In today's episode I answer a listener's question about character motivation and stakes. How do you know whether the stakes in your story are enough to carry a whole novel? How do you stress test your protagonist's motivation before writing the entire book? Why do some character goals seem to matter more than others? This is a great episode to listen to if: - you're at the planning stage of your novel - you have a big idea but you're not sure if it has legs - you've got a short way into a novel but it seems to have run out of steam - you're editing your novel and looking for ways to make it more compelling As I always I would *love* your thoughts on this. Please do drop me a line at my website, timclarepoet.co.uk - just click the 'Contact Me' link on the right and send me any comments, questions for future episodes, or just say hello. Please like and subscribe to this podcast on Soundcloud and iTunes, and if you have the time please rate Death Of 1000 Cuts on iTunes and leave a review for other writers. It's really handy for helping people find it. If you want to support the podcast you can click this link to drop a few bucks to my Ko-fi page: ko-fi.com/timclare My novel is called THE HONOURS and if you click here you can buy it with free delivery while supporting the podcast: https://wordery.com/the-honours-tim-clare-9781782114765?cTrk#oid=1908_1