Hi gang, Craig here again with another Expansion Pack. These are designed to enhance the series I wrote about The Hero’s Journey, also known as the Writing Monomyth.
It’s worth repeating that none of the Expansion Pack material is required for your stories. These are just as advertised. If you want to get a bit deeper into the optional stuff, you might find them helpful.
I think everyone understands the concept of stakes, but in fiction there has to be a risk of some kind. What might be lost? What might be gained? That kind of thing.
You can even use a recipe card to a degree: If hero doesn’t accomplish goal, blank will happen. There is a lot of room to play here, particularly in the goal area. Today we want to focus on the ________ will happen part.
You’ve read books, or seen films, where the stakes are obvious. The giant asteroid will hit Earth and kill everyone, nuclear war, ad infinitum. There are also stories where the goal might be to escape from enemy lines, etc. Stakes are usually pretty obvious.
What if you were to take the stakes and personify them? I’m talking about creating a character that represents the price of failure. To do this, you have to give this character some page time. It could be the soldier’s child back home, the love interest, or even an animal.
Tip: Know your audience before attempting this. 2019 probably isn’t the time to rely upon Beaver Cleaver or Opie Taylor. The stakes character can have flaws too, but it’s your job to make the reader feel for them.
It’s time for me to delve into film for an example. The 1996 movie Twister used Helen Hunt’s elderly aunt perfectly. She lived alone in tornado alley, but we got to meet her and she was sweet. We cared for her. She personified what was at risk. Much better than just coldly knowing that someone is going to get hurt. Now it’s Aunt Meg.
The stakes character knows no race, sex, or age limits. Aunt Meg was an elderly character. In a somewhat creative move, the entire cast of Goonies were their own stakes characters. Maybe not from the developers behind the whole problem, but from the Fratellis who were pursuing the kids.
One of my favorite films actually did it wrong. In Dante’s Peak, the belligerent old mother-in-law refused to leave her beloved mountain. The main characters had to go into harm’s way to save her. The problem is that she wasn’t lovable, and was kind of unworthy. (Still loved the movie.)
In a story, a captive of some kind is an obvious stakes character, but you can go beyond this. When I wrote The Playground, all of our children were placed at risk by a nefarious kind of social media placed into their toys. I chose one girl and demonstrated her downward spiral to illustrate what was happening on the broader scale. Focusing on a single child helps readers get the full gist.
Another tip: Don’t be afraid to play on reader sympathy here. Put the stakes character in a wheelchair. Use the ticking clock of an insulin injection that must be administered within a certain time. Beautiful characters are more likely to work here than hideous ones. Super-heroic, muscle bound characters might save themselves, so avoid them as stakes characters.
Quiz time: The volcano is erupting. Lava is flowing down the street. Add in some homes bursting into flames, gas lines, deadly fumes, the works. Standing in the middle of the street directly in the path of the lava flow is/are:
A.) The Avengers.
B.) Chuck Norris.
C.) Fiona the baby hippo.
D.) Dolores Umbridge.
Which one would make the best stakes character? Which one might elicit sympathy from your readers?
I think you’ve got this.
Using a stakes character has an infinite amount of possibility. This is because the stakes are so varied in our stories. Different genres have different expectations. Could a stakes character help bring some of your story into focus?
Reblogged this on Kim's Musings.
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Thanks for sharing.
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Pingback: Friday Finds #writetip #fiction – Staci Troilo
I love this! Those Avengers, they are everywhere.
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They sure are.
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Even though I get what you’re saying about the stakes character, I say let Dolores Umbrige burn 🙂 Great post!
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Yeah, I’m okay with that. Sadly, readers will be too, and that makes her a lousy stakes character.
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I know, but I just can’t stand her.
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Nobody can. I dream of writing a character that one day sticks in everyone’s gullet like her.
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You do realise that the stakes character in your above quiz is actually the volcano for daring to erupt and threaten Chuck Norris in the first place.
Great post!
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You might be right.
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An excellent post, Craig. You make some great points here and well, then there is Fiona. Great examples!
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Fiona was a big help.
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Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide Traci Kenworth YA Author & Book Blogger.
