Introducing the Stakes

 

AS YOUR CHARACTERS walk onto the stage in the First Act, they should bring the stakes right along with them. What they care about—and the antagonistic forces that threaten what they care about—must be shown (or, at the very least, hinted at) in order to properly foreshadow the deepening conflicts.

Later in the story, you’re going to have to think of the worst possible thing that could happen to your character—and then make it worse. Whatever that “worst” thing ends up being, you need to set it up in the First Act. If your character’s daughter is going to be kidnapped, the First Act is the place to show readers how much she means to him. You can’t up the stakes later on without something first being at stake.

 

Exercise #1: Answer the following questions to discover and plant your story’s stakes.

 

Question #1: What does your protagonist care about most in the world?

 

Question #1.1: How can you illustrate (show) your protagonist’s devotion to what he values?

 

Question #2: How will the antagonistic force threaten what he values?

 

Question #2.1: In the First Act, how can you illustrate the antagonist’s threat to (or potential to threaten) what your protagonist values?

 

Exercise #2: Write a list of the ten worst things that could happen to your protagonist.

 

Examples:

• His escape tunnel is discovered. (The Great Escape directed by John Sturges)

 

• He discovers he will die unloved and unmourned. (A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens)

 

• She watches as the Australian POW who has aided her is crucified. (A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute)

 

Exercise #3: Answer the following questions about your above list.

 

Question #1: Which of these “worst things” is the most interesting for your story?

 

Question #2: How does it align with what your character cares about most?

 

Reference: Structuring Your Novel, chapter 5, pages 63-66.