Just to expand on the point about the "second tier" of words: Words like “must,” “become,” and “get” popped up a lot—words that imply action, imply doing. You don’t want your characters to maybe, sort of, well, they could go off on a quest that could change their lives but…eh. Your characters MUST find the hidden key, they MUST get the money to pay off the drug lords. You don’t want a hero to have the option to change, you want them to transform—you want them to become that hero. Urgency and action implies movement and change: stakes and conflict. And RE: adaptations - even if you're not in possession of the rights to Tolkien's unpublished manuscripts, or you don't like the fact that all of the top 10 movies from 2011 were non-original scripts, those are undeniable facts. Probably doesn't hurt to have that skillset in your wheelhouse: being able to take a previous property and distill the story down into something that makes a great movie (and that makes your boss happy and gets you that spec sale you've been waiting for).

Huh, very interesting. Thanks, Nate!