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  3. Free Tool: Story Conflicts Notes
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  3. Free Tool: Story Conflicts Notes
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  3. Free Tool: Story Conflicts Notes

Free Tool: Story Conflicts Notes

Conflict is essential to capturing and holding attention in a story. It is the struggle between what a character wants and what prevents them from achieving it. There are many types of conflict, internal and external, writers and storytellers may use to move their stories forward, raise the stakes, and define their characters’ choices.

Use these prompts to make notes about possible types of conflicts you can include in your next story. Download the worksheet to share the tool with your students.

Character versus…

Nature

Issues with forces of nature, natural disasters, climate change

Society

Issues with the laws, norms, beliefs of the broader society or government

Technology

Issues with technology, systems, AI, the “new”

Character

Issues with another character in the story

Self

Internal issues about decisions, relationships, morality

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April Michele

April Michele Bio

Executive Director

A seasoned educator, April Michele has served as the Executive Director since 2018 and been with Future Problem Solving more than a decade. Her background in advanced curriculum strategies and highly engaging learning techniques translates well in the development of materials, publications, training, and marketing for the organization and its global network. April’s expertise includes pedagogy and strategies for critical and creative thinking and providing quality educational services for students and adults worldwide.

Prior to joining Future Problem Solving, April taught elementary and middle grades, spending most of her classroom career in Gifted Education. She earned the National Board Certification (NBPTS) as a Middle Childhood/Generalist and later served as a National Board Assessor for the certification of others. She was trained and applied the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) in Humanities, which helped widen the educational scope and boundaries beyond the U.S. In addition, April facilitated the Theory and Development of Creativity course for state level certification of teachers. She has also collaborated on a variety of special projects through the Department of Education.

A graduate of the University of Central Florida with a bachelor’s in Elementary Education and the University of South Florida with a master’s in Gifted Education, April’s passion is providing a challenging curriculum for 21st century students so they are equipped with the problem solving and ethical leadership skills they need to thrive in the future. As a board member in her local Rotary Club, she facilitates problem solving in leadership at the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute and earned her certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Edyth Bush Institute at Rollins College.