EMOTIONAL STAKES: How to Make Readers Care About Your Story

RELATED VIDEOS:

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - what are emotional stakes?
1:51 - types of emotional stakes
how to create emotional stakes:
5:03 - relevant backstory
6:53 - side characters
7:41 - moral crossroads
9:03 - giving tragedy narrative meaning

MY SHORT STORIES:

FAQS
→How old are you? - 26
→How long have you been writing? - Since I was 8
→Where do you live? - I keep that private for safety reasons, but I grew up in Vancouver.
→Where did you go to university and what did you study? - I keep my university information private, but I majored in writing with a concentration in fiction.
→What are your pronouns? - They/them or she/her
→Where can I read your books? - None of my books are published yet, but you can read my published short fiction in my linktree (linked above!)
→So when will your book be published? - I don’t know! I’m in the revision process right now, but I can’t predict exactly when I’ll have a book published. But I’m working on it!
→Do you plan to traditionally publish or self publish? - Traditionally publish
→Will you read my book/story/chapter/mentor me? - Unfortunately I cannot accommodate these requests because editing/critiquing is a labour intensive task that I can’t afford to do for free alongside my job, my own writing, and running this platform. If you would like to hire me for paid editing work, contact me privately on twitter or instagram.

OUTRO MUSIC: "l u v t e a [acoustic]" by Autumn Keys

SOCIAL

[NickSklias]

Shaelin, You're one of like 3 youtubers who I get notifications for, and I am never disappointed. Thank you for creating content that allows us to steep our minds in the craft of story.

[SillverBel]

Not surprised that Shaelin would be a fan of TLoU. The story is somewhat thematically similar to her beautiful short story, "I Will Never Tell You This." Still one of my all-time favorite short stories. Highly recommend it! Shaelin, if you ever write an apocalyptic story, I know it'd be amazing.

[maironelfstone]

Thank you for laying this out so clearly; this helps a lot. I have always had a hard time creating emotional stakes beyond just killing off characters. This has given me so many great ideas, so thank you!! ❤

[kentonwoods]

The best external and emotional stakes I’ve ever seen in media is in The 100, especially seasons 2 and 3. I learned SO much about narrative structure and character from it - I always wondered how it managed to be so intense and emotional, and since watching your video I now understand the techniques they were implementing. I highly recommend watching it!

[molasses]

This is what I needed. I was wondering what I needed to make my story better and this is it <3

[thecatmangaming]

To add to your point on the final ep of TLOU... not only did Sarah die at a human's hands, she died at the hands of an authority figure acting on what they thought was the greater good in containing/making a vaccine for the infection

[wrigleyextra]

The Last of Us uses an archetype as old as LotR and its fellowship - we only care about the hero's journey because of how those around him are emotionally invested in his shortcomings, even if the fate of the world is the ultimate consequence.

[yonathanasefaw]

I am writing an emotional novel with a character named Gabor so thank you for sharing your thoughts on emotional stakes throughout the video.

[emmandres]

Thanks to this video, i made a major change to my story and i think its really improved it. Thank you so much shaelin!!

[AryaCyrus]

Thank you Shaelin! But all the setups you categorize assume the emotional goal is clear. What if a story explores emotions themselves? My character is in a perilously high-stakes situation, internally and externally. But the inciting incident has thrown her very idea of happiness and emotional loss into question.

[abhinavthakur]

I have been on this journey recently on learning everything about how to tell a story. I have reviewed most of the channels and what they have to say. Most of them are just jargon with one or two good things to say. Every single time I come here, I end up taking more than most of them combined. You present the information so beautifully. Primarily, because you have this sense of teaching and understanding of how to teach to anyone I guess. Kudos

[VideoGameRoom]

This is so helpful. I like to put my characters in emotional stakes and also where the readers can show them sympathy or empathy or they can relate because they felt the same way or know someone who has in their life.

[hullofaguy]

This is my favorite of all your videos, and at this point, I’ve watched quite a few

[TaharkahX]

You are going to make one hell of a writing professor (if you're not already teaching). I learn so much from you.

[tyler]

As a new and first time writer. This was a very helpful video!:)

[nitesky]

You're single handedly teaching me alot and for free can't thank you enough ❤ love you.

[Lara_Ameen]

Love this video! I also love how many books are behind you! 😍

[rhett-says-hullo]

i think that last point about tragedy alone isn't enough is super true! I realized that in The Kite Runner, Amir's best friend being r*ped would not affect every life choice from that point on if he didn't have Baba as his father. Baba who cared about justice and wouldn't approve of Amir's reaction to the tragedy, Baba who appreciated that best friend more than him, Baba who actually thought of that other boy as his own son. If this particular character didn't influence Amir so much and create specific emotional stakes, the tragedy would have an entirely different effect on Amir's life.

[AdamFishkin]

Your final PSA was small but effective. Having people doing things for a reason can be a weird blind spot, even for the best of us who love threading intricate character beats into each other. But nothing is done by accident, unless you've created a universe where its gods just use human lives as a toilet.

[tonkinthehanoian]

I'm discovering my story on the way and realised immortal characters would eventually found their existence stakeless in retrospect, so I'm stuck for how they should move on. This might be the key.