Three Things You Really Need to Know About Stakes

Hi, thanks for dropping by. I have an important creative writing tip for you today!

We’ve all heard the expression the stakes are high… but why do they need to be high in your novel? I don’t think I’ve ever written a blog post specifically about stakes (not steaks, hehe!) before… but stakes are a vital part of any story, so here are three things you really need to know:

1. At the beginning of your story you will have a character who needs to sort something out. If he doesn’t know about it from the start, he soon does… because something happens. That something might be a bully hurting a friend, the discovery of a treasure map, suspicious activity next door, an animal in distress… whatever it is, this thing that happens has to affect/impact your character in some way.

Elephant walking on a road.

2. The ‘thing that happens‘ must be big enough to make your character ACT.

The pain of taking action has to be worth the effort: your character will have to weigh this up.

  • What will he stand to gain if he wins through and defeats the baddie/situation?
  • What will happen if he doesn’t?

These are the stakes.

3. You need to make the stakes so high that your character MUST ACT despite the risks (or you won’t have much of a story!).

Once your character is motivated to action, you can send him on his way to conquer the baddies, put rights to wrong, get his mum to safety, destroy the ring of power… or whatever it is he needs to do… and, of course, grow as a person through the dreadful trials you will put him through before he gets the prize. 🙂

Does that all make sense? Perhaps an example would be useful.

On a church youth club treasure hunt, Lance (my character) hears strange noises in the back of a lorry – it sounds like there are people shut up in there (something happens). What is going on? Hmm. Lance has a choice. He can ignore it/explain it away, or he can act.

What will happen if he doesn’t act? His conscience will bug him. If people really are shut up in that lorry, what if nobody helps them? What if he’s the only person who knows?

What might happen if he does act? He might be in danger from the lorry driver, but with God’s help he might be able to get the people out… or at least solve the mystery of the strange noises.

As Lance considers what to do (decide if the stakes are high enough for him to act) he reads his Bible verse for the day which says “do for others as you would like them to do for you.” (Luke 6:31)

That’s it! The stakes are now sufficiently high to make Lance act, and he sets off on a real treasure hunt (taking his friends with him).

Stakes are important! Make sure the stakes in your story are as high as you can make them, while still being believable. This will make for a gripping story to keep your readers engaged right to the end. Will your character win through? They will need to keep reading to find out.

Hope that helps you with your stakes (and if you have steaks, enjoy!),

Janet

Janet Wilson from Write for a Reason and Dernier Publishing

P.S. If you like the sound of Lance’s treasure hunt, you can read The Treasure Hunt pdf free by subscribing to emails from Dernier Publishing, order the paperback from our website or any bookshop, or the kindle or audiobook from anywhere in the world! We’ve had children say about this story, “This is the best book I’ve ever read.” I think it’s because they are so thrilled to find Christian characters in a book who have fun, go to church, and solve mysteries! Shows how vital Christian books are. So keep writing yours!

Girl absorbed in reading a story

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Editing Your First Draft

People new to writing novels sometimes think that the words should flow straight out on to the page perfectly first time. This simply isn’t the case.

Editing is a normal part of the writing process. You might need to go through your first draft several times before you show your work to anyone else.

You will want to make sure everything makes sense. You might want to cut unnecessary scenes, lengthen exciting parts, change ‘tells’ into ‘shows’, remove typos, improve grammar, flow, dialogue and pace… All this is totally normal.

The editing process might take longer than the initial draft!

Honestly, it doesn’t matter if your draft needs three edits, thirty, or even a hundred. What matters is that you finish, and make your story the best it can be.

How will you know when to stop revising? When you realise if you change anything else, you are going to start spoiling it!

Relieved to know that you’re normal in needing to edit? Great! Raise your head, get that first draft down, then do as much editing as you need. It will be worth it! Someone is waiting for your story.

