When we think of high stakes and suspense, readers and writers often think of life-or-death scenarios with bullets flying. However, high stakes exist in ordinary situations. For example, will you land that business deal or be hired for that new job? Will you get that scholarship? How will you pay the rent? Can you care for your aging grandparent? Does the person you love love you back? Will you win the lottery if you buy a ticket?
This feeling of worry or anticipation is another form of suspense, and our books must contain this element. For a child, high stakes can be as simple as will they or won’t they get a pet for their birthday. For an adult, high stakes might be that moment before they tip over the edge and kiss someone, that desire mixed with worry and wonder if it will be worth the wait or effort. Humans want connections, and to make these connections they must risk, and the greater the risk, the higher the stakes. Because, what happens if we make a mistake? It could be crushing. Worse, the next time around the stakes will be even higher.
My books always start with a “What if” scenario. In The Playboy Project, Michael Clayton needs a fresh start. Portland’s most notorious bachelor has made a grave mistake: he’s accidentally kissed someone who wasn’t his girlfriend during a masquerade ball—she and her friends were dressed the same. While he figured it out immediately, the damage is done. Thus, the stakes for him are to rebuild his credibility not only with his family but with his business associates. Luckily, he’s moving to Beaumont where he’s safe from the gossips. When he meets Ione and realizes she doesn’t know him, he thinks the stakes are low. When she propositions him, he finds he can’t resist. Besides, she’s leaving. It’s one night. For Ione, who has never propositioned anyone, it’s a chance for a reset, a low-risk way to see if she’s as terrible in bed as her ex said she was. (Answer, she’s not.)
The thing about stakes, though, is that to build something, you need to have more than one. Remember that “what if”? What if I take a five-star hotel loving playboy and put him with a science-minded nerd who loves to primitive camp, and then what if I thrust them together on a high-stakes project to save some eagles? Now the stakes are super high. His business is on the line if he can’t get a hotel built and she’s the consultant his brother hired to help them solve this eagle problem that’s holding up construction. She needs the bonus she’ll receive upon job completion to pay for her mother’s medical care. Oh, and let’s up the stakes some more: the federal agent they need to convince is…her ex.
Now the stakes are super high. I haven’t even added in the romantic elements yet, which will add even more layers and raise the stakes. She’s the opposite of the girls he normally dates and not from his world. What do they have in common? How can they avoid compromising their professionalism with the attraction and feelings simmering between them? How can they get the job done without tearing each other’s clothes off? And what will happen when it all comes crashing down and people find out what they’ve done, and are doing? As the stakes increase, so does the suspense that keeps the readers turning the pages to find out what happens.
One final note. When writing, we often think about goals, motivation and conflict, but we need to take the extra step and think about what’s at stake for your character. Those high stakes are often the impetus for the characters’ goals, motivations and conflicts. For example, when your character thinks “Need a good job so I’m motivated to go on interviews even though they make me nervous,” the real question is often, “What’s at stake if I don’t get that job?” What happens then? Those high stakes drive the story forward.
So up the stakes. The higher they are, the more reward for both readers and authors.
Michele
The Playboy Project, Michele Dunaway’s 30th Harlequin book, is available now!
An experiment in pleasure…with the playboy millionaire!
Accused of being a cold fish, wildlife biologist Hermione Scott conducts a sexy experiment—a one-night stand with a gorgeous stranger! But when that stranger turns out to be infamous playboy Michael Clayton, she finds herself with a career-threatening conflict of interest. Michael’s hotel-tycoon father hired her as an environmental consultant, so she strives to keep their connection a secret. But when she’s forced to work with the far-younger man, she falls for his charms…again and again. And Michael seems to see her in a way no other man has. Is she just another notch on his bedpost, or could love be a viable hypothesis?
