Losing Your Readers? Raise the Stakes!

Losing your readers in the first two sentences doesn’t mean your story is bland—it means you haven’t raised the stakes.

The stakes in a story are the oil that keeps the engine running smoothly. They are what move the reader's eyes from this sentence. To this sentence. To the next sentence over here, and all the way through your story.

Here are 5 ways to raise the stakes in your story:

1. Paint the Elephant. Let your audience know what the story is really about right from the start. Don’t describe the room’s details until you reveal there’s a dead body in the center of it. Then, as the story unfolds, subtly change the color of the elephant. You’re not altering the plot entirely but shifting its focus. Suddenly, the story becomes less about a murder and more about an unexpected love interest between the main character and the killer.

2. Offer a Backpack. Give your audience something to carry with them—a piece of curiosity or tension that keeps them engaged. You don’t have to explain why they’re carrying it—just drop a line like, "As we pulled away from the weathered gas station, the old man behind the fogged glass leaned back, his eyes gleaming with a secret." You never need to answer the question directly, but now your audience carries the weight of that secret, searching for the reason behind the old man’s unsettling grin.

3. Drop a Breadcrumb. Use leading language to hint at what’s to come in the story without giving away too much too soon. A well-placed breadcrumb teases the destination without revealing it entirely. For instance, in an apocalyptic tale, the main characters might glimpse a little boy darting between the trees as if he’s following them. This breadcrumb hints at the civilization they’ll eventually discover, suggesting they were being led—or perhaps followed—all along.

4. Flip the Hourglass. The best storytellers know the exact moment their audience is eagerly waiting for—unveiling the mask or the first step into the criminal's lair. Just before that moment, slow the story down. Linger on seemingly unnecessary details like the pattern of bricks on the house or the color of the masked villain’s fingernails. It’s a deliciously frustrating experience for the reader because you know they’re hooked, and you stretch out that anticipation, making them savor every drawn-out second.

5. Rub the Crystal Ball. This final stake-raiser is about predicting the future, even if it's rooted in nothing more than fear or fantasy. Consider a line like, "I grabbed the keys in a fury, certain this would be the last time I ever saw his face. Maybe even the last time I saw anyone's face. It was over." These predictions don’t have to come true, but they must feel utterly real to the character. If the character believes it, the reader will too—and they’ll stick around to see if the prediction plays out.

Your number one job as a writer is to keep your readers engaged. If you succeed at this, it won’t matter how gripping your beginning is or how satisfying your ending might be.

Stakes are what keep readers hooked. Elevate the stakes in your next story using one of these five techniques.