Have a great week,

Janet Wilson from Write for a Reason and Dernier Publishing

Janet

P.S. Every so often when you are editing, copy the full story, and work with a new version. Then if you don’t like some of the edits you have made, all is not lost – you can go back to the old one!

Never miss another post! If you would like to receive email updates from Write for a Reason, to help you finish your story and get it out into the world, click here. 🙂

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Too Clever?

In today’s creative writing tip, I’d like to mention an issue that some of you may have noticed either in novels you have read, or perhaps TV programmes or films you have watched (stories of any sort).

The problem is being too clever.

Sometimes it’s a plot which is too complicated to follow (ever got to the end of a book/film and wondered huh?).

Sometimes it’s a small thing, like giving all your characters or places clever names (which perhaps mean something, but wouldn’t be true to life).

It can be a twist that disappoints because it’s just not believable. Noooo!

Or many other too clever things. 🙂

It’s good to have a brilliant plot, names that suit your characters, and a surprising twist. And it’s good to be clever. 🙂

The problem comes if you are so clever that what you are giving your readers/listeners detracts from your story. You want your readers to be gripped, not confused, critical or disappointed!

It’s fun to think of clever ideas, but we do need to think of our readers. The younger they are, the simpler things need to be.

Trust that helps!

Have a great writing week,

Janet Wilson from Write for a Reason and Dernier Publishing

Janet

P.S. You can find further tips on naming your characters here and here. 🙂

If you would like to sign up to receive emails from Janet, click here.

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The Best Way to Beat Overwhelm

If we want to get anything done, we have to do it one step at a time.

If we want to build a wall, there’s no other way than brick by brick. Or if you’re more into cakes than walls (I’m thinking of Roald Dahl’s Matilda), the only way to eat a chocolate cake is one bite at a time!

Chocolate cake

It can be a slow process, but you will get there in the end. ;-0

So what has this to do with writing? Well the whole process can feel overwhelming at times. We can all get stuck. The start, the plot, the characters… and how will it all end? OVERWHELM! We all know what it feels like – it’s normal. But how do we get out of ‘stuck mode’?

The best way to tackle overwhelm is to just take one bite or build one brick (I’ll take the cake, hehe!). Joking aside, if you’re feeling paralysed right now, because the whole novel-writing thing seems too big, you need to take the next step.

A small step is fine, because every small step will be taking you towards your final goal. In fact, every small step is a victory!

So what do you need to do next? Write the next paragraph? Plan the next chapter? Make a character list? Decide on your setting? Or get going again?

Over to you! Take out your journal, and make a list of things you need to do to make your story a reality. Then just do one thing! Or skip the list and just do something. 🙂

If you do that every day, bit by bit your novel will take shape.

It will! You can do it!

Have a good week, a moving on week.

Why not drop me a line to tell me what your next step will be? I’d love to hear from you. 🙂

Love to you all in Christ,

Janet

Janet Wilson from Write for a Reason and Dernier Publishing

P.S. I wrote an ebook, years ago now, with lots of good writing tips and tricks to help you make your novel the best it can be.

Click below to find the book on:

Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk Amazon.ca Amazon.au

Ebook_Cover_50_Writing_Tips

I’ve kept the price low, because I want to make it accessible to as many writers as possible. It’s great value, and you can start putting the writing tips into practice immediately! I hope you enjoy it. 🙂

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Getting Better

The most common thing new writers ask me when I’m talking about Write for a Reason is, “How do I know if my writing is good enough?

Would you ask me that if I was in a room with you now? If so, let me tell you, in my firmest voice, there’s no such thing as “good enough”. Or not good enough.

Let me explain.

You have been called to write stories for children to share your faith in some way. Suppose, instead of thinking about how to get a publishing contract with a big company, you decide to write for your nephew? Or a child you know who is going through a tough time? And make that the very best story you can?

