There is always talk of raising the stakes and moral dilemma. But how do you accomplish that? The TV series Ozark is a masterful portrayal of this. Each episode raises the stakes anew and the moral dilemmas of the protagonists. The fine line between good and evil is very finely fathomed, because even the seemingly good, are absolutely ruthless to achieve their goals. Highly recommend to watch this!
Screenwriting : Raising the stakes and moral dilemma by Christina Patjens
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2 people like this
Ozark has been on to watch list for awhile. This might be the push I needed to delve in.
5 people like this
Giving a timeline and deadly consequence usually does it. They did it in Breaking Bad but the pace was far slower than Ozark
3 people like this
I try to impart and convey conflict, raise the stakes and punch-up or display elements of moral dilemma in the smallest possible ways, not only between Acts or Sequences but from line to line, i.e. "writ small" ...
If I can diligently craft and examine those small changes in value charges, then I am creating wavelets of implications of the larger tsunami at hand.
Which supports and enhances my story-wide tactics.
I also have to be prepared to handle the personal psychological repercussions of crafting all that "fictional" conflict, if I take it far enough it can manifest in real life with painful and resoundingly costly personal consequences.
2 people like this
I've just started watching it. It's a really good show; and Jason Bateman's acting is great in it.
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A man comes home from work and tells his wife he just lost his job.
The wife responds," I'm pregnant".
You've just raised the stakes.
2 people like this
This is my technique:
1) what would be a smart thing a person could do to make their life better. Yet they don’t.
2) put them in situation to push them towards the right thing to do. They still don’t.
3) Do worse and worse things. But they stay on their path.
4) finally they break, but it may be too late.
5) keep punishing them.
Finally the world punishes them for the change as well as their original decision.
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All comes down to putting ordinary people in extraordinary situations...rest is a story...
6 people like this
It could be something simple but the only thing I’ll say is to make sure it makes sense for the characters and the story. Sometimes scripts can throw in too many things to raise the stakes which are seemingly unrelated, leaving it feeling more cluttered than engaging.
2 people like this
I really enjoyed that show too. It must be difficult to raise the stakes when you have poured everything into the first season, or episode. I am fleshing out a sequel to my last feature script, AWARUA. It seems impossible when you have poured everything into the first story to come up with anything good enough to follow it. Introducing new characters is the secret I think. Like passing on the dramatic batten in relay race.. Also RESEARCH, I get so many ideas from research. Writing fiction is a bit like being God, you create worlds, and if your world is boring, no one else is to blame but you. I love the challenge