How to Level Up Your Concept into a Premise

Welcome to Day 3 of your storytelling journey! Today, we're exploring two of the most critical elements that transform a simple sequence of events into a gripping narrative: stakes and conflict.

Understanding Stakes: What Your Character Has to Lose

Stakes are what your character risks losing—they answer the fundamental question every reader asks: "Why should I care?" Stakes are the potential consequences of your story's conflict, framed as cause-and-effect: "If this happens, then..." Without stakes, conflict becomes empty drama. Without conflict, there's no story at all.

Stakes create emotional investment by revealing what the character values most and what threatens those values. They can be both negative (what will be lost if the character fails) and positive (what will be gained if they succeed). The key is that stakes must be significant—mentioning an insignificant stake is almost as bad as having no stakes at all.

The Conflict Pyramid: Escalating from Personal to Global

One of the most effective storytelling frameworks is to layer stakes across three distinct levels, creating what's known as a conflict pyramid:

A conflict pyramid diagram showing how story stakes escalate from personal to local to global levels, helping writers understand the scope and impact of their narrative conflicts.

Personal Stakes (Foundation)

At the base of the pyramid lie personal stakes—what affects your protagonist on an intimate, private level. These might include:

·       Identity and sense of self

·       Key relationships with family, friends, or romantic partners

·       Physical safety and survival

·       Emotional well-being and mental health

·       Reputation and honor

·       Personal beliefs, values, and dreams

·       Independence and self-reliance

Example: In The Hunger Games, Katniss's personal stakes include her own survival and her fierce desire to protect her sister Prim.

Local/Community Stakes (Middle)

The middle tier encompasses local or community stakes—how the conflict affects people and places around your protagonist. This broadens the impact to include:

·       Family dynamics and wellbeing

·       Friendships and social circles

·       The neighborhood, town, or community

·       Workplace or organizational health

·       Cultural or social groups

Example: Katniss's actions affect not just herself but District 12's reputation, resources, and the safety of everyone she knows.

Global/Universal Stakes (Peak)

At the pyramid's apex are global or universal stakes—the broader implications that touch society at large or speak to universal human themes. These include:

·       An entire society or civilization

·       A nation or the world

·       Humanity's future

·       Future generations

·       Universal moral truths

Example: By the series' end, Katniss's struggle encompasses the fate of all Panem and represents the universal fight against tyranny and oppression.

Why the Pyramid Works

The most compelling stories layer stakes across multiple levels. Each tier builds naturally on the one below: personal stakes ground readers emotionally with the character, local stakes broaden the impact to show wider consequences, and global stakes elevate the narrative to touch on themes that resonate universally. While not every story requires all three levels, combining personal with broader stakes creates exceptional depth.

Understanding Conflict: The Engine of Your Story

Conflict is the clash of opposing forces—what happens when your character wants something but faces obstacles preventing them from achieving it. The basic formula is simple:

Goal + Obstacle = Conflict

Or more dynamically:

Character Desire vs. Opposing Force + Character Flaw = Meaningful Conflict

Conflict is essential because without it, characters would achieve their goals immediately (resulting in no story), there would be no tension or suspense, nothing would change, and readers would have no reason to keep reading.

Types of Conflict: Internal vs. External

All conflict falls into two main categories:

Internal Conflict occurs within the character's mind and heart—psychological struggles, moral dilemmas, emotional turmoil, self-doubt, conflicting desires, or wrestling with identity. Example: Hamlet struggling with whether to avenge his father's death.

External Conflict occurs between the character and outside forces—other characters, society, nature, technology, or supernatural elements. Example: Katniss battling other tributes in the Hunger Games arena.

The best stories use both internal and external conflict working in tandem. When external challenges force characters to confront their inner demons, you create stories with true depth and resonance.

The Seven Main Types of Conflict

1.      Character vs. Character - Protagonist against antagonist or other individuals

2.     Character vs. Self - Internal struggles with beliefs, fears, or moral choices

3.     Character vs. Society - Fighting against laws, traditions, or social norms

4.     Character vs. Nature - Survival against environmental forces

5.     Character vs. Technology - Resisting or battling technological forces

6.     Character vs. Supernatural - Conflicts with otherworldly entities

7.     Character vs. Fate/Destiny - Struggling against predetermined destiny

Finding Your Core Conflict

Your core conflict is the main problem that runs throughout your entire story. It's the central obstacle your protagonist must overcome, what your story is fundamentally about, and what gets resolved (or not) at the climax. This is the conflict you'd mention when someone asks, "What's your story about?"

While your narrative may contain many smaller conflicts along the way, the core conflict begins early (usually by the end of Act 1), continues throughout the entire narrative, encompasses all the smaller conflicts, provides the framework for your plot, and determines how your story ends.

