Using Emotional Resonance to Strengthen Your Stakes

 “The key to writing stakes is the emotional resonance. You can write the best story in the world, but if it doesn’t have that emotional tug to hold the reader, it’s just words, and people write words all the time.” 

I don’t know you, random man behind me in the bar at Thrillerfest, but I could hug you!

I teach a whole course on stakes, but this sums it up. 

The reader has to care, and the way to make the reader care is to grab them by the emotions and pull them through the story, twisting that metaphorical knife deeper with each turning point. 

When I talk about stakes with my clients, my questions are almost always, "Why does it matter? What happens if they fail? Why does that matter? What happens if they succeed? Why is that worth it?" 

The conversation looks something like this: 

Amazing Client (AC) 

Pesky Story Coach (PSC) 

AC: My amateur sleuth has to solve this murder... 

PSC: Why? 

AC: Because they were friend with the person who was killed. 

PSC: Why? What happens if they don't solve the murder? Murders go unsolved all the time. Those people had friends. Why does this person have to solve this murder right now? 

And from there, we build out the stakes and the consequences. But the vital part of those stakes and consequences is the underlying emotional anchors. 

What does this character feel, believe, or experience right now that is propelling their actions? What do they think they will feel, believe, or experience if they succeed? How is that an improvement for them? 

What do they fear they will feel, believe, or experience if they fail? How does that change their current situation? 

How do those possibilities emotionally engage the reader?