If It Doesn’t Impact The Rest Of The Story, You Didn’t Raise The Stakes

If it doesn’t impact the rest of the story, you didn’t raise the stakes

I recently went back to a chapter at the midpoint of my novel and changed a huge detail of it because I thought it didn’t raise the stakes enough as it was. Because of this change, I had to go through every single scene and chapter beyond that point and edit it to fit in and make sense. It was annoying, but that’s how I knew I achieved what I wanted to.

Raised stakes change everything about a story.

If your characters can continue on as they were, then you didn’t really raise the stakes at all. This heightened pressure or danger has to be heightened enough that their lives as they know them are different now.

Consider this: at the midpoint, you introduce a mutated form of a monster your characters have been facing that’s more deadly and intelligent than its predecessor. It’s a super scary scene, but after that, your characters go back to their safe house to talk over how best to kill it.

Suddenly, this new monster doesn’t feel as much of a threat. It’s just another element of the same threat they’ve already been facing.

To properly use this element as a way to raise the stakes, it should take away something the characters rely on—safety, allies, powers, etc. Something they can’t get back, and don’t get back for the rest of the story. They now have to adapt to new circumstances, and things will never be as easy for them again.

So maybe instead, they flee to their safe house only to discover that it’s no longer safe—the monster is smart enough to get through their hidden entrance and corner them. Now they’re stuck out in the open, taking turns keeping watch and slowly deteriorating to sleeplessness and stress.

That’s a delicious steak.

Ko-Fi

Hello Darlings,

As you might of noticed, I’ve had serious issues with my laptop lately, and honestly it’s frustrated me to tears multiple times. It’s been on its way out for a long time, we all know that, and whilst I really didn’t want to do it, I think I finally need to just make this post.

First let me say that you are by no means obligated to donate to me. I am not withholding my usual content from you, nor am I saying that you have to support me in this way. Even once this laptop gives out completely, I will still try and find a way to get my writing done and ready for you all, it’s just going to be much harder to do so.

That being said, if you could donate even $1 I would be incredibly grateful. Even if only half of you did so, I would be able to purchase the laptop I need.

Please don’t donate if it’s going to put you in a bad position, but if it isn’t, then please consider it.

I don’t like asking this, and you’re more than welcome to simply ignore this message and carry on, or even block the tag #motherfuckingdonations if you don’t want to see this post, or posts like it in the future, because I am going to have to start reblogging this semi regularly until I get what I need. I apologise for that in advance.