“Andy knew this was his last chance to make things right with Cindy.”

With just one sentence, we’re already leaning in. The stakes are clear; there’s a relationship on the line. We don’t know the details yet, but we already care.

This is the power of starting with stakes.

When readers pick up a story, they’re subconsciously asking, “Why should I care?”

That doesn’t mean you need a car chase on page one. It means the story must immediately communicate that something is at risk, and that it matters deeply to someone. Stakes create tension.

Early Conflict = Early Investment

Going back to our opening line:

“Andy knew this was his last chance to make things right with Cindy.”

From this, we immediately understand:

• There’s a broken relationship.
• There’s urgency: a last chance.
• There’s emotional weight: he wants to “make things right.”

We don’t know what Andy did and we don’t know if Cindy will forgive him, but we already want to see what happens.

The Mistake to Avoid

Too many stories start with background instead of conflict. A little background is fine. It helps to orient us as to what is going on and color in tone and setting. But often times I see stories where the author goes on for pages describing the setting or a scene before for we get to anything that matters to the character. The quicker you can get to the core conflict or stakes, the better.

Try This Exercise

Take the first paragraph of any story you are currently working on. Ask yourself:

• What’s at risk here?
• Does the character know it?
• Will the reader care?

If the answer to any of those is “not yet,” consider revising to make sure these questions are answered.

Stakes are a promise to the reader

Keep in mind that starting with stakes is a promise to the reader. When we mention Andy’s situation in the opening line in the way we did, we are committing to our reader that by the end of the story there will be answers as to how Andy got into that situation and what the outcome will be for him.

Stakes make us care what happens and that keeps us reading.

-James