The Conflict Triangle: A Powerful Framework

Beyond the types of conflict, there's a structural framework called the conflict triangle that creates compelling three-dimensional storytelling:

·       Protagonist: Your main character pursuing a goal

·       Antagonist: The force opposing that goal

·       Stakes Character: What or who the protagonist is fighting FOR

The stakes character represents what the protagonist could lose—often a love interest, but it can be platonic relationships, a community, or even an ideal. This third element adds emotional depth by personifying what's at stake.

Examples:

·       The Dark Knight: Batman (protagonist) vs. Joker (antagonist), fighting for Harvey Dent/Gotham (stakes character)

·       Toy Story: Woody (protagonist) vs. Sid (antagonist), fighting to preserve his relationship with Andy (stakes character)

How to Escalate Conflict Throughout Your Story

Great stories don't maintain the same level of tension—they escalate. There are two primary ways to raise stakes:

1.      Broaden the Conflict - Expand who or what is affected, moving from personal consequences to impacting more people, communities, or the world

2.     Deepen the Conflict - Make it more personal and intimate, threatening what matters most to your character at their core

The Escalation Pattern

Your conflict should follow this rhythm: Conflict Simmers → Conflict Boils → Conflict Explodes → Breathing Space → REPEAT (but worse). Each peak should be progressively higher than the last. If you have multiple peaks at the same intensity level, you're on a plateau—time to escalate.

Questions to Escalate Effectively

At every stage, ask yourself:

·       "How could this be worse?"

·       "What does my character fear most?" (Then make them face it)

·       "What does my character need to lose?" (Then threaten it)

·       "What would hurt the most and cripple their resolve?"

The Power of Cause and Effect

One of the most important principles in storytelling is that events should be connected through cause and effect, not just sequential. Don't think "This happens, and then this happens." Instead, think "This happens, and therefore this happens".

Weak Example (Sequential):

 Character doesn't get invited to a party, then has to win a competition, then gets cancer. These are unrelated conflicts that don't build momentum.

Strong Example (Causal):

 Character doesn't get invited to a party, so they plot revenge, which reveals a dark side to friends, so relationships strain, which leads to an intervention and being sent to youth camp, forcing the character to adapt.

Cause and effect create a sense of cohesion where each event feeds into the next, creating a chain that builds naturally toward the climax. This is what makes stories satisfying.

Making Conflict Meaningful

Not all conflict is created equal. Meaningful conflict should:

✓ Reveal something important about your characters

 ✓ Advance the plot in significant ways

 ✓ Raise the stakes for future scenes

 ✓ Connect to your story's broader themes

 ✓ Create transformation in your character or their world

Avoid empty conflict that's just argument for argument's sake, manufactured drama without purpose, easily overcome obstacles, or conflicts with no lasting consequences.

Examples in Action

Star Wars: A New Hope

·       Personal Stakes: Luke's desire to become a Jedi and avenge his family

·       Local Stakes: Rescuing Princess Leia and helping the Rebellion

·       Global Stakes: Destroying the Death Star to save the galaxy

·       Core Conflict: Rebel Alliance vs. tyrannical Empire

Breaking Bad

·       Personal Stakes: Walter's cancer diagnosis and desire to provide for his family

·       Local Stakes: Impact on Jesse, Skyler, Hank, and those in his network

·       Global Stakes: The spread of drugs and violence

·       Core Conflict: Walter vs. himself (transformation) and vs. rivals

Pride and Prejudice

·       Personal Stakes: Elizabeth's happiness, pride, and chance at love

·       Local Stakes: Her family's reputation and financial security

·       Global Stakes: Commentary on class, marriage, and women's roles

·       Core Conflict: Elizabeth vs. her own prejudice and Darcy vs. his pride

Key Takeaways

1.      Stakes answer "Why does this matter?"—they're what your character has to lose

2.     Layer your stakes from personal to local to global for maximum impact

3.     Conflict is the engine that drives your story forward

4.     Use both internal and external conflict to create depth

5.     Connect events through cause and effect, not just sequence

6.     Escalate progressively—each conflict should raise the stakes higher

7.     Make it meaningful—every conflict should reveal character and advance plot

Remember: Without conflict, there is no story. Without stakes, there's no reason for your reader to care. Together, they create the magic that keeps pages turning.

The higher the stakes and the stronger the conflict, the more compelling your story becomes. Now go forth and define what's truly at risk in your narrative!

Free worksheet downloads:

Your Exercise: Define Your Story's Core Conflict

Now it's your turn to apply these principles to your own story. Use the structured exercise worksheet provided to work through:

1.      Identifying the Conflict - What's the main problem? What's the opposing force?

2.     Understanding the Stakes - What's at risk at personal, local, and global levels?

3.     Conflict Type - Which types of conflict does your story employ?

4.     Core Conflict Statement - Articulate it clearly in 1-2 sentences

5.     The "So What?" Test - Why does this conflict matter?

6.     Conflict Escalation - How will things get progressively worse?

Take your time with this exercise. The clearer you are about your stakes and conflict, the stronger your story will be.

© 2025 Lisa A. Moore. All rights reserved.