Conflict and Desire

Today I'd like to talk to you about stakes.

The driving force behind any story is its cast of characters, particularly the protagonist. Every protagonist needs at least one goal for themselves, one driving thing that keeps them progressing through the plot no matter how grim things get and keeps the readers intrigued with their plight. The path to their goal will likely not be an easy one, but the harder the journey the more satisfying attaining their goal will be for everyone involved. Since I don’t know what your protag’s motivations are, let’s assume for the moment that all they want is a nice, juicy steak.

How badly do you want this steak!?

Make your protagonist’s goal something that your readers can picture themselves wanting as well. Inside all of us, there is a potentially explosive mixture of musts and must-nots, of needs and wants, of conflict and desire. Humans are contradictory and perpetually hungry creatures, but satisfying that hunger with the wrong things or in the wrong ways can lead to self-destruction. Conflict comes in many flavours, and one of my personal favourites is internal conflict. One must be patient in waiting for one’s steak to cook in order to enjoy it to its maximum potential. Don’t eat it too quickly or you’ll choke, and don’t add too many spices lest you find out at the least convenient possible moment that you're allergic.

What does your character desire? People who want everything are obnoxious, and people who want nothing can’t be related to. It’s safe to say a character who gets everything they want with minimal effort will be not only boring and unrealistic, but detested by pretty much everyone who reads their account. Whether your story is high fantasy or film noir, keep in mind the steak doesn’t have to be rare. They don’t need to be seeking jewels. Have you seen the price of video games lately? What’s something that you personally have wanted lately but could not obtain or one reason or another? What was the reason? Food is a good example of something everyone wants, and good food is something to topple kingdoms. And steaks are the prime example of this, if you’ll forgive the pun.

Whether or not their motivation is food, starve your character. They aren’t just hungry; they’re dying. A steak is in their sights and they must get to it. Make them have no choice in the matter. Not only do they want the steak, they’ll need it if they want to survive another day in whatever shitty circumstances they’ve found themselves.

Don’t be afraid to raise the steaks. I mean "stakes."