I've been trying for a while now to clearly voice the inner & outer conflicts for my character, but never truly managed. It always felt like they were right in front of me but I just couldn't put my finger on them... The above questions really helped to spell them out, so thank you for that! Now I guess I'll have to go back to some of the scenes that I am not happy about and see if I can improve them by playing on the conflict between the 'need' and the 'want'!

I read a good YA romance recently where the "want" was for a happy romantic relationship, and the "need" was for the MC to be accepted by themselves, their family, and their friends if they came out. Obviously, the want vs. the need created a lot of conflict.

I think romances are good for spotting and learning about this, because the "want" is always the same (happy relationship). And I'm kind of terrible about this because I tend to get bogged down in the details, so I need it spelled out for me very clearly and obviously. :/ "She wants a good relationship; she needs independence." "He wants this thing with the 'rebound guy' to work out; he needs closure." etc.

I'm so glad! This is exactly why I come at these topics from multiple angles--often all it takes is hearing a concept explained in a slightly different way for someone to finally get it. It happens to me all the time. Glad this one worked for you.

What a great conflict. You can instantly see all the inherent problems there.

I agree--romances are so clean that way. The goals are always clear. Mucking it up so it's interesting is the hard part (grin).