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writercises2017-01-26 10:55 am
mbarker.livejournal.com) wrote in writercises2017-01-26 10:55 am
TECH: Stakes?
Original Posting July 6, 2016
This is sort of a wonderment, more than anything else. See, the Writing Excuses group did a whole podcast talking about stakes, and what we mean when we say "raise the stakes" and so forth. Right over here
http://www.writingexcuses.com/2016/06/12/11-24-stakes/
But nowhere in their pondering did anyone mention the thing I think of right away. Gambling! Admittedly, I don't do it, but I certainly have heard enough about table stakes, a high stakes game, and that sort of thing, to feel as if the writers' "raise the stakes" is probably connected with that meaning. I mean, a high stakes game and a high stakes thriller?
Let's see. The stakes in a poker game are what you have to bet, and there's a whole set of conventions about raising the stakes (putting more money into the pot) and calling (refusing to increase the pot, but simply meeting the bet) and so on. But the key here is that you have games where you can join with a very low amount of money (a low stakes game) and others where you need a serious amount of money just to sit down.
Yes, the stakes in most stories are not directly money, they are more likely to be life, honor, reputation, and other somewhat intangible things, but it's the same principle. What are you willing to bet? What will you lose if the other person has better cards? What will you win if you have the winning hand?
Am I missing something? Are the stakes in stories that hard to understand?
tink
This is sort of a wonderment, more than anything else. See, the Writing Excuses group did a whole podcast talking about stakes, and what we mean when we say "raise the stakes" and so forth. Right over here
http://www.writingexcuses.com/2016/06/12/11-24-stakes/
But nowhere in their pondering did anyone mention the thing I think of right away. Gambling! Admittedly, I don't do it, but I certainly have heard enough about table stakes, a high stakes game, and that sort of thing, to feel as if the writers' "raise the stakes" is probably connected with that meaning. I mean, a high stakes game and a high stakes thriller?
Let's see. The stakes in a poker game are what you have to bet, and there's a whole set of conventions about raising the stakes (putting more money into the pot) and calling (refusing to increase the pot, but simply meeting the bet) and so on. But the key here is that you have games where you can join with a very low amount of money (a low stakes game) and others where you need a serious amount of money just to sit down.
Yes, the stakes in most stories are not directly money, they are more likely to be life, honor, reputation, and other somewhat intangible things, but it's the same principle. What are you willing to bet? What will you lose if the other person has better cards? What will you win if you have the winning hand?
Am I missing something? Are the stakes in stories that hard to understand?
tink