The sharper the stakes, the more engaged your readers will be.
Stakes are the risks or consequences a character faces if they fail to achieve their goal. The stakes create tension and emotional investment, making readers care about the outcome.
When writing, we often hear the advice, “Raise the stakes.” This wording implies increasing the scale of the stakes.
But the most compelling stakes are not just big, they’re personal.
So, I’d like to reword this common advise to: “Sharpen the stakes.”
What do I mean by this?
Sharpening the Stakes in Your Story
It’s not just about how big the stakes are, but how personal they feel to your character. The sharper the stakes, the more engaged your readers will be.
To sharpen the stakes, ask yourself this: What would wound the character the most? What coming to pass would be a figurative dagger through the heart for the main character? It’s not just about life and death, but what’s at the core of the character’s emotional life. What’s that one thing they can’t bear to lose? By focusing on the most personal stakes, you create a deeper connection between the character and the reader.
Let’s look at some examples.
The idea that “everyone will die” is a common high-stakes scenario, but it’s also impersonal. Compare that to The Hunger Games: Katniss isn’t just fighting for survival, she’s fighting to save her sister, Primrose. The same goes for Frodo in The Lord of the Rings—he’s fighting to save Middle-earth, yes, but specifically to protect the Shire, the home he loves. For Harry, it’s not just about Hogwarts; it’s about the people inside the school—his friends, his chosen family. By making the stakes personal, you give readers something to care about beyond just the big picture.
The Aftermath: Who’s Left to Suffer?
Sharpening the stakes also involves considering the aftermath. If the character fail, what would their new world look like? How would they be forced to live? In our large-scale but impersonal examples, if the entire world ends, who is left to feel the impact? When brainstorming sharper stakes for your story, think about the emotional consequences for the people who survive or witness the loss. This aftermath creates emotional resonance and a lasting impact for your readers.
Techniques to Sharpen the Stakes
Focus on What the Character Values Most:
Identify the one thing your character holds most dear. Whether it’s a loved one, personal integrity, or a lifelong dream, sharpening the stakes means centering on the fear of losing what matters most to them.
Explore Personal Costs Beyond Death:
Go beyond physical danger and examine deeper, more personal consequences. Could the character face emotional trauma, betrayal, or the destruction of a cherished relationship? These personal losses are often more powerful than life-or-death stakes.
Create a Character Who Embodies the Stakes:
Make the stakes tangible by tying them to a character your protagonist deeply cares about. This could be a family member, close friend, or even a mentor. The risk of harm to this character personalizes the stakes, making the protagonist’s failure feel devastating.
Use the Potential Aftermath to Build Tension:
The looming consequences of failure are crucial to sharpening the stakes. Don’t focus only on the immediate crisis—hint at what the long-term repercussions might be, both for the protagonist and others. These future repercussions add weight to the protagonist’s choices.
Add Emotional Costs:
What would it mean for the character to fail emotionally? Would they lose trust in themselves, or face a rift with loved ones? Highlighting the emotional fallout from failure makes the stakes more relatable and compelling.
Threaten Future Happiness:
A sharp stake isn’t just about the present. Consider how failure might destroy the character’s future plans or hopes. This kind of tension can be especially effective when it threatens something the character has worked hard for.
Introduce Consequences for Inaction:
Sometimes, inaction can be more damaging than taking a wrong step. Emphasize the risk of what might happen if the character doesn’t act, creating a situation where failure to make a choice leads to devastating consequences.
Use Examples to Show the Destruction:Create a tangible representation of the stakes by showing a person or place that has already been affected by the potential failure. For instance, insert a character who has experienced the destruction the protagonist fears, or a city that has already been ruined by the antagonist’s actions. This serves as a powerful reminder of what could happen if the main character does not succeed, grounding the stakes in concrete terms that the reader can visualize and emotionally connect with.
When you sharpen the stakes, you create a more engaging and emotionally impactful story. It’s not about how large the stakes are, but how deeply they cut into the character’s heart. Reflect on your character’s deepest fears and make their stakes personal, and your readers will stay hooked.
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