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Dictionary by pitch.dog
Conflict, stakes, wants & objectives · Core

External conflict

Also called: outer conflict

ELI5

A struggle between a character and another person, force, institution or circumstance.

Used in conversation

“The external conflict needs to land without a long explanation.”

Pitch context

You may encounter “External conflict” in story, structure & screenplay conversations or materials.

Why it matters: Helps describe how a story works on the page and how its dramatic parts fit together.

Connected terms

  • OppositionComputed from definition language and shared taxonomy. This indicates proximity, not synonymy.
When the words have to travel

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Sources & evidence · 4

Supporting source families. This entry is an editorial synthesis rather than a quotation from one canonical glossary.