6 Ways Your Setting Can Create Conflict

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Setting can play a much bigger role in your story’s conflict that you might realize.

No matter what form it takes, conflict is at the core of every story. It’s part of what drives the plot, and it’s what makes readers eager to read on to see if the protagonist succeeds. Characters face problem after problem, and with each trouble found, they’re forced to make tough decisions about what to do next. It’s this constant flow of dealing with problems that keeps the story moving.

But conflict also exists in the world around the characters which has nothing to do with them personally—it’s just the inherent conflict of the world. The setting can be rife with problems that prevent your protagonist from solving their problems and even add to their internal conflicts.
 

Sometimes, the world really is out to get you.

These environmental conflicts are the issues and situations that make it harder for the protagonist to face the challenges of the novel. Getting food when you live in a big city is different from getting food if you’re lost in the woods with no gear or survival training. Dealing with a backstabbing co-worker during a team-building ride in a hot air balloon is more problematic when you’re terrified of heights.

Let's say you have a scene where you want your protagonist to feel uncomfortable because they’re confronting a coworker who just stabbed them in the back over a promotion. They’re uncertain about their actions, because it could backfire on them and create more trouble than losing a promotion.

Where would you set it?

The most obvious choice is at work, since that's where they interact with this person. They'd likely do it somewhere familiar, because they'll want a position of strength for this confrontation. But that means they'll be in familiar and safe territory, which will probably keep them calm and lessen their apprehension of this meeting. Being calm and feeling safe will not add conflict to this scene, so the setting is doing nothing to help it.

Instead, what if you moved this meeting to a location that put the protagonist at a disadvantage, so the stakes go up and the tensions are raised? Choose a place that makes them uncomfortable and let the setting reflect the emotions you want both the character and the reader to feel.

For example, if they want to confront the coworker in private, force them to confront that coworker in a public place where anyone might overhear. What they’re willing to say to someone in private changes when they have to say it in a room full of people. If they’re a recovering alcoholic, send them into a bar where drinks are flowing heavily. If they dislike kids, make them attend a birthday party for twenty ten-year-olds. Whatever triggers their discomfort is a potential setting, because it will add another layer of difficulty to their objective.

If you use the environment to push the emotions of the protagonist to new heights, you'll make those goals harder to accomplish, which adds conflict and raises tensions, since it's far more likely something will go wrong.

Let’s look at some ways you might use your setting to add conflict to a scene.

1. Choose a location that puts the protagonist at a disadvantage.

Look for places that will force the protagonist into a position of weakness. It might be on the enemy’s turf or an unfamiliar location, as long as the setting strips away whatever inherent advantage the protagonist might have had.

(Here’s more with How the Setting Raises Tension in Your Novel)

2. Choose a location that has inherent conflict of its own.

If there’s conflict all around, that naturally spills over onto the protagonist and their current problem. A war-torn land, office politics, political strife, even the teenage cliques and social hierarchy of high school can provide additional challenges to solving a problem.

(Here’s more with If You Can Make it There... How Setting Can Affect Your Story)

3. Let the environment add another layer of difficulty to the task.

Weather can be an interesting factor here, as overcoming a challenge is usually much harder when the weather is bad. Unfamiliar terrain could hinder achieving a goal, such as being in a new city, or being forced to go out onto a lake when you’re not sure how to sail—or swim.

(Here’s more with Creating Story Tension: Rooms with an Unexpected View)

4. Let the setting mirror or echo the emotional state of the character.

Tone and mood can be useful tools here, with stormy weather or creepy locations adding atmosphere, but the setting can also contain elements that resonate with the protagonist’s current conflict. A reconciliation dinner with a loved one who betrayed you is going to be much harder if there’s a couple at the next table who is clearly having an affair.

(Here’s more with Leave a Message at the Tone: Setting the Right Tone for Your Novel)

5. Use an environment that presses one of the protagonist’s buttons.

If there’s something that sets off your protagonist, why not have elements of that during a difficult time? If your amateur sleuth has strong views on sexism, put the witness they need to question behind the bar during a wet t-shirt contest. Give them reasons to trigger a side of themselves that will cloud their judgment or color their opinion.

(Here’s more with The Power of Small Problems: Elevate Your Plot with Little Conflicts)

6. Use a setting that shows others having a similar conflict.

Being stranded by a delayed flight at the airport is a pain, but being one of thirty passengers all upset over the delay exacerbates the problem. Tensions rise and everything becomes more difficult, and people who would normally be agreeable might not want to compromise. Sometimes, problems shared do not ease the burden at all.

(Here’s more with How Unanticipated Interactions Can Elevate Tension)

If just getting through the day is a huge challenge, every problem a character has becomes worse.

Environmental conflicts are often smaller elements of the story, but they can add a rich and textured aspect to that story. Take advantage of what your environment can do to layer in emotions, create conflict, and make a character really work to resolve their challenges.

EXERCISE FOR YOU: Pick a scene in your current book and brainstorm ways the setting might affect it. How might the environment cause trouble or make things harder? Could it offer the solution to the protagonist’s problem? Is there any way the setting could cause emotional turmoil or add to an already stressful situation? It doesn’t have to be a huge effect, so look for small effects as well.

How does your setting create conflict in your story?

*Originally published September 2017 on Writers in the Storm. Last updated October 2024.

Find out more about conflict, stakes, and tension in my book, Understanding Conflict (And What It Really Means).

With in-depth analysis and easy-to-understand examples, Understanding Conflict (And What It Really Means) teaches you what conflict really is, discusses the various aspects of conflict, and reveals why common advice on creating conflict doesn't always work. It shows you how to develop and create conflict in your novel and explores aspects that affect conflict, as well as clarifying the misconceptions that confuse and frustrate so many writers.

This book will help you:

• Understand what conflict means and how to use it
• Tell the difference between external and internal conflicts
• See why conflict isn't a "one size fits all" solution
• Determine the type of conflict your story needs
• Fix lackluster scenes holding your writing back

Understanding Conflict (And What It Really Means) is more than just advice on what to do and what not to do—it’s a down and dirty examination and analysis of how conflict works, so you can develop it in whatever style or genre you’re writing. By the end of this book, you’ll have a solid understanding of what conflict means and the ability to use it without fear or frustration.

Available in paperback and ebook formats.

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book.

She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.

When she's not writing novels, she's teaching other writers how to improve their craft. She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing.

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