In a guest post on Writers in the Storm, Becca Puglisi offers advice for uncovering what’s at stake for your protagonist. “Stakes are a crucial part of your story because they define what will happen if the protagonist fails,” she writes. “Stakes also create tension when the reader realizes what’s on the line.”
Sometimes, it’s easy. If Sheriff Brody doesn’t kill the shark in Jaws, people will die. Those are pretty high stakes. But what about the stakes in your quiet family drama? Most of us don’t host family dinners with life or death stakes. Puglisi shares this method:
Outer Motivation + Inner Motivation = Stakes
Solving for x requires that you settle on two key elements:
- The Protagonist’s Goal. What is your character visibly trying to achieve. This should be a tangible goal, not an emotional goal such as respect or glory. Get the girl, destroy the ring, win the race.
- The Protagonist’s Inner Motivation. Why does your character want to reach this goal? Why is this so important? If the goal isn’t important, there’s nothing to prevent your hero from walking out of your story.
It doesn’t matter where you start. You can start with the story goal and then figure out why your protagonist is pursuing. Or you can begin with your hero’s human need, and then decide what outward goal would best fulfill it.
