- 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, we're picking up
right where we left off in last week's video, talking about act three,
the climax of your story. We've been breaking down each story beat of the three act story structure. So if you missed all the previous videos, you're gonna wanna go
back and binge watch them. The playlist is right there. But if you've been following
along for a while now, let's jump right into today's video, and it is my favorite story beat. I've been waiting so
long to talk about it. The aha moment also known
as the most important vital crucial part of your story. Like, the rest of your story is literally just the packaging for this moment. Let me explain. 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. We started this series a while ago, talking about character arcs
and why they're so important. Because without a character arc, you really don't have a story. You just have a random
assortment of stuff happening to a random assortment of people. But if you've been following this series and crafting your story with
deeply conflicted characters, then you have a masterpiece in the works. And now, it's time to take
your character arc full circle. Let's go back to that line
graph that I showed you before. This is what your protagonist
positive character arc looks like. And as you can see, we've already covered a lot of ground. Last week, we talked about
the disaster dark moment, which has led your character
to this point, the aha moment. Renewed hope. This is the biggest pivotal
moment in your whole story. After your protagonist has
been brought to their knees by the disaster, they have
a revelation, an aha moment. They can suddenly see how
their fear and misbelief has led them to make the wrong
decisions about everything. They realize how wrong they were, but most importantly, they see that they'll have
to overcome their fear and misbelief and make the right decision in order to achieve their
goal, true happiness. Prompt. Ask yourself, how is my
protagonist going to overcome their fear and continue to the climax, therefore, developing as a character? What lesson are they going to learn and simultaneously teach the audience? This is where your
character arc gets good. This is where the transformation happens. This is where the audience
starts cheering the characters on and getting excited for the
final climactic confrontation. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I wanna pause here for a minute and really emphasize why
this pivotal moment matters so much to you. Yes, you the author, not the characters. Yes, it's going to matter
to the characters as well, but this is really your moment. This is the reason why you
wanted to write this story in the first place. This is the truth you want
to scream from the rooftops. This is the aha moment that you've had and you want to share with the world. Imagine the whole world
has stopped to listen to what you have to say. What are you going to tell them? Or if the whole world is too
overwhelming to think about, just think about one person, the one person out there who
is just like your protagonist. They have the same
fears, the same desires, the same misbelief. Imagine you could sit down
across from that person and give them truth, give them hope, give them purpose. What would you say? Really think about it because
that's what you're doing with this moment in your story. That's what you're doing with your story. You want to give someone
an aha moment that you had, that you wish you could give other people. Well, that's exactly what
you're doing with this story. You are giving this
character an aha moment that you wish you could give the world. And through this story, you're actually giving it to the world. That's why writing is so cool. That's why I love it so much. That's why I make these videos because I genuinely want you
to write a story that matters to you, and to your characters, and to the world. Only after your protagonist
has their aha moment can they continue to the climax. Without this revelation,
they don't have the courage to face their biggest challenge yet. But with this revelation, the protagonist can
finally overcome her fear, crush her misbelief, and show the reader how much
she's grown and developed since the beginning of the book. Okay, so I know what you're
thinking by this point. Abbie, please show us what this looks like in an actual story. Okay, let's get to the story examples. Last week, I told you
that I wanted to show you some story examples of the
disaster and dark moment, but I held off because I wanted
to show you what the flow looks like through all
three of these story beats, the disaster, the dark
moment, the aha moment. When it's well-written, these three plot points come together to create a natural movement that gives your third
act the momentum it needs to sail right into the
climax and finish strong. So in today's case study, we're gonna ask ourselves the questions from all three of the story beats and look at how some
of my favorite stories handle this turn of events. Let's start with one of
my all time favorites, which I've been discussing all along, "Pride and Prejudice". As I hope you know by now, "Pride and Prejudice" is the
story of how free-spirited Elizabeth Bennet goes
from loathing Mr. Darcy for his pomposity and pride
to falling in love with him. But how does this radical
transformation take place? Through a disaster, dark moment, and aha moment, of course. The disaster plot point shows up when Elisabeth's 15
year old sister, Lydia, runs off with the dastardly, Mr. Wickham, which instantly turns her and her sisters into social pariahs and