When I first started knitting dolls for refugees, I was a bit shaky with the pattern, but now I’ve got a lot better. Those first few dolls were less than perfect in different ways, but I’m sure they will be loved by the girls who receive them… they are good enough. Not good enough to sell in Harrods, but more than good enough for a little girl to love. And the more I make, the better I get!

Knitted dolls

If you are called to write, you can do it. Your writing is good enough. I can almost hear you say, but suppose I’ve made a mistake, and it’s all just in my head? Well, there’s only one way to find out!

It’s time to get to work, and I hope you will let me help. You can only get better!

May the Lord lead and guide you as you write,

Janet Wilson from Write for a Reason and Dernier Publishing

Janet

P.S. If you join the new Write for a Reason course, you come out with a complete story plan. We will go through characters, setting, plot and loads more! I hope you will join me, because I’d love to help you make your stories the very best they can be. Registration isn’t open yet, but you can take a sneaky peak here. Don’t forget to tell your friends, and keep in touch!

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Pigs, Wolves, and a Story Worth Telling

In any good story, you need some kind of conflict.

If three little pigs built beautiful houses of different materials and lived in them happily ever after, there wouldn’t be much of a story to tell, would there? But suppose a big, bad wolf enters the scene, to huff and to puff and to blow houses down? Help! NOW we have a story.

Wolf

In just the same way, we need some kind of conflict in our stories, that will be resolved in the end.

Some of you will be thinking – yes, of course! But the truth is, new writers can be tempted to write a series of interesting adventures… where nothing every really happens. Believe me, I’ve read stories like this. If you suspect this may be you, take a long, hard look at your plot. Would it benefit from some kind of conflict?

As Christians, we can want to make everything nice for our young readers, and of course we need an ending where all is beautifully resolved. Still, conflict is what makes a story, and will be so until the Lord returns. (Which will be our final, beautiful resolution!)

Let me know what you think in the comments below – it’s always lovely to hear from you. 🙂

Until next week, happy writing,

Janet Wilson from Write for a Reason and Dernier Publishing

Janet

P.S. If you haven’t already, join me on instagram! @janetfromwriteforareason. Love to see you there. 🙂

P.P.S. If you don’t subscribe to emails from Write for a Reason and would like to, you can do so here. Every week I will send you an email to make sure you don’t miss writing tips like this, and keep you up to date with courses and events.

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3 Reasons to Set Your Novel in a Place You Don’t Know

A couple of weeks ago I posted a writing tip with 7 reasons to set your novel in a place you know. This week we’re going to look at three reasons you might want to set your novel in a place you do not know.

  1. Historical novels bring in a whole new, fascinating dimension for readers. At Dernier Publishing we have a wonderful spy mystery novel for 8-11s called A Pennyworth of Peppermints, which is set in Dorset in the first world war. Mary Weeks Millard, the author, wasn’t there, of course! She had to do a lot of research into what life was like for families living in that place at that time. Kids love the book (actually, adults do, too!), so the effort was definitely worth it. Could you set your story in the past, in a era that particularly interests you? Stories set in Bible times also come in this category, of course.
  2. Dystopian novels for young adults and children 10+ are popular, so setting your story in an imagined future is another option… this time, instead of doing some research, you’ll have to build yourself a whole new world.
  3. Fairy land, talking beasts, dragons, inter-planetary travel, alternative worlds – these are all great fun. If you are planning on writing a fantasy novel, you will have to make up your own world – whether your story is based on a legend, or completely out of your own imagination. It’s definitely worth having a go if you fancy it.

I hope this writing tip and the last one will help you think through your setting. We go into much more detail about choosing and building the setting for your story in the new Write for a Reason course, coming soon! If you’d like more details, let me know and I’ll make sure to keep you up to date with progress.

Janet Wilson from Write for a Reason and Dernier Publishing

Phew – lots to think about this week! See you next Monday,

Janet

P.S. One thing I can tell you about the new course is that students will come out at the end with a complete story plan, which will include the setting. It’s going to be fun!

