Every story has some kind of conflict—without it, you have no plot! The conflict is a struggle or problem that characters must face. The conflict usually takes place during all three phases—rising action, climax and falling action.

Read the following passage from a story.

Shivani pulled the last of the weeds from the garden bed and stood, putting her hand to her back. She was not done weeding, but she could see, at the very far edge of the sky, the fist of an angry storm cloud forming. She had a few more rows to work, but she wasn’t sure if she would get to them before the rain began. Last week, there’d been a rainstorm, but it had been quiet and gentle, a welcome shower that encouraged the tomato plants and the eggplant blossoms to open. Maybe, her plants wouldn't survive.