pretty much guarantees they will never marry well. - [Mary] Now she's ruined. - [Mother] You're all ruined. - [Abbie] What does this
disaster specifically mean to the protagonist? How does it force her to realize
that she's the one to blame for this crisis? Being a social outcast in 1800s England is pretty much the worst thing
that can happen to a girl. And just when Elizabeth was
starting to find Mr. Darcy and his house pretty damn attractive. Now she knows all hope of that has gone. Darcy, and any other
man in his right mind, wouldn't touch a ruined girl
like her with a 10 foot pole. Elizabeth feels like she's
to blame for this crisis because she knew what
a dirt bag Wickham was. Darcy told her about how Wickham broke his little sister's heart and ran off with all the
money he could get from Darcy. But Elizabeth never told
her sisters about this. When Lydia runs away, Elizabeth
is quick to blame herself. - No, this is my fault. I might have prevented all of this merely by being open with my sisters. - [Abbie] How does this
disaster completely disarm the protagonist and make
her face off with her fear and misbelief? All through the story, we watch Elizabeth spurn societal norms and think for herself. She's a free spirit and
that's part of what Darcy grows to admire about her. Whenever he smears her family and paints them with his
broad brush of pomposity, Elizabeth always calls him out on it until disaster strikes and proves that the Bennets
are in fact, a disgrace. This disaster is especially
devastating for Lizzy because of who she is and what she values. It's the darkest moment of her life because she was beginning to realize that she was falling for Mr. Darcy. And now, all his
arguments about her family have been legitimized. She's ruined and she
might never find a man who is her equal ever again. How is the protagonist
going to overcome her fear and continue to the climax, therefore developing as a character? No sooner does Lydia go missing, then word arrives that
her uncle was somehow able to get Mr. Wickham to marry her, which consequently saves the
Bennet family from scandal. But Lizzy is confused. Why would Wickham marry Lydia? What's in it for him? It turns out more of Darcy's money. - Mr. Darcy. - He was the one that discovered us. He paid for the wedding. Wickham's commission, everything. - When Elizabeth realizes
that it was Mr. Darcy who convinced Wickham to marry Lydia and funded the whole deal, it changes everything. Elizabeth is shocked. Her disgraceful family saved from disgrace by the man who always
called them disgraceful? Seems so. Lizzy realizes in this
moment that she was wrong and Mr. Darcy isn't
half as high and mighty as she is sometimes. What lesson does the protagonist learn and simultaneously teach the audience? Elizabeth realizes that while
she was busy calling Darcy out for his pride and prejudice, she was being pretty
arrogant and prideful too. She had decided to loathe
Darcy for all eternity, but now she can't bring herself to do it. She sees the light. She sees that Darcy's actually admirable, courageous, and willing
to prove his love for her. And just like that, the last man in the world
could ever be prevailed upon to marry becomes the only man
in the world she would marry. I will never not be impressed
by how well-written that is. It's just so good. Okay, let's move on to example number two. Another one of my favorite
stories of all time, "It's A Wonderful Life". You can't think of this movie and not think of the aha moment. It's what makes the story so memorable and what makes the premise so satisfying. All George Bailey ever
wanted was to do great things with his life, travel
the world, build things, make a difference, et cetera. He thinks that's what success looks like. And that's where happiness awaits. But no matter how hard he tries, he can never seem to
get out of Bedford Falls and winds up living an ordinary life which eventually drives him
to the brink of suicide. That's when he's given the chance to see what the world would be like
if he'd never been born. - Said I wish I'd never been born. - You got your wish. You've never been born. - [Abbie] The disaster
and aha moments show up when George realizes that without him, the world is a darker place. Not only would the villainous
banker, Mr. Potter, have overtaken Bedford Falls, but his loved ones would have
ended up miserable and lonely. And his only brother would
have died as a child. - Harry Bailey went to war. He got the congressional medal of honor. He saved the lives of every
man on that transport. - Every man on that transport died, Harry wasn't there to save them because you weren't there to save Harry. - [Abbie] What does this
disaster specifically mean to the protagonist? How does it force him to realize
that he's the one to blame for this crisis? When George wishes his life away, he doesn't think he will have
any far reaching effects. He assumes his life has been insignificant because he hasn't been the
success he always wanted to be. When he realizes that he has
made a significant impact on the world, he's shocked
and would do anything to go back to his ordinary life. How does this disaster
completely disarm the protagonist and make him face off with
his fear and misbelief? "It's A Wonderful Life" is interesting because it has a very slow
build up to the real action and point of the story. But the details in this build up are the points of the story. When George believes he is
worth more dead than alive, he is willing to throw his life away. It seems like the most devastating moment, but it's really just the setup for a more devastating moment, when he realizes what the world
