Place a chair at the front of the classroom or in another open area. Ask a specific student to sit on the chair. When the student has taken his or her place, ask if there was conflict in the achievement of that goal, if it would make an interesting story. Then simultaneously invite two students to sit on the empty chair. Conflict is immediately present since the chair is designed for one person.
Students can race for the available spot or resolve the conflict by sharing the chair.
Ask again if there was conflict, if this incident would make a more interesting story than the first. It would help these students to be able to identify a central conflict so that other conflicts can be portrayed as secondary. The central conflict may be the quest for the Holy Grail, but along the way there may be damsels to rescue and dragons to slay. Since the conflict in a story is experienced by the characters, a study of the characters is the best way to identify the conflict. Describe the character.