In this compendium episode, John and Craig look at two of the most fundamental building blocks of compelling stories – conflict and stakes.

We define six forms of conflict common in movies, and explore ways to sustain conflict within a scene and throughout a story. We also look for ways to find the root of your character’s stakes, pick the right stakes for the world around them, and the importance of making everything personal.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig look at Whiplash and how it finds conflict at the perfect tempo.

Links:

John’s Video Game Job Posting
Episode 179 – The Conflict Episode
Episode 402 – How Do You Like Your Stakes?
Snowpiercer – Left or Right by Every Frame a Painting on YouTube
Star Trek: The Next Generation In 40 Hours by Max Temkin
Harris’ or Harris’s? Apostrophe row divides grammar nerds from The Guardian
The Heights Deli & Bottle Shop
Cheerios Veggie Blends
Special K Zero
Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram
John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon
Outro by Tim Brown (send us yours!)
Segments originally produced by Stuart Friedel and Megana Rao. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

655 - Conflict and Stakes Compendium 01:03:10 Share

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655 - Conflict and Stakes Compendium