would be like without him. How is the protagonists
going to overcome their fear and continue to the climax, therefore developing as a character? After George has his aha moment, he realizes that although
his life hasn't been what he dreamed it would be, he would give anything to have it back. - [George] I wanna live again. Please, God, let me live again. - He finally understands his worth and overcomes his misbelief
to face the climax. What lesson does the protagonist learn and simultaneously teach the audience? George Bailey's character
arc teaches us a lesson about personal significance, how every person's life
has more of an impact than they truly realize. True happiness isn't found
in the big achievements, but in the small things, the moments when you help
others and do the right thing. It may seem an ordinary life, but it's actually more
impactful and wonderful than you'll ever know. Okay, third and final story
example is the movie "Gifted". I was recently reminded of
how much I love this film and how impressive it is
that such a simple premise packs a huge emotional punch. The story is about Mary Adler, a seven year old math genius, but the real protagonist
of the film is her uncle and guardian, Frank. When Mary's gift is
discovered by her teacher, it sparks a previously
nonexistent relationship with Mary's grandmother
who drags her son, Frank, through nasty legal battles trying to get custody of Mary so that she can reach her full
potential as a mathematician. The disaster shows up when
Frank finally makes a compromise with his mother and agrees to
move Mary into a foster home. Frank loves Mary and wants to keep her, but he also is desperate
to do the right thing and terrified that he's
going to ruin her life. - What's your greatest fear? - That I'll ruin Mary's life. - [Abbie] What does this
disaster specifically mean to the protagonist? How does it force him to realize
that he's the one to blame for this crisis? Frank struggles with the
decision to give Mary up and feels like he's failed her the same way he feels
he failed Mary's mother who took her own life. Frank feels responsible for
what happened to his sister and wants to give Mary a good life, but his mother bullies him
into feeling unqualified and even neglectful. How does this disaster
completely disarm the protagonist and make him face off with
his fear and misbelief? It pretty much destroys
Frank to give Mary up, especially because it
forces him into the ring with his greatest fear. We've seen his misbelief
painfully reinforced throughout the course of the film, and we know that it's going
to take a major wake up call for him to overcome it. How is the protagonist
going to overcome his fear and continue to the climax, therefore developing as a character? The aha moment arrives
through an unlikely situation, when Frank discovers
that Mary's beloved cat has been put up for adoption. Her foster parents say
it's due to allergies, but Frank knows what that means. His mother, who is allergic to cats, has infiltrated Mary's
life behind his back. That spurs Frank into action. He heroically saves her cat and decides to confront his
mother and bring Mary back. What lesson does the protagonist learn and simultaneously teach the audience? Although Frank might not be
the most qualified parent, he realizes that he
can give Mary something that his mother never gave
him or his sister, love. He overcomes his fear of making a mistake when it dawns on him that giving Mary up would be the biggest mistake of his life. And in the end, he discovers that he was doing
the right thing all along by following his heart. - And then it dawned on me, if Mary is this amazing,
smart, sweet human being then I must be doing something right. - Okay, boom. I know that was a lot. I always get carried away
with the story examples, but I wanted to give you a
good idea of what it looks like in actual stories so that you
can craft your own aha moment with clarity and confidence. Let's recap what we learned
today about the aha moment. Only after your protagonist
has their aha moment can they continue to the climax. Without this revelation, they don't have the courage to face their biggest challenge yet. But with this revelation, the protagonist can finally
overcome their fear, crush their misbelief, and show the reader how
much they've transformed since the beginning of the book. Remember, if you don't
have a character arc, you don't have a story. You just have a random
assortment of stuff happening to a random assortment of people. Your character's arc is what
makes your story engaging, satisfying, and memorable. Why does the aha moment matter to you? This is the reason why you
wanted to write this story in the first place. This is the truth you want
to scream from the rooftops. If the whole world stopped to
listen, what would you say? Bring your passion into the aha moment and you will leave a lasting
impression on your audience. Ask yourself, how is my
protagonists going to overcome their fear and continue to the climax, therefore developing as a character? What lesson are they going to learn and simultaneously teach the audience? Okay guys, we're getting
really close to the end of this journey. But before we go to the
climactic confrontation, I'm gonna make a video next time, I'm gonna make a video about
the alternative story beat which is the moment of temptation. So that's an alternative for
the disaster dark moment. And that video is
coming, watch out for it. And the link will
eventually be right there. Smash that like button
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