injury, such as bruises or scrapes
Getting a ticket or being fined
Having to go hungry because the character didn't stockpile enough resources to outlast a major weather event
Having to rely on strangers for assistance
Having to shelter in place
A disruption in cell service making it difficult for the character to call for help
Having to hide or wait out a threat (say, for an animal to move on from the area, or for the tide to go out, etc.)
Initiating a lengthy legal battle against a medical practitioner
Getting into a minor car accident
Being stuck for a prolonged amount of time with people the character doesn't like
Having to be rescued by police, firefighters, or paramedics 
Facing the danger alone, without any help 

POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS RESULTS:
...

RESULTING EMOTIONS:
...

POSSIBLE INTERNAL STRUGGLES:
...

PEOPLE WHO COULD BE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED:
...

NEGATIVE TRAITS THAT COULD MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE:
...

IMPACT ON BASIC NEEDS:
...

WOUNDS THIS COULD LEAD TO:
...

POSITIVE TRAITS TO HELP THE CHARACTER COPE:
...

POSITIVE OUTCOMES:
...