Even if you've got a well-paced plot that has plenty of internal and external conflict, there might still be times when you'd like to raise the stakes a bit.

You want your reader on the edge of their seat. You want the tension to build ... and you want your protagonist's actions to truly matter.

Raising the stakes doesn't necessarily mean setting your story on a bigger stage. It can be hard for us to connect to the concept of big, global threats and they may feel remote, so if you do have a high-concept story like this, raising the stakes may mean instead vividly showing how the big picture impacts individual characters.

Great ways to raise the stakes (and keep your reader turning the pages!) are to:

#1: Put Other People in Danger if Your Character Doesn't Succeed

Let's say your main characters faces losing their job, due to the sabotague of a colleague. The stakes will be a lot higher if your character is the only breadwinner for their family, and they're all going to be thrown out of their home if they can't pay the rent this month.

#2: Have Irreverisble Consequences if Your Character Loses

Some failures are frustrating or upsetting, but ultimately they can be recovered from. The prospect of a failure that can't be recovered from will create a lot more tension. Perhaps the protagonist is facing off against the antagonist ... and failure means the total destruction of their home town.

#3: Create a Race Against Time

If you've got a band of heroes working desperately against the clock to defeat the forces of evil, we'll feel the pressure of that countdown. Plus, they might not haev the time to gather the resources or support they need if they have to act fast ... piling on even more pressure.

The raised stakes don't need to be objectively big in order to matter. You'll need to think about what's appropriate for your story and genre. In a period romance, for instance, the "race against time" stakes might be about your heroine securing a proposal before the hero leaves to tour Europe.

Could your novel or short story benefit from you raising the stakes? What tweaks might you make that will keep your reader on the edge of their seat?

Happy writing,

Ali

P.S. If you missed last week's blog post, you can find it here:

How to Write ... When You Feel Drained by the Demands of Daily Life