Introduction

This week we are going to be talking about how to raise the stakes in your screen writing. One of the most confusing notes that people tend to get from producers is "raise the stakes" But what are stakes? And why is it that you can blow something up, burn three million dollars, shoot at a baby, and it can still feel like there are no stakes? Stakes actually begin with empathy. We feel stakes when we connect to a character on the screen,. big screen or small screen, and we see a tiny piece of ourselves up there. We connect to them. We empathize with them. We feel the world what it would feel like to be in their shoes.