Why Stakes Matter in Your Story
If you’ve ever put down a novel thinking…
Why should I care about this [insert: character/story/world/etc.]?
… then you were probably reading a story where the stakes weren’t clear. Stakes are why we care about the story, because they establish what happens if the main character does not achieve their goal.
Stakes affect your novel’s hook, pacing, and, as I’ve just learned, how satisfying your ending can be.
Story Stakes
I was going to talk this week about story stakes, but found this amazing video by Michael Arndt who wrote the screenplays for Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Toy Story 3 (2010), and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).
In the video, Arndt delivers a master class in story stakes, and argues how stakes are essential for crafting an incredible ending. While this hour and a half video is focused on screenplays, you can apply everything Arndt says to writing novels. Not only does he provide the theory with animations and infographics, he also compares how well Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), The Graduate (1967), and Little Miss Sunshine (2006) adhere to the theory.
I had three big “aha!” moments while watching the video.
First, Arndt introduces in the idea of philosophical stakes. His argument clarified how theme ties to story, which has always felt murky and unclear to me.
Second, Arndt establishes how each type of stake should be present in, and affect, the primary milestones of story structure.
Last, Arndt’s lecture unpacks how a climax works, and shows how providing your character with a success in each type of stake leads to the inevitable-but-surprising conclusion we all want to write, and the satisfying ending our readers want.
Even better, Arndt points out that this layering is something you do after you’ve written your first draft and know what your story is about. The reformed pantser in me loves the permission to draft whatever ending I want, because now I have the tools to craft it into something better during the revision process.
I know I’ll be watching this video a few more times! How do you think about the stakes in your story?
Header Photo by Pereanu Sebastian on Unsplash