How to Set Your Story’s Stakes
What does our character have to lose, and why? An important note is to remember that the most satisfying stakes will always have somewhere to go.
If your stakes don’t steadily escalate and have enough breathing room between them, you run the risk of either burning your audience out or simply confusing them.
That is not to say that you can’t include various things at stake running through your stories. Far from it; they simply need to be plotted carefully so that things do not become convoluted.
It is also important that there be something at stake, for at least your protagonist and antagonist, if you want your story to sizzle.
How many other characters have their own stakes played out often depends on genre. For example, you’d expect more individuals to have things at stake in a drama than in a horror film, where the collective stakes are simply survival.
Establishing (Your Story’s Stakes)
Stakes are always established in a story’s first act; failing to do this will stop your story from gripping your audience and may lead to them becoming bored or, even worse, giving up on it completely!
Good questions to ask yourself when establishing them or even finding your stakes when first developing a story idea are:
