We’ve talked about conflict and how the main character in your story needs to face obstacles as he sets out to achieve his objective. Most often that conflict comes in the form of an antagonist (or villain) who stands opposed to the hero of the story. That is not always the case, however. Not every story has a “bad guy.” 

When you study literature, you will find discussions over different types of narrative conflict in stories. I’ve seen four main types listed. I’ve seen seven main types. I’m going to list all that I know of and let them inspire you with new ideas to consider.

Man vs. Man

As already stated, Man vs. Man stories are the most common you’ll find in literature, television, movies, and theater. There is just something that feels natural about having an opponent to face. These could be a wide variety of situations. It could be an athletic encounter, like Daniel taking on the leader of the Cobra Kai in a tournament in Karate Kid. It could be a quest like in the movie Rat Race where different groups of people are all trying to be the first to reach Silver City, New Mexico and find the two million dollar prize money. It could be any war story plot with one side fighting another, or something as basic as the fight for an object like in Guardians of the Galaxy as Peter Quill and his friends fight against Ronan over the Infinity Stone. One chilling example is Lord of the Flies, in which children fight against each other to survive.

Man vs. Beast

In a Man vs. Beast story, your hero is fighting for survival against some sort of creature—usually a predator. Some teachers say that beasts are part of nature, but I think they have a lot more personality, especially if you add a supernatural or extraterrestrial element. Think stories like Peter Benchley’s Jaws, Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park, Frank Peretti’s Monster, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, or even Rick Yancey’s The Fifth Wave.

Man vs. Nature

I’ve always called Man vs. Nature tales disaster stories. Some teachers say that Nature cannot be a true form of opposition since it doesn’t have free will. Well, perhaps those teachers don’t read much fantasy. In Shannon’s Winter White and Wicked, Winter is the antagonist (though she is also a deity, so consider combining some of these types of opposition for something more unique). Most often, however, nature comes in the form of weather. This could be the cold like in Charles Martin’s The Mountain Between Us. It could be a hurricane like in Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm, or being stranded in the ocean in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. It could be a disease like the yellow fever plague in Laurie Halse Anderson’s Fever 1793. It could also tell the story of an asteroid headed to earth like in the movie Armageddon. 

Man vs. Fate/God/Supernatural

These types of stories pit man against the gods or some sort of supernatural element. One could argue whether ghost stories belong here or in the vs. beast or vs. man categories, but I’m calling them supernatural. So here you could have stories where the hero is in conflict with the gods like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey or the movie Clash of the Titans. You could also have a story where the main character wrestles with God like in William Young’s The Shack. Ghost stories like the movie The Others, or stories about cursed or haunted places like Stephen King’s The Shining could also fall under this category.

Man vs. Society

Some stories have the hero facing the corruption of society or an institution. Many dystopian stories fall under this category, like George Orwell’s 1984, though some might also have a Man vs. Man element too like in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy or in the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth.

Man vs. Technology

In stories where man is fighting against technology, the technology has gotten too powerful to control. Think movies like The Terminator, Avengers: Age of Ultron, or Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot in which technology is trying to take over the world. In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, technology has made people numb to life and human decency.

Man vs. Self

The last category of narrative conflict is Man vs. Self. These tend to be more literary, introspective stories where the main character goes through a personal crisis, a transition, or is forced to face his own skewed belief system, prejudices, or failures. These are often movies many teenagers find boring, yet win Academy Awards. Movies like A Beautiful Mind, Almost Famous, American Beauty, and Ordinary People. The middle grade novel Stargirl has a Man vs. Self feel as Leo struggles with how he should act around Stargirl and tends to cause most of his problems himself. And Jack London’s Call of the Wild is technically an Animal vs. Self story as Buck learns to cast off his training, embrace his primal instincts, and survive in the wild.

Have you ever written a story that had another type of narrative conflict than man vs. man? Share in the comments.

Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms, and the author of several young adult fantasy novels including the Blood of Kings trilogy. She loves teaching about writing. She blogs at goteenwriters.com and also posts writing videos on her YouTube channel and on Instagram. Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant. She grew up in Alaska without running water or electricity and now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two kids. Find Jill online at jillwilliamson.com or on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.