Q&A: What’s the difference between internal and external conflict?

What’s the difference between internal and external conflict?

External conflict are things that get in the way of your character achieving her goals. ie, At the demand of her father, King Shithead, Princess Purity must be married off to Count Doucherag.

Internal conflicts are the reasons why the external conflicts are, in fact, conflicts. ie, Why Princess Purity would consider marrying Count Doucherag even though she’s in love with Prince McDreamy-Hair and not just tell her father to stick his demand up his ass. 

Internal conflict matters because you want your characters to have agency. You want them to happen to the story and have their decisions and actions move the story, rather than the story moving them.