Missing Stakes in My Stories & Why TV Feels All the Same While Writers Are Told to Be Original

Newsletter #1 - September 1st 2025

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Let’s get cracking on this weeks questions.

QUESTION 1

From Aurie in London

I tend to find the same weakness in the stories I want to write: I am missing the stakes. Ideas are good (so I have been told); there is a beginning, an end, and a clear journey, but I am struggling to make it exciting, to find the hook—"why anyone should care about this particular story."

Do you have any tips to find/create the stake of a story?

Great question, Aurie.

I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of days, because it’s a tricky one - and a very normal problem. In fact, I think it’s one of the most common issues writers face developing an idea.

But it’s also one of the most important to tackle, whether you’re developing a single idea or deciding which idea to pursue. It’s actually quite a good metric if you are choosing which idea to take further.

Sometimes with ideas the issue is that you’ve come up with a world, setting, perhaps a character but no clear journey - but you seem to have passed that milestone. So, I am going to guess this is most likely rooted in character or structure.

The most direct way to figure out why it feels like stakes are missing is to look at each idea and really dig into the “why?” Since your question is broader, let me share some practical things I find good to uncover stakes.

Is the character’s goal clear by the start of Act 2?

If not, the audience won’t have a clear picture of what’s truly at risk.

Is the goal something the character needs, or just something they want?

“Need” makes it primal and urgent and nearly always comes with natural stakes. “Want” can feel optional.

Is the opposing force clear?

If we don’t understand what’s standing in the character’s way, the journey can feel too easy - and when things feel easy, it feels like nothing much is at stake.

Are the consequences of failure clear?

A quick exercise I like to really dig into this:

• Write down the worst-case scenario if the character doesn’t get what they need.

• Then look at the answer you just wrote and push it further: how could that be even worse?

• Finally, ask: what’s the absolute worst timeline for the character should they fail?

I find writing these answers down can jolt something loose in your brain - and if you get the consequences clear, you should have some stakes. But just remember, make sure those consequences are made clear in your script.

Is the audience hooked by an urgent question?

Sometimes it’s less about character and more about structure.

Ask yourself: what are the primal questions does the audience want answered at key moments in the story? If the audience feels they must know the answer, it creates urgency and a sense of stakes. This is another way to create stakes: not only through character goals, but through the questions the audience is desperate to see answered.

For an extreme version of this, think of the TV show LOST, if you remember that program. (Ps. I liked the final season - don’t shoot me.)

There you might have a scene where a polar bear suddenly appears in the jungle! We, the audience, feel we must know what the hell is going on - but the show abruptly cuts to a mundane flashback of someone in the kitchen. But because we have an urgent, primal question we must get the answer too, even mundane scenes that follow feel important and urgent.

Just make sure to not drag on too long before answering that primal question and replacing it with a new one.

I hope those ideas help you find your stakes. If you feel up for sharing one of your ideas, I’d be happy to dig deeper into a specific idea here.

QUESTION 2

From Lee in the UK

Having just watched Season 1 of Ridley in quick succession, it made me realise there is the same pattern to each episode. Furthermore, I’m seeing the same tropes in this that I’ve seen in many other crime thrillers.

Do you think television is following the same route as movies and only investing in tried and tested compositions?

If so, why do we get so much advice regarding not writing something similar to what is already out there? Somebody is purposely doing that, and it seems to be a very effective approach.

Thank you for this interesting question, Lee.

I haven’t seen Ridley yet - it’s on my ever-growing list of things I must see and never have time for.

But I think I understand what you’re pointing to. Many shows repeat familiar patterns and tropes, especially in episodic TV. The basic answer there is intentional. It’s creating a structural rhythm the audience can rely on, so viewers know what kind of experience they’ll get each week.

As for why so many shows lean on familiar beats, I think it usually comes down to the demands of the market. Production companies want projects they know they can sell, and what sells is often what’s already doing well.

That doesn’t mean writers or creators aren’t aiming for quality and innovation and just making content - they absolutely are. At least, I have never worked with a producer/production company that doesn’t absolutely try their hardest to make something great that they believe in.

But to be able to produce something as expensive as TV, you must make sure that it can be sold and you can secure funds for it.

So why are writers always told to be original when this is the case? I think there could be two reasons for that:

It’s hard to predict what the market will want by the time your script is ready.

Originality helps you stand out. If your spec feels too much like everything else, it risks being drowned out by similar things. But if it’s fresh - even if it isn’t something that’s viable for the market right now - it might get you noticed, and then, in the best timeline, land you work on something else a company is developing.

So yes, the industry often buys safer bets - but as a writer, aiming for originality is still the soundest way to break through.

Hope that answered your questions,

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