Stacey Lee is the New York Times and Indie bestselling author of historical and contemporary young adult fiction, including The Downstairs Girl, a Reese’s Book Club Summer 2021 Young Adult pick, and her most recent novel, Kill Her Twice, a School Library Journal best book of the year. A native of southern California and fourth-generation Chinese American, she is a founder of the We Need Diverse Books movement and writes stories for all kids (even the ones who look like adults). Stacey loves board games, has perfect pitch, and through some mutant gene, can smell musical notes through her nose. Connect with her @staceyleeauthor on Instagram, and @staceylee.author on Facebook.
Stacey will focus on the 3 core elements of plot: goals, obstacles, stakes.
Without these 3 elements your story lacks the gas your story needs to drive itself to its destination.
1. GOALS
- Our character needs to want something
- Goals come in all sizes
- Goals need to be specific
- Goals change as the plot evolve
2. OBSTACLES
Types: physical, other people, a threat, internal struggle
There's no specific number of obstacle your novel needs. A rule of thumb: for every goal, your character needs at least one obstacle working against it. The more obstacles, the more interesting.
3. STAKES
What is on the line for the character?
- what your character stands to gain or lose
- personal, shaped by the characters values
- internal stakes
- external stakes
So ask yourself:
What's at stake for your character?
What is the worst that can happen?
What do they stand to lose?
If you want to view this session to hear the full content, along with the rest of the conference,
register at https://www.scbwi.org/events/virtual-summer-conference-2025. Replays of the
conferences will be available until September 14th, 2025.
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