When Good People Collide: Writing Conflicting Desires Between Likable Characters

By J.E. Nickerson | Wise Thinkers Help Desk

One of the most emotionally charged conflicts in storytelling doesn’t come from villains.

It comes from two good people… who want different things.

While this isn’t inherently bad, it does require forethought to craft likable characters with clashing ambitions.

As writers, we’re often taught to build tension between opposing forces — protagonist vs. antagonist, light vs. dark, hero vs. villain. But some of the richest storytelling happens when everyone is likable. When everyone makes sense. And yet… their desires are just too different to coexist.

If you’ve watched shows like The Morning Show or Shrinking, you’ve felt this kind of tension. It’s not explosive or evil — it’s heartbreaking. Because when good people collide, someone always gets hurt.

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The Morning Show: The Collision of Ambition and Integrity

Take The Morning Show. You can root for Alex. You can root for Bradley. They’re both smart, emotionally complex, and morally layered. They’ve endured trauma, betrayal, and pressure — and they’re trying to do the right thing… for themselves.

• Alex wants control, legacy, and redemption — on her own terms.

• Bradley wants truth, change, and a platform where she can stand for something real.

The problem? The truth Bradley seeks often threatens the image Alex is trying to protect. Neither woman is wrong — but both can’t win at the same time.

This is what makes their dynamic so powerful. We’re not watching good vs. bad. We’re watching good vs. good with incompatible goals.

And when that kind of conflict erupts, it’s devastating — because we care about both sides.

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Shrinking: Healing vs. Hurting Without Meaning To

In Shrinking, the tension is more subtle, but just as human. Jimmy is a grieving therapist, trying to shortcut his own healing by helping his clients in unconventional ways.

Then there’s Paul (played by Harrison Ford), the older mentor. He’s not cruel or cold — but he believes in boundaries, professionalism, and holding the line — for the clients’ sake, and Jimmy’s.

• Jimmy wants connection and fast results. He’s desperate to feel alive again.

• Paul wants sustainability and ethical practice. He’s trying to protect both Jimmy and the people their practice serves.

They both want to help people — but in completely different ways. And because of that, their goals start to conflict with each other, especially when Jimmy crosses lines Paul considers sacred.

There’s no villain here. Just two people doing the best they can with the pain they carry. And that’s what makes it real.

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The Avengers: When Heroes Can’t Work Together

Even in superhero films like The Avengers, the most compelling tension isn’t always between good and evil — it’s between the heroes themselves. What makes the Avengers memorable isn’t just their powers, but their personalities. They’re all brave, likable, and fighting for the greater good… but that doesn’t mean they see eye to eye.

• Tony Stark wants innovation, control, and to stay ten steps ahead.

• Steve Rogers wants loyalty, integrity, and to stand for timeless values.

• Bruce Banner wants peace — not just for the world, but within himself.

They all want to save the world. But their methods and philosophies constantly clash. And as the stakes rise, their emotional wounds rise to the surface, too.

Importantly, these characters weren’t just thrown together — they were developed through individual story arcs that laid the groundwork for their personalities, motives, and values. That way, even if a viewer hadn’t seen every solo film, they wouldn’t feel lost watching these characters interact.

If you’re writing multiple strong characters with distinct backstories, make sure their goals, traumas, and ideologies are clear. That’s what helps the audience stay connected, even as tensions rise.

Whether it’s the bickering in The Avengers (2012) or the deep moral divide in Captain America: Civil War, the conflict feels real because it comes from values in opposition, not malice. The audience isn’t watching a villain tear them apart — they’re watching their own beliefs and flaws do it for them.

This dynamic adds weight and realism, even in a world full of aliens and gods. It reminds us that sometimes, the hardest battles are the ones fought between friends.

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How to Write This Kind of Conflict

If you’re building a story where your characters are all likable — but still need to clash — here’s how to do it:

1. Give each character a clear emotional desire.

Make sure it’s something they believe in deeply — not just “I want to be right,” but why they need to be right. Ground their goal in pain, memory, or meaning. 

2. Put those desires on a collision course.

Not through petty arguments, but through meaningful stakes. If one character gets what they want, the other must lose something that matters. Let their choices cost each other something valuable — that’s what raises the intensity.

3. Let them hurt each other without trying to.

This is the emotional goldmine: pain caused not out of cruelty, but out of conflicting values. If your characters see the world differently, they’ll struggle to communicate and may even view each other as obstacles — even when they’re trying to achieve the same goal.

In The Morning Show, both Alex and Bradley wanted the show in the prime-time lineup. But they couldn’t reconcile their methods or communicate effectively. The result? Friction, even when the goal aligned.

4. Avoid a clean resolution.

These stories hit harder when there’s no perfect fix. Growth can happen. Reconciliation is possible. But the emotional scar should linger.

In The Avengers, the team may have saved the world, but they still didn’t see eye to eye. In Shrinking, the therapists ended the season with distinct — and clashing — styles. That’s life: we don’t always get neat resolutions. People have to work with those they don’t fully agree with. That ambiguity adds realism to your story.

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Final Thought

When you write good vs. good, you’re not asking the audience to pick sides. You’re showing two different paths to the same destination.

You’re asking the audience to feel what your characters feel — to wrestle with the idea that sometimes, everyone is right… and someone still loses.

That’s what makes shows like The Morning Show and Shrinking so effective. They don’t just show us conflict — they show us humanity, in all its messy, contradictory beauty.

And if you can write that?

You’re not just telling a story.

You’re telling the truth.

Even likable characters have flaws and inner struggles. Learn how adding internal conflict in characters can increase the stakes of any story and draw your audience into the world of your characters. Read the article Building Imperfectly Perfect Characters: Understanding Flaws and Growth to learn more about this powerful element of character development 

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📚 And if you’re new here, I’m J.E. Nickerson — faith based author and inspirational storyteller. You can check out my books here or follow me on YouTube for more inspiration and encouragement on this writing life.