Your Climax... Literarilly speaking of course

Act 3 is what is all about.

All that hard work. All that writing. All that setting up.

Is going to come to fruition... but only if you execute it properly.

How many books or movies have fallen flat or worse been ANTI-climactic?

You do not want an audience to invest all that time and energy in your work than have an *epic fail*

So how do we avoid disappointing them? Well, first read all the blogs about Acts 1 & 2. I can guarantee you if you haven't done your job there, there is no salvaging Act 3.

Again, if the underlying structure isn't sound, this is where your story will crumble.

Again, we are breaking down this act into 2 sections.

This first section is where the Hero has just put on his very powerful mantle of Heroism: Hope.

He kicks some serious ass. I mean, crowd is on its feet cheering kind of ass kicking.

But, shockingly he begins to fail. He might even completely fail.

What? But how could this happen? How could he put on the mantle and still not have what it takes to win?

It is because he needs help.

Realizing he is a Hero isn't enough, he must learn humility as well. He must bow his head and realize he can't save the world...well, at least not alone.

Once he accepts the help (with open arms), then and ONLY then can he finally vanquish the villain.

This moment of accepting help is the moment when his wound is healed.

Because, you see, the only reason you need a villain is to actually poke the Hero in his wound to remind him that it is there. Once it is healed, the villain can adios.

Within this climax, the moment the Hero knocks the villain down and he doesn't get back up needs to be... well... exciting.

If you have done your character and scene work up and to this point, he can go hog wild on the action, tension, and suspense.

The rest of your book was winding the rubber band, tighter and tighter and tighter and then released it in controlled chaos.

You should be surprised, but not shocked. Anything and everything that happens here MUST be set up before.

Your Hero cannot suddenly FLY if we have never heard of him flying before, that kind of stuff.

Well, that's all the room I have right now, but I will hit up this act in later blogs since it is so CRUCIAL to the success of your story!

Leave a comment below to be entered in a drawing for a Free "Climax Evaluation." That's right, people I am putting on some performance pressure :-0