A Note on Dramatic Climax

Yikes! It's been awhile since I've been here. Is it too late to say Happy 2010?!

My last post talked about the wants of a character and if they're important to the character, they will be important to the reader/viewer, meaning that said reader/viewer will stay invested in your story - that's the theory at least.

Building on top of that, the climax of your story should be violent! If achieving the goal is a matter of life or death to your character (not necessarily in the physical sense), the climax of this quest, the moment where the protagonist and antagonist go head-to-head... well, if it's not violent, it's a bit of a letdown, wouldn't you say? If a goal or want is a matter of life or death, it stands to think that a character will do everything in their power to achieve it. It also stands that there's an antagonist out there also willing to do anything to stop our hero. A perfect recipe for a violent confrontation of some sort. 

Again, this idea of the climax being violent doesn't have to apply strictly to the physical The climax can be emotionally or psychologically violent too. Obviously, film and screenwriting lend themselves easier to a physically violent climax, but ideally, if you can combine the three, you're onto something special. An example off the top of where you have a trio of climactic violence is in Fight Club between Tyler Durden and Jack:

A most excellent climax if ever one existed.  

Coming Soon: How you can learn everything you need to know about storytelling from boxing and MMA.

How to get your audience to care about your writing

I forget where I was when I heard people talking about how to make your reader care about your story and your characters. Now that I'm thinking about this, I may have been reading a forum thread or a blog somewhere... the point is that the question of how to get your audience to care about your writing seems like a difficult hill to climb, but there are a few things you can do.

The first and simplest answer is that as the writer, if you don't care about what you're writing, why should anyone? Of course, that can applied to anything you do in life, creative or otherwise, so let's go for some specifics as they apply here.

A more technical answer is available too: Everybody wants something. No matter where you are in life, you want something. When you're at a gas station, you want to fill up and move on as quickly as possible (if you don't, what's wrong with you?!). When you're out to dinner, you want a pleasant experience. Granted, some wants are more exciting than others, but the point is that your character has to want something to begin with.

Unfortunately, in storytelling, wanting something isn't good enough. All the little mundane "wants" (I'm going to switch to "goals" from here on out) have to lead to an ultimate goal. A super-objective, if you will, for the actors in the e-house. The goal has to be something that the character craves more than anything. This main goal has to be the most important thing in the world for your character at the moment your story is taking place.

In fact, it has to be life or death. Don't take that to mean literally life or death in a physical sense (though that can apply if you're in the action/adventure genre); it can be emotional or psychological . Your character has to have a goal to which if they achieve this goal or not, their life will forever be changed.

By doing that, you get your audience/reader invested in the outcome along with the character they're following and thus... you get them to give a damn.

NOTE: It's been awhile between posts. I apologize and will try to be better. To be fair, I am working on a novel.

A Character Development Fable: Mr. Bum and Bank Manager

I was in the bank earlier this week to take care of some mundane stuff, when I got a impromptu quick refresher course on the nature of conflict.

Two characters in a setting. Both want something. The other is getting in the way of them achieving their goal. The basic building blocks of drama.

In this case, a Mr. Bum had entered the bank before I arrived on the scene. I'm talking bulgy nose, leather skin, tattered beard complimenting electrified looking dreadlocks, green sweatpants, etc. Now he wasn't loitering, no, he was filling out a deposit slip. Enter the stiff, clearly uncomfortable Bank Manager with excellent posture. At first, Bank Manager stood a few feet away from Mr. Bum with his hands quietly folded in front of his waist. Mr. Bum is oblivious and continued writing. Bank Manager, having realized that non-verbal passive-aggressiveness does not work on the homeless, took a shoulder-inflating deep breath and asked if he could help the gentlemen with his banking needs.

Mr. Bum dropped the pen, turned to the door, and left without a word. The Bank Manager followed a few steps behind, stood by the exit, and presumably watched Mr. Bum disappear into the world once more.

Dramatically speaking, this little scene had it all:

- Two clearly defined and opposing characters. The deposit slip business for Mr. Bum was a unique touch, taking full advantage of the setting.
- Both had a defined, direct goal that conflicted with the other - Mr. Bum wanted to finish his banking, Bank Manager wanted to stop him.
- The conflict resulted in a climax where one character's goal won out versus the other.
- There was verbal and non-verbal interaction that arose organically from the situation.

If only they would have always have dramatic elements on display at the bank...