Write Your Screenplay Podcast

5 Steps To Raise The Stakes In Your Screenplay

Write Your Screenplay Podcast

Show Notes

What if raising the stakes in your screenplay has nothing to do with explosions, danger, or bigger plot events? In this rerelease of a classic episode, Jake takes on one of the most misunderstood producer notes—raise the stakes—and reframes it from the ground up. Stakes, he explains, don’t begin with what happens on screen. They begin with empathy: our connection to a character, what they want, and how hard it is for them to get it.

More from Write Your Screenplay Podcast

Oct 13, 2026

Give your pilot everything it needs to take off like a rocket.

Sep 25, 2026

In Part 1 of this two-part exploration of Steven Conrad’s pilots, Jacob Krueger breaks down DTF St. Louis to explore what a great TV pilot needs to accomplish – not just as a compelling story, but as a blueprint for an entire series.

Sep 5, 2026

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey becomes most powerful when its monsters reveal the film's hidden structure. Jacob Krueger explains Circe, Scylla, xenia, the Trojan Horse and why Odysseus must leave Ithaca after saving it.

Aug 24, 2026

Christopher Nolan's Odyssey keeps the monsters and loses the gods. Jake breaks down what the adaptation sacrifices, what it protects, and how to know which god your own adaptation is really serving.

Jul 12, 2026

Emmy-winning showrunner John Strauss (Arcane, Mozart in the Jungle) on how TV writers get hired, survive notes, and pitch. Watch the full interview.

See all episodes →