- What's up my friend, Abbie here. And welcome back to
WritersLife Wednesdays, where we come together to help
you make your story matter and make your author dreams come true. Today's video is the final installment in the three act story structure, story beat breakdown series, which I've been posting since February. Wow, it's been quite a journey. If you missed the entire series, you can check it out right here. But I'm going to assume that
you've been following along with the series and you are
ready to write an epic climax. We actually have three story
beats to cover in this video because they all kind of flow together as part of the ending climax sequence. So we're just gonna cover it
all, right here, right now. First, we're going to debunk some common writing
myths about the climax. Then we're going to look
at the brain science behind what makes a climax
exciting and engaging. Roll that intro and let's get started. Why does your story matter? Good question. What if I told you that there's a science behind every great story? I don't just teach you how to write, I teach you how to change
the world with your story, and make your author dreams come true. You know why most writers fail to create a gripping,
riveting, memorable climax that leaves you on the edge of your seat? Because most writers are too focused on making the climax exciting. Yep, you heard that right, exciting. They're trying so hard to
make the climax exciting they end up doing just the opposite. They write a climax
that nobody cares about. They believe that in
order to engage the reader you need to have a bunch of thrilling, flashy, scary stuff happening. They believe that adrenaline is the cause not the effect of the reader's interest. And they inadvertently tell
every contemporary writer ever, hey, your climax is not gonna
be interesting or exciting unless you have car chases
and spaceships blowing up. All of this is simply not true. Would you be surprised if I told you that so many writers have
fundamentally misunderstood story. So many writers think that story begins and ends with what happens. They confuse plot for story, and their novels and
screenplays suffer as a result. Not you, you know what's up, you know our motto here on this channel. Story is not about what happens,
it's about how what happens affects and transforms the characters. Otherwise everyone would
be writing exciting genres like action adventure,
sci-fi, or military thriller. Like if external conflict and action were the secret ingredients
to a successful story, everyone would be writing that. But they're not. Why? Because external conflict
just makes your mirror neurons fire as if these events
are happening to you. I'm sure you've seen lots of
science fiction adventures that are filled with action
and exploding space ships, but they have no real story. And you've probably seen a
lot of simple, everyday life, character driven stories
that were so compelling and emotional you never forgot them. Well then, maybe the secret
ingredient is something else. Maybe it's something that we overlooked because we didn't think
it was exciting enough. Maybe it's internal conflict. If if made a super cut of all the time I've spent on this channel
talking about internal conflict it would probably be like 17 hours long. Why do I talk about
internal conflict so much? Because it is what
makes your story matter. It's what makes your climax matter. You can't raise the stakes until
we know what the stakes are and why they matter to the characters. The stakes cannot be the
same for every character. If they are, then you've
got a plot driven story on your hands and a
protagonist that could be easily swapped out with any
of your side characters. The stakes also can't simply be do or die because, again, you're falling
back on those mirror neurons. Don't do that. You don't want your reader thinking, how would I feel if that was me? Rather, you want them thinking, how would I feel if I was them? Sounds like the same thing, but it's actually a huge difference. You're looking for that deeper empathy, not just a momentary biological reaction to an action sequence
that we're gonna forget 10 minutes from now. Okay Abbie, but how do
you raise the stakes, if there's no life or death situation? Oh, there can be a life
or death situation, but I'm inviting you to go beyond that. Find the internal conflict and
let that take center stage. - How bad?
- Bad! I need immediate medevac! - You raise the stakes by clearly defining what this climax means to the protagonist. It will be different for
every character, of course, and that's why it's so
vital to define the limits of your character's comfort
zone, preferably on page one, because that's how we measure the importance of everything
in the whole story. - I am her mother. - You have never been. And you never will be my mother. - I'm not saying there can't
be life or death situations. I'm just saying that even a story without a life or death situation
can still be super climactic, and engaging, and exciting. But before we go into that, let's take a look at the
description of the climax in the three act story structure. Climactic confrontation. Protagonist faces their
biggest challenge yet. This is the moment everyone
has been waiting for, where the protagonist is going to face their most difficult challenge yet. It's a true test of their character, and how they respond to the confrontation is the proof that they've transformed as a result of their journey. So your protagonist has
already won the internal battle in their aha moment, but now it's time for them
to win the external battle, which of course will force them to face off with their greatest fears. Prompt, ask yourself,
how does my protagonist prove their transformation
by crushing their misbelief and facing their greatest
fear with courage? So what does this look like in your story? Well, it depends on what
genre you're writing. If you're writing one of those
more action packed genres, your climax will probably
look like a big showdown between the protagonist
and the antagonist, or a battle between two armies. (thunder crashing) - I remember. This is the way Mufasa
looked before he died. - Just remember who you are, you wretch. - But remember, this is not about what's happening on the surface. It's really about what
matters to your protagonist. And that is how you
can make a contemporary just as climactic as a fantasy. I write contemporary all the time, and this is one of my
favorite things to do, is figure out how can I build tension within a very small, very simple premise, to the point where I have my reader on the edge of their seat. It's a challenge sometimes, but it's a good challenge
