“Emotional stakes” is one of those soft topics that’s a little harder to talk about than structure or plot points. And so, it’s one of those topics that can confound writers.
Some screenplay readers may not even pick up on the lack of emotional stakes, instead giving notes that you have to dig into a little in order to get the note behind the note.
Have you ever gotten feedback like, “I didn’t care about the protagonist…” or “The whole thing is sort of ‘meh’…”? or even, “What’s the point?” or “Why should we care?”
When the plot works but we still don’t care, you might have a problem with the emotional stakes.
So, emotional stakes are vital to creating a deep and enduring connection with the reader. But what do we even mean by “emotional stakes”?
What are emotional stakes?
Most simply, it’s what the external stakes mean to the protagonist. What it all represents on a value-based, emotional, or even philosophical level.
(You might hear emotional stakes and internal stakes used interchangeably.)
When we talk about story stakes, we’re talking about whatever hangs in the balance should the protagonist succeed or fail at achieving his goal. External stakes are usually a bit easier to grasp, and to implement. But the stakes of a good story include both the concrete, external stakes and the intangible, internal stakes.
When the emotional stakes have been firmly established, the reader knows what emotional or internal impact the outcome of the story will have on the protagonist.
Emotional stakes answer the “why should we care” question for the audience. They get your reader to care about your story by showing us (and getting us to connect or empathize with) what the experience means to the protagonist.
How to show emotional stakes
Let’s take Pixar’s Soul as an example. (We looked at the screenplay last week, as well.)
In Soul, we learn within the first few scenes (good to note: don’t make us wait for the emotional stakes!) that protagonist Joe loves music but his job teaching it to bored middle school students isn’t fulfilling his dream. And there’s still some part of him that’s holding onto that dream even though it seems to get farther away and less likely with each passing year.
Let’s break this down so we can examine the parts:
- Story goal: Joe must reunite his soul with his body.
- External stakes: Joe’s life. If he fails to reunite his soul with his body, he will pass on to the Great Beyond and no longer live on Earth. This is the concrete, external, or physical consequence of failing to achieve his story goal.
- Emotional stakes: What does this mean to Joe? If he fails to reunite his soul with his body, he will forever lose his chance to become a successful musician, to fulfill his passion and what he believes is his purpose in life. In short, his entire life will have been meaningless. Yikes.
The script establishes all of this vital story information by showing it to us. Dramatizing it.
- Scene 1: Joe teaches music class to bored middle school students. Trying to inspire them, he tells them about the moment he fell in love with piano.
- Scene 2: Joe is offered a full-time position at the school. Job security. Medical insurance. Pension. But he doesn’t seem excited about it.
- Scene 3: Joe’s mom is thrilled and encourages him to take the offer. He’s reluctant but finally resigns himself to it. Only to get a call about a jazz gig that night if he can come audition immediately. His dream might still be alive!
And on and on. By the time the setup is complete, we know what will happen if he fails, what he stands to gain if he succeeds, and exactly why it’s so important to him – both externally and internally.
Does your script need emotional stakes?
Emotional stakes can be hard to study, and maybe even harder to implement in your script. But can you afford not to? You can do everything “right” with the plot of your story but if you don’t also service the emotional stakes the script will feel flat. We talk a lot about getting the audience to engage and invest in the story, and emotional stakes are truly the key to creating that deep connection with your reader.