Increasing risks with greater rewards
Understanding what’s at stake - Chuck Wendig lists 25 things to know about your story’s stakes. Roger McNulty looks at what happens when a character’s individual stakes compete with larger community stakes. Joslyn Chase breaks down the difference between goals and stakes.
When to raise the stakes - Marilyn Horowitz suggests a formative moment in your hero’s life can set the stage for higher stakes. Jonathan W. Stokes points to a story’s Call to Adventure as a place to clarify what a hero can gain or lose on their journey. Steven Pressfield channels Drowning Pool when saying there’s always the option to let a body hit the floor.
Why the stakes matter - Deesha Philyaw discusses making sure what a character wants or is afraid to lose truly matters to them. Janice Hardy shares a reminder that the audience needs to care about the stakes.
It’s not always the end of the world - K.M. Weiland points out the dangers of over-escalation with your story’s stakes. Molly Templeton wants to see more genre writing that isn’t just about saving the world/galaxy/entire multiverse.
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Previously on Inneresting…
In case you missed it, in last issue’s most clicked link FlickChart helps you rank your favorite films.
Other Inneresting things
Maria Popova shares a manifesto for making social media more social and less self-congratulatory.
Oliver Burkemann wants you to stop tying your self-worth to paying off your productivity debt.
Dave Added takes a deep dive into the typefaces of Alien. If your interest is piqued, consider swapping your keycaps for a semiotic set like the Nostromo’s.
And that’s what’s inneresting this week!
Inneresting is edited by Chris Csont, with contributions from the entire Quote-Unquote team.
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