because it'll make you a better writer, and it
will make your story matter. Not only to your characters, but to the reader, and
beyond that, to the world. So if you're a contemporary
writer, don't worry, your climax can still be climactic. Your character can still face
an intimidating challenge that forces them to prove
their transformation. - You have bewitched me, body and soul. And I love, I love... I love you. - If you can make your reader
care about your character, if you can get them emotionally
attached to your character, they'll be interested in seeing anything that happens to that character. Whether they're fighting
an intergalactic battle with a formidable antagonist, or they're professing their
love for their sworn enemy in a romantic field at sunrise. Because at the end of the day, we really don't care what happened, we care about who it happened to. - I know a real gun when I see one. - After the climactic confrontation, you know what happens next. Victory! Protagonist overcomes. This doesn't necessarily mean the protagonist wins the external battle, or that things turn out
exactly how they hoped. But the protagonist does
experience a personal victory because they overcame their fear and destroyed their misbelief. Here's my rule of thumb. If your reader doesn't
know how the character has transformed as a
result of their journey, you need to rewrite
your book until they do. Prompt, ask yourself, how has my protagonist changed
as a result of their journey? No, your protagonist doesn't have to live happily ever after, but they
should come to the realization that their misbelief has
been wrong this whole time. The protagonist does have to change as a result of their journey. That's what makes a
character arc powerful. That's what makes a story memorable. - No Scar. I'm not like you. - Please! I wanna live again. - I forgive you. (crowd cheering) - I personally love happy endings. Like if I read a book that's
kind of, it's like okay, it's not that great, but it
has a really happy ending, I will probably give
that book an extra star just because it made me happy. But obviously not all stories
can have happy endings. Sometimes it's just too
late to make things right. But that can be a thought
provoking theme in and of itself. One that might even change
the lives of your readers. But regardless of the tone you take at the end of your story, you must show the reader how
the character has changed. Otherwise, why did anything matter? Okay, final, final story
beat that's kinda optional. Resolution. Wrapping up loose ends. This is the part where all
the loose ends are tied up. The reader should be left
with no missing information or silent questions. If the book is part of a series, then you may want to end on a cliffhanger by swapping out the victory story beat with another plot twist. If the book is a standalone, make sure the reader's
questions are answered when they reach the final page. Prompt, ask yourself, where will my protagonist go from here? What does their life look like now that they have
overcome their misbelief? I say this part is optional
because it really depends on the style of your story. Sometimes I like abrupt
endings that allow you to paint the rest of the picture yourself. Other times, I like to
allude to the future. You could do this with an
epilogue, if that's your thing. But I prefer to do just
a little bit of hinting, usually in dialogue, to what will likely happen in the future for these characters. The thing about epilogues is they kind of limit your options. What if later you decide
to write a sequel? Well, now you can't because you told the rest of their story in the epilogue. So I would recommend finding that balance between satisfying your reader and also leaving them hungry for more. Worst case, they're mad at you
for leaving it too open-ended and you can just tell them
to go write fan fiction. Okay, let's recap everything
we just went over. Most writers fail to
craft a dramatic climax because they're too focused
on making the climax exciting. But external conflict, the plot, is nothing without internal
conflict, the story. If a dramatic life or death situation was the secret ingredient
to a good climax, everyone would be writing this. But it's not. Internal conflict is
the secret ingredient. Raise the stakes by clearly defining what this climax means
to your protagonist. Find the internal conflict and let that take center
stage in your climax. Remember, this is the biggest challenge your protagonist must
overcome, and how they face it will be the proof of their transformation. No antagonist to defeat? No problem. Contemporaries can be just as
nerve-wracking as thrillers. If you make your reader care
deeply about your protagonist, they'll be desperate to
know what happens next. If your reader doesn't
know how the protagonist has transformed as a
result of their journey, you need to rewrite
your book until they do. Your protagonist doesn't
necessarily have to win the battle and live happily ever after, but they must change as a
result of their journey, how they overcome their biggest challenge, the climax, is the proof that they have crushed their misbelief once and for all. Ask yourself, how does my protagonist prove their transformation
by crushing their misbelief and facing their greatest
fear with courage? How has my protagonist changed
as a result of their journey? Where will my protagonist go from here? What does their life look like now that they have
overcome their misbelief? Okay, boom! That's it. That's literally it. If you just finished
watching this entire series, and you've been writing
your novel along with it, can I just give you a high five? Because you're awesome! I hope it has been inspiring. I hope it has been insightful. I hope it has revolutionized the way you look at story structure
and story in general, and your story, that beautiful masterpiece that you're crafting right now. Remember to grab my three
act story structure template that is linked below this video. You can also get bonus
materials from this series, including all of my recap notes
from the end of each video, as well as the detailed
three act story structure of my book, "100 Days of Sunlight". All of that is available in the WritersLife Wednesday resource hub, which you can get access to when you join my Patreon at any level. So if you're interested in
getting those bonus goodies, head on over to patreon.com/abbieemmons. Smash that like button,
if you liked this series. And be sure to subscribe to this channel, if you haven't already,
because I post writing videos and publishing videos
every single Wednesday. And I would love to have
you here in the community. Until next week, my friend, rock on. (dynamic music)
