Hey, {{ first_name | Rebel }}!
When I was drafting my first super-long project (aka my PhD), I kept softening the consequences.
Every time something bad happened, I gave my character an escape hatch.
It felt kind. It also drained the tension.
Why? Well, stories only land when something costs…
.
Emotional stakes make stories last
Readers remember how a story made them feel, and the emotional stakes linger after the plot fades.
Our goal? Deepen the consequences.
EVERYTHING HAS CONSEQUENCES, KEVIN!
Giphy
Craft Insight
Stakes become powerful when they are personal. External consequences matter, but internal cost creates resonance.
Loss, regret, identity, belonging. These are lasting forces.
Heavy on the regret, ya feel me?
📝 Prompt 1: The Cost
Write a moment where your character recognises what this decision will cost them.
Focus on what they stand to lose.
Strengthen the emotional weight by borrowing lived experience from a time when you had to make a really difficult decision.
How did that choice make you react, and why?
Remember, most decisions aren’t linear or rational. Emotion always plays a leading role.
📝 Prompt 2: The Almost Confession
Write a scene where your character nearly tells the truth but stops.
Show the hesitation.
Your task is to dig into the tension and your character’s vulnerability.
What stops them? What’s the domino effect of not speaking now?
📝 Prompt 3: The Aftermath
Write what happens immediately after something irreversible.
Focus on emotional fallout rather than spectacle.
“The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.”
―Richard Price
Reflection
What does your protagonist fear losing more than anything?
That fear likely defines your stakes.
And if you want accountability (or someone to cry with) while you draft it, the Studio is open to you on a 14-day free trial.
Gentle reminder: You do not need more inspiration. Your process just needs a lil’ TLC, structure, and repetition. That’s how you get the srs gains! 💪
Hit reply, and I’ll send you an invite!
— Demi
Founder & Creative in Chief | Studio Sonder
