David Mamet — playwright, screenwriter, and famously direct writing teacher — articulated three questions that I now use constantly. Whenever a scene isn't working, whenever a story feels flat, I come back to these.
1. Who wants what from whom?
Every scene needs desire. A character wants something. Without want, there's no motion — the character just sits there, and so does the reader.
But notice the "from whom" part. The want must be directed at someone or something that can grant or withhold it. In science fiction, that might be a corporation, an alien civilisation, or the laws of physics. In fantasy, it might be a god, a king, or a magical system. But there must be opposition. Unopposed desire isn't drama; it's just a character going shopping.
2. What happens if they don't get it?
What's at risk?
The consequences of failure must be significant enough to justify the story. Stakes don't have to be apocalyptic — sometimes personal stakes resonate more deeply than world-ending ones. But they have to matter. If failure wouldn't change anything significant, why should the reader care?
3. Why now?
This is the question writers most often forget, and it's the one that gives stories urgency.
Why is this story happening at this moment? What's forcing the issue? Why can't the character just ignore the problem and go on as before?
Every good story has a trigger — an inciting incident that makes the status quo untenable. Without 'why now,' stories feel slack. The character could address this problem at any time, so why should I care that they're addressing it now?
Using the questions
These work at every scale. Ask them of your overall story. Ask them of each act. Ask them of each scene.
When a scene feels flat, it's usually because one of these questions doesn't have a clear answer. Maybe no one wants anything specific. Maybe failure wouldn't matter. Maybe there's no urgency.
The fix is almost always to clarify: sharpen the want, raise the stakes, add time pressure.
I've diagnosed more stuck stories with these three questions than with any other tool. They're simple, but they cut straight to the heart of what makes drama work.
For more on applying these questions to science fiction and fantasy — including how mimetic desire can deepen your understanding of what characters want and why — see my new book The Silly Shirt Manifesto.