Tick, Tick, Boom! Raising the Stakes to Raise an Agent’s Interest

It’s summertime, so let’s talk stakes. Not steaks, which we could talk about, especially if you’re planning a 4th of July cookout. Today, let’s discuss an essential ingredient of storytelling that makes the difference between an agent emailing you back after you submit a query or receiving a “Thank you, but no.”

Stakes are a story-telling strategy that requires the main characters in the story to negotiate complicated, emotionally-wrenching and even life-threatening risks. Not to be confused with goals, which are the outcomes that the characters strive to achieve, stakes provide a novel’s emotional fuel and spark plot twists. Stakes entice readers to ignore their 10 pm bedtime and continue reading until 3 am (knowing they will be hurting the following day).

If you’ve heard an agent say, “The stakes aren’t strong enough” or “The stakes aren’t compelling enough,” they likely mean that readers won’t become invested in what happens to the characters without tantalizing stakes. There won’t be a compelling reason to see how the story turns out.

Internal vs. External Stakes

Stakes can be divided into two categories: internal and external.

Internal stakes are the risks or consequences that define what a character will lose if they fail, what threatens their journey toward their goal, what they will sacrifice along the way, or what could destroy them emotionally. Emotional factors fuel stakes, such as a wound from the past, a moral crossroads, a desire to be loved, fear, the need to protect or be protected from past failure, or abandonment.

When it comes to external stakes, one of the most common and most effective is the ticking clock, which adds pressure to the question of whether the characters will accomplish their goal. Other external stakes may include deciding between beating a villian and saving a loved one.

Something Curious That I’ve Noticed…

As a Christian literary agent, one of the curious situations that I’ve noticed in reviewing queries or hearing pitches for faith-oriented books is a reluctance for newer writers to press into stakes. Yes, it’s good to have conflict and drama. Still, it’s the stakes behind the situations that fill in Point A to Point B. Generally, I see writers emphasizing a specific dramatic moment like a wife discovering the affair or the person who lost their job. That’s not stakes, that is conflict or drama and it’s not enough to keep the reader turning the page.

Stakes highlights the fact that life is rarely black and white. The situational shades of gray creates messy, uncomfortable moments. If I’m reviewing a query or manuscript and stakes are missing, I wonder if the writer was more dialed into finishing the novel rather than looking for ways to layer the risks in the story. Another suspicion, directed explicitly toward Christian writers, is why some writers avoid complex stakes. Shouldn’t we leaning into showing the moral dilemmas, regrets and wrong moves that we do in our life and faith?

With stakes, readers want to see characters wrestling with choices where they will suffer painful or life-changing consequences if they do the right thing. High-pressure stakes might include the choice between protecting someone or something, but it will require them to sacrifice themselves or their goal. By the way, stakes should include mistakes. That’s right. When stakes are involved, characters should make mistakes along the way because no one is perfect, right? This creates an opportunity for readers to sympathize with imperfect characters and stay tuned to see how the character will turn toward God or away from God, seek forgiveness, or overcome their mistakes.

If you’re a Marvel movie fan, there’s a scene in “Avengers Infinity War” where Thor needs to replace his hammer to fight Thanos, the villain who wants to destroy half the living creatures in the universe. Thanos also killed Thor’s brother, Loki. However, when Thor arrives at the star where the hammer is produced, the star is dead. He has to use his strength to re-ignite the dead star, and when it comes back to life, Thor is in the direct path of the star’s energy, willing to sacrifice his life to save humanity. How many inner and external stakes can you identify in that scene?

One of the ways that you can process through stakes is by choosing one favorite movie and one favorite book. Use half of a sheet of paper to list the internal and external stakes of the movie and book. In the other column, list the stakes of your work in progress and see if you’ve created compelling enough stakes. If not, then there’s an opportunity for some fun brainstorming for you.

Here are some questions that can help you:

• Is there a tangible cost to the character for failure? What will they lose that they wanted? How ill their life be negatively changed if it didn’t happen?
• What is the urgency of their mission, goal, or purpose?
• What pressures or threats must the characters contend with to achieve their goal?
• What are your characters attempting to protect at all costs?
• What does their heart want that conflicts with the situation they must navigate?
• What are the damaging consequences that they are trying to avoid?

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: What raising-stakes questions would you add to my list? Why do you think stakes are difficult to incorporate into stories? What suggestions do you have to offer to other writers?