Storytelling Pillar 4: Stakes

The Fourth Pillar of Storytelling: Stakes

She just had to catch the flight.

Now, why did you want Kiara to make it on time?

Because you knew what was at stake.

Imagine I told you the same story, but nothing really happened if she failed:

Kiara ran through the airport. Her flight was leaving soon, and she was running late. She really didn’t want to miss it. She checked the time and ran faster. She had to catch it.

Why should we care if she misses the flight?

Yes, missing a flight sucks. But from this version, we don’t know why it matters so much.

That is the power of stakes in storytelling.

What Are Stakes in a Story?

In both examples, we have the same situation and the same desire.

Kiara is running through an airport.

She wants to catch her flight.

But in the second example, there’s an unanswered question:

Why should I care if she catches it?

We don’t know.

I haven’t told you what’s at stake.

In the first example, however, the escalation is clear:

If she misses the flight, she can’t afford another one.

If she can’t get another flight, she has nowhere to go.

If she has nowhere to go, she might have to call home.

And going home would mean facing the people who expected her to fail.

Suddenly, the simple sentence She just had to catch the flight carries much more weight.

Because now we understand what happens if she doesn’t.

Give the Outcome Consequences

So what’s the point of stakes in a story?

The core idea is simple:

Give the outcome consequences.

Consequences, consequences, consequences.

Why?

Because the outcome needs to matter.

Compare these two situations:

I lost a ring.

Okay.

Now:

I lost the only ring I have left from my grandmother.

Oh.

Now I care.

It’s the same problem—losing a ring—but it has a completely different meaning.

That’s what stakes do.

Stakes give conflict meaning.

Stakes Don't Have to Be Huge

Stakes don’t necessarily have to mean death, disaster or the end of the world.

They just need to matter to your main character.

If you’ve done a good job creating your character, your audience should already care about them.

And if your audience cares about your character, they’ll care about what’s at stake for them.

Losing a ring might mean nothing to one person and everything to another.

Missing a flight could be a minor inconvenience—or it could mean having nowhere to go.

It all depends on the character and the consequences.

What Happens If They Fail?

Whenever you’re writing a story, ask yourself:

What happens if my main character doesn’t get what they want?

That’s how you find your stakes.

The answer doesn’t have to be an apocalypse.

The consequences simply have to matter to your character—and we need to understand why they matter.

So if I had to sum up this storytelling pillar in one idea:

Make the outcome matter.

That’s the fourth storytelling pillar: Stakes.

Now we have a character.

They want something.

Something stands in their way.

And there’s a reason why the outcome matters.

But all of that still needs to develop into an actual story.

And that brings us to the next storytelling pillar: Structure.