What do story stakes actually need to do, and how can you make sure yours are doing it?
Stakes are, in a nutshell, whatever the main character stands to gain or lose, pending the outcome of the story. Straightforward… and yet surprisingly tricky to really nail.
In fact, I worked with two writers this week who are both running into the same question with their stories: Why should we care?
To answer that question, we have to think about what’s at stake, and – just as important – whether it’s something that will make the audience interested in the events of the story.
Stakes must matter in order to work
The biggest mistake I see writers make with their story stakes – perhaps after not including stakes at all – is not making the stakes meaningful.
In order for stakes to truly work, the audience has to understand how important those stakes are to the protagonist. That’s what captures our emotional engagement.
For example, say the protagonist of your story must win over a big new client (the story goal) otherwise he’ll lose his job (the stakes).
That’s clear stakes, right?
But that’s only half the story. We’re only going to feel the push-pull of hope and fear if we understand what those stakes mean. In other words, if we understand why it would be so bad for the character to fail and lose his job, then the stakes have meaning.
Only then will we care enough about the outcome to lean in to see what happens.
Dramatize the meaning
And, of course, we always want to show rather than tell. It’s much more effective if we can see what the stakes mean to the protagonist and really feel that, rather than just being told that he doesn’t want to lose his job.
That’s not to say that dialogue has no part in it – a common misperception of the “show, don’t tell” rule.
You may write a moving scene where we see the protagonist reluctantly confesses to his son his fears of failure and what will happen if he’s unable to provide for the family. Yes, it’s dialogue, but it’s also dramatizing the information you want us to have. It would be the character’s desire to appear strong and capable, and the fear and vulnerability underneath the explanation that would convey the meaning of what’s at stake, as much as the exposition itself.
As with so many aspects of screenwriting: aim to show us evidence of what you want us to know, rather than just telling us it exists.
Stakes vs. sacrifice
One way to show us how important the stakes are to the character is through what they’re willing to sacrifice in order to protect those stakes.
Stakes tell us what’s important to the character, since whatever is at stake is what’s motivating the character to take on the big, audacious thing he’s doing in the story. What the character is willing to sacrifice in order to pursue that goal tells us how important it is, what it’s worth to him.
But again, they key to making these story elements truly effective is conveying the meaning to the audience. It’s not enough just to tell us what will happen. We need to know why it matters.
Your job as screenwriter
What it really comes down to is making us care. That’s the emotional engagement I’m always going on about. When you hook into our capacity to care, you can lead us a lot of places and we’ll go willingly. Eagerly, even.
So show us what matters to the protagonist, because that’s what makes the protagonist matter to us.