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Thank you, Traci.
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You’re welcome, Craig!
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I remember both Aunt Meg and the cranky MIL in Dante’s Peak. I’ll still watch that movie if it’s on.
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I’ve watched both of them when they were on recently.
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I understand exactly what you are saying here, Craig. Thanks for the reminder about The Playground. I want to read that book.
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I’m excited about that. Hope you enjoy it.
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I’ve never watched Dante’s Peak, but I do remember Aunt Meg.
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I loved Dante’s Peak. They filmed a bunch of it in North Idaho.
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One of those movies I intended to watch but never did.
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It tends to come around occasionally.
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I would pick Fiona as well. She was too cute to leave behind. I like the idea of the “Stake” character. Great post.
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Thanks, Michele. Readers would be more worried about Fiona than any of the others.
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Good job, Craig. Fiona takes it to the highest level.
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I knew Fiona would be popular.
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I liked Twister and Dante’s Peak. Funny, though (and probably proves your point about the stakes character being any demographic), I didn’t remember Aunt Meg until you mentioned her in this post. But I frequently remember the grumpy mother-in-law from Dante’s Peak because she finally got it in the row boat and sacrificed herself to get the rest of them to safety. It was almost too little and definitely too late, but that one act not only elevated her character (for me) but made her incredibly memorable. (Although I’m still angry with her early-movie decision to ride it out.)
Great post, Craig. And Fiona… all the feels. 🥰
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I liked Aunt Meg because of the foreshadowing that went into her part of the story. When the big threat comes, we have a focal point for the problem.
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Really enjoyed this, as usual. I used stakes characters in the last book I wrote. They add a lot of tension. You used Bonnie in Voyage of the Lanternfish and gave her a rough time. I’m interested in what you’re going to do with her now that you’ve saved her:) Should be fun.
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She has posed a problem that I’ve been working through. I’ve about got it solved now.
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i think my best use of a stakes character was in Myth and Magic when I had the main character’s young son kidnapped.
This was another great expansion post. That vid of Fiona is adorable. I had no idea baby hippos could be so cute, hug-gable and friendly. When she opens her mouth wide, it makes me think of the powerful adult she’ll grow into.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched Dante’s Peak. It’s one of my favorite movies, too. I was sooo ticked at the grandmother, but at least she redeemed herself toward the end.
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That’s a great use of a stakes character. Fiona is bigger now, but there are a sequence of videos about her online.
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Fantastic and informative post, Craig, thank you.
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Glad you enjoyed it.
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Reblogged this on Archer's Aim and commented:
Steaks are not the only thing that can sizzle in a book. Try putting some high stakes on a good character and you’ve got some sizzle. Have a look at C. S. Boyack’s helpful take on this in his expansion pack post on Story Empire.
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Very clever intro. Thanks for sharing.
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My pleasure.
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Reblogged this on Entertaining Stories and commented:
Hey, everyone, I’m up at Story Empire today. We’re discussing stakes in our stories, and the use of a stakes character to drive them home. Stop over and say hi.
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The baby hippo, but Dolores Umbridge will be there to show what could happen if the heroes fail. I think you can have multiple stakes characters to show a range too. I’m thinking of ‘Taken’ where he had his daughter and her friend to save. The friend didn’t survive, but the daughter did. The former helped to increase the sense of stakes. Kind of like a sacrificial character.
With Dante’s Peak, would the mother-in-law be a redemption character considering how she died?
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I agree with both points. Fiction is so malleable there are any number of ways to do things. It’s nice to talk about the concepts, then figure out how it might work in your story. In Silence of the Lambs, the girl in the well made a good stakes character.
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Great post, Craig. I’m loving these expansion packs. My mischievous side came out and cried ‘Dolores Umbridge!’ lol. I reckon my latest book, FALLOUT, is full of stakes characters, and my WIP The Colony trilogy is looking like it’s headed the same way! Reblogged this on: https://harmonykent.co.uk/expansion-pack-the-stakes-character/
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Thank you. Sometimes the stakes are too big. Focus on one special character can drive the emotion better than a broader picture. Virus stories are always tense and high-stakes.
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