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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/47735
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/47735
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

 **Note:** This question deals exclusively with personal stakes (what the character could lose). It does not deal with public stakes (what the world of the novel could lose).

* * *

In my mind, there are two levels of stakes (not to be confused with the _kinds_ of stakes): basic and deep.

**Example:** In the first season of 24, you have _basic_ personal stakes. Jack needs to stop the terrorists to rescue his daughter. In LotR, you have _deep_ personal stakes. Frodo needs to destroy the Ring, otherwise it will consume and destroy him. The difference is that if Frodo fails, he will, in some form, be incomplete and be unable to _continue_ (again, in some form). In 24, we can assume that if Jack fails to rescue his daughter, he will be seriously messed up, but we can also assume that he will eventually _continue_. There's nothing saying or even suggesting that he won't.

While I recognize that basic stakes can work in certain scenarios, they always only seem to be _enough_. Call me a perfectionist, but I don't want _enough_. I want the maximum.

**Background:** I am an outliner, meaning I develop and plan every aspect of my writing before actually writing it. I operate almost entirely off of formulas and step-by-step processes. I cannot sit down and 'simply write'. That approach does not work for me.

**Problem:** I am currently trying to create a process by which I can generate deep personal stakes in my characters. Deep personal stakes boil down to a **need** without which a **character** is **incomplete** in some form, and cannot **continue** in some form (due to being incomplete).

I have tried looking up examples of stakes, but surprisingly, I couldn't find any. Just lots of information on how to make basic stakes and raise them. No one seems to even know about deep personal stakes. For this reason, LotR is the best example of deep personal stakes which comes to mind.

**Question:** Can you show me a process by which I can create deep personal stakes for my characters?

I will be glad to provide more details if necessary.

Original score: 5