I’ve written a post on writing significant stakes and another on raising the stakes, but today I want to talk about layering stakes. How do you stack stakes to really grip your readers? Let’s do a quick review on story stakes, and then we’ll discuss layering them and practical ways to make sure your stakes show up on the page.
Story Stakes
Stakes are potential consequences. They aren’t what’s happening, but what could happen. For instance, Susan’s computer crashed, and she lost the presentation for her work meeting today. That’s what’s happening—the conflict. The stakes would be that she could lose a big account for her company if the presentation goes badly.
Types of Stakes
When I spoke of significant stakes, I mentioned there are two types of stakes: personal and societal. Personal stakes affect the character, and societal stakes affect a group. Personally, Susan might get demoted at work if she messes up the meeting. Societally, the company could lose a big client and go bankrupt.
Sides of Stakes
On top of these two types of stakes, there are also two sides to stakes: internal and external. Internal stakes are what could be lost or gained to impact the character’s thoughts, emotions, beliefs, or relationships. External stakes are visible things that could be lost or gained. Going back to Susan, her internal stakes could be that losing the account for the company challenges her belief she is the company’s most valuable employee. That challenges her sense of identity. Externally, the stakes could be that she loses the promotion (money) and can’t pay her mother’s hospital bills. If that was the case, it could spiral the internal stakes and make Susan feel she is not a good daughter, further lowering her self-esteem.
Three Layers Of Stakes
Now that we did a refresher on stakes and their types and sides, let’s look at how to effectively layer them in your story.
1. Immediate Stakes
The first level of stakes to layer in your story is the immediate stakes. These are stakes that are present on this page of the book. It’s not the big looming stake at the end of the story, it’s the potential consequences for the actions happening right now. These are small things.
For instance, a lawyer needs to stop talking to his wife and get to court, but she’s having a meltdown. The stakes could be he needs to find a way to get out of the conversation without offending her (relationship stakes) or be late for his trial (job stakes). If this was an opening scene for a book about this man defending a murderer, neither of these stakes will have lasting impacts on the overall story stakes (the consequences of the murder case’s outcome). The stakes here aren’t massive, but they are immediate ones that are happening right now on the page.
Just because immediate stakes are smaller, though, doesn’t mean they aren’t important to the story. If it’s a good book, the lawyer’s decision here will foreshadow the story to come. The point is we need to put even small stakes on the page to build tension.
2. Short-Term Stakes
Moving to the next level, we have short-term stakes. These are stakes associated with an entire scene’s arc. They can be important for the scene but only mildly affect the main story, like not wanting to be caught lying to his sister because she might not trust him later (but that sister isn’t the center of the plot). Or, the stakes can be major but not last for the whole story. For instance, needing to keep a hostage alive is a stake, but if the person dies, it no longer applies. Just remember, the main event in the scene must have stakes for the character and the story. If it doesn’t, you may not need the scene.
In our example with the lawyer, the whole scene may be him walking into the courthouse and attending a preliminary hearing. The man talking to his wife isn’t a big stake for the whole scene, but perhaps the judge hearing the case already dislikes the lawyer. The scene can center on him avoiding upsetting the judge and making things harder on his client. The lawyer can dread the hearing when he walks in, actively find ways to tip-toe around the judge during the proceedings, etc. All these center around the scene stakes.
Now, this judge being unhappy is important for this scene but may not connect closely with the main story about the lawyer defending a murderer later. However, it’s possible this judge could be a close friend to the judge who hears the other case. That could impact the story and make possible struggles for the lawyer later. As you can see, not every scene level stake has to weigh heavily on the story, but it should connect somehow.
3. Long-Term Stakes
The last level is the long-term stakes, what is at risk overall in the story. These are the potential consequences hanging over the protagonist the whole book. They are also consequences that will alter the character’s life, either for good or bad. They will have a lasting impact that you can’t change. Once one of these things happens, life will never be the same.
For our lawyer, the outcome of the murder case will have stakes attached to it. If he can defend a murderer, he’ll make a name for himself in the legal world. He’ll also have to live with society’s (and maybe his wife’s) disapproval and judgment for freeing a criminal. On the other hand, if he loses the case, he might lose clients. Without the income, he can’t pay the medical bills for his pregnant wife with a rare disease that is complicating the pregnancy. There are many potential consequences for him winning and losing, and all of them will impact the rest of his life.
Three Tips For Showing Stakes
Now that we’ve discussed stakes and how to layer them to add tension on every page, I want to share three tips for showing stakes on the page. Too often, writers know what the stakes are but fail to clearly show them to readers. I heard a talk by Literary Agent Jessica Berg, and she shared these three ways to put more stakes on the page. I’ve found them very helpful so I am passing them on to you.
1. Show Visible Consequence
First, look at what’s happening on the page and ask yourself: what’s one visible consequence I can show here? It may be for a stake that was hanging over the character’s head in a previous scene and has finally happened, or it may be one that happens on that page.
For example, when the lawyer is talking to his wife, perhaps he tells her he has to hang up and go to court. She could start crying and scream that he doesn’t care about her. Her anger is a stake coming to fruition, and we see immediately on the page that the consequence of his decision is conflict. Now readers will wonder how it will go after court when he has to go home.
2. Add Pressure
The next question to ask yourself is: where can I put one moment of pressure or tension here? Find a way to make the protagonist feel more pressure on his actions and words. Or, create more ways to cause tension between him and another person.
Let’s say our lawyer is walking into court, and a coworker meets him at the door with a warning. Maybe she reminds him that their law firm’s longevity relies on this case going well. It’s a quick moment, but it creates more tension. He has to be extremely careful in this hearing, and we already know the judge won’t do him any favors. With just a small comment from a coworker, we are building stakes by adding pressure.
3. Create Resistance
The last question to ask is: how can I make the protagonist resist or struggle against something? Look at what is happening in the scene, then create opportunities for struggles, in both the big and the small things.
In our example, the judge not liking the lawyer is already creating good resistance in the scene. But let’s add more, just for fun. Perhaps the lawyer shows up to court and realizes the prosecuting attorney isn’t the original one listed on the case. Instead, it’s his ex from law school. She was a stickler for rules and is known to challenge everything. Now he must struggle between keeping his head down and not upsetting the judge and standing up to the prosecutor’s constant challenges. If he fails on either side, it could mean bad news for his client and his company.
Final Thoughts
When thinking of stakes, remember to look for potential consequences. Then show the stakes have an affect personally and societally, and that there are internal and external sides to them. When you show both types and sides of stakes, the story will feel significant to readers. Then, layer in the page-level, scene-level, and story-level stakes to makes sure tension builds on every page. Do this well, and you’ll have a book that readers won’t want to put down because they need to know what happens.
Thanks for reading!
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