Are the stakes too high?

Spoiler Warning: I discuss the outcomes of both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame in this post.

I often say that the biggest mistake a writer can make is to create a character or plot that no one really cares about. If, for example, your main character is too boring or one-dimensional, or if your plot is too linear or cliched.

And, of course, there is also the problem of What is at stake? What happens when the main character loses? If nothing is at stake, or if the stakes are too low, readers will simply be left with feelings of indifference after getting to the end of the story.

But one thing we don’t talk about too much is if the stakes are too high.

In our most recent podcast, Scott and I talked about how to give meaning to characters’ tragedies. We also touched on this topic a little, where it can almost be numbing to have high point after high point after high point.

And this is can be a problem. If your stakes are too high–always too high, it changes the way your readers will read your fiction.

Let’s take last two Avengers movies, for example. In Infinity War, the stakes couldn’t be higher: If Thanos gets all the stones–bam! Half of the universe is wiped out. And in Endgame, the the high stakes was two-fold. If the heroes couldn’t retrieve all six stones, they couldn’t “undo” the snap and bring everyone back, and second, if they were successful, Thanos may able to once again wield the Infinity Gauntlet, and do it again. Only this time with a vengeance.

Anyhow, with stakes this high, these movies now set expectations that are virtually impossible to live up to. After having two movies about the fate of the universe, how does one transition back to “normal” lower stakes? How does one transition back to lower “normal” villains?

There is just a huge risk of readers not caring for lower stakes, or not getting as emotionally involved in higher stakes since they’ve seen it all before.

And in a series, it may also hurt the interest for new or casual viewers. Take me, for example. I haven’t seen a lot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, but after watching (and loving) the high stake Avengers movies, I really have no interest in going back to see the early Captain America or Thor movies.

So I know I’m not proposing a lot of solutions to these problems here, but I think the best way to handle it is to go back to the beginning. No matter what the stakes, it’s imperative to have dynamic, diverse characters that a reader can relate to, and plots that are filled with enough twists and conflicts to keep a reader interested.

And finally, as a guy who loves high stake stories more than anything, I’ve got to say keep using them if that’s what you like. Especially in stand-alone novels. Just make sure those high stake stories don’t always overshadow the lower ones.

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to share some of your favorite high stakes books or movies.