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Wake Up Dead Man (2025)

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DZ-126: Secrets and Clues

How can Secrets and Clues motivate characters?

AI✦How do you escalate stakes differently for a character who’s pulled toward answers versus one who’s pushed into danger? Wake Up Dead Man splits the difference--and the episode breaks down what that costs each protagonist.✦

⏱ 1h 28m

30 APR 2026

Structure · Character · Scenes

Listen if you want to understand how hidden information drives character motivation and plot structure!

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“Getting information puts your character in danger. And danger rewards your character with information." — One of three ideas we steal from game design in this episode. In this two part series, we talk about how secrets, clues and hidden information motivate characters and may (or may not) help you plot from a character perspective. Part One (this episode) looks at WAKE UP DEAD MAN; while Part Two looks at SIDE EFFECTS, and the pilot episode of SHRINKING… →

Films: Wake Up Dead Man (2025)

Structure: Narrative Velocity , Escalation , Dual Protoganist , Plotting , Stakes , Setups & Payoffs , Plot Questions

Character: Character Motivation , Character Agency , Final Choice , Ensembles

Scenes: Landmark, Hidden, Secret , Dramatic Irony

"When a character is being pushed... a lot of the stakes can be external. But when they’re being pulled, you’re going to have to work a lot harder on the stakes because they want the information and there’s going to have to be much more cost to that journey."

— chas | DZ-126: Secrets and Clues