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What do cooking smells, fresh flowers in a vase and a polished table have in common?

As you know, Write for a Reason creative writing tips are all about helping you give your novel for children/teens that X factor, so you can grip your readers! This week’s writing tip is useful for whatever age group you write for, so do feel free to pass it on to friends who write fiction of any description.

Showing not telling is a great way to add X factor to your novels. We’ve discussed it before, but there’s no harm in mentioning it again, because if you can use the technique to your advantage, you will set yourself above the competition!

You probably “show not tell” sometimes without thinking, but there may be times when you get caught up in the “telling” and could do with a bit more “showing”. This might take a bit of extra work… but it’s worth it, because it will grip your readers and take them right into your story with you.

Suppose your protagonist enters a house, but no one is there. Let’s call her Andrea. Has the house been abandoned, or is it still inhabited? Hmm. What about if Andrea detects a faint smell of cooking when she walks in? This immediately lets Andrea know know people have been here not long before, and makes sure your readers are right there with her, smelling that cooking smell. Or Andrea may see fresh flowers in a vase, or run her fingers over a polished table to find there is no dust… the possibilities are endless!

If you use “showing” like this, you don’t have to write: “It looked like people had been there not long before.” You’ve shown your readers. They can feel the polished table, see the flowers in the vase, and can smell the cooking smell. (And the more of the five senses you use, the better!)

Why not read through your work in progress, and see if there are any places you could add a bit of “show not tell”? Let me know if you do – it’s always lovely to hear from you. 🙂

Trust that helps! Happy showing not telling. See you again next week. 🙂

Janet x

P.S. I wrote about Show not tell in a previous post (from 2015 – can you believe we’ve been here that long?) – do check it out if you’re not exactly sure what showing not telling is. 🙂

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7 Reasons to Set Your Story in a Place You Know

The usual advice given to fiction writers is “write what you know”.

There are several excellent reasons for setting your story in a place you know well. Here are seven of them:

  1. If you close your eyes, you can be there
  2. You know what the place smells like, feels like, sounds like
  3. You know about the people who live there – their culture, beliefs, fears, dreams and aspirations
  4. You know exactly what it looks like during the day, at night, and every hour in between
  5. You know where the animals roam, where the rubbish goes, what happens in the park, the streets, the fields, the community places
  6. You know the history of the place – its near and distant past, and its secrets
  7. You can write about it with feeling from your gut.

Have you set your story in a place you know? I’d love to hear from you! Please add your comments below. 🙂

Love to you all,

Janet

P.S. Next week we’ll be taking a look at some reasons why you might not want to set your story in a place you know… You can subscribe here, to make sure you don’t miss it!

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How to Turn Your Holiday into a Story

Today I have a thought-provoking creative writing tip for you!

As you know, I’m always urging you to read. Well, following my own advice, last week I read Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier while on holiday in Cornwall. 🙂 Wonderful! If you haven’t read it, I thoroughly recommend it. You will be inspired!

.

Daphne du Maurier wrote this novel after a visit to Jamaica Inn. She was riding with a friend on Bodmin Moor one day when mist came down. They got lost and ended up staying in the inn. Having learnt about the history of smuggling in the area, she wrote her famous story!

Now here’s my point. Could you turn something that happens to you on your holiday into an idea for a story? A boat ride, a visit to dark caves, a folk festival? A local legend with wolves, dragons or bears? Could you write a short story of hope with a spiritual theme, to give to a child on your heart? Perhaps you could write about God’s love, his forgiveness, justice, mercy, good triumphing over evil, light shining in the darkness?

I look forward to hearing all your ideas!

Love to you all,

Janet

P.S. Anyone interested in a summer story competition? Let me know if you are, and if there’s enough interest I’ll set one up!

P.P.S. A few more photos, in case anyone is interested…

Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor
The fire at Jamaica Inn
Open fire at Jamaica Inn
Jamaica Inn
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