I was going to talk about the Black Moment this week. Then I decided to back up and talk about the Dark Moment. There’s a certain order to things crafting a novel. So there’s no sense in talking about the What and Why of the Black Moment if we haven’t tackled the What and Why of the Dark Moment. What: Dark Moment This is a specific negative event in a character’s past that shapes them into the person they are today. Heads Up: This next part is crucial. You recreate the Dark Moment in the Black Moment. More on that in my next What and Why column on the Black Moment. Why: Determining the Dark Moments is essential in developing both your hero and heroine. Out of the Dark Moment […]
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Reach Back and Reach Forward
I can remember in my early days of writing, not the early ones when I was 12 years old and wrote stories on a typewriter I bought at a garage sale. I mean when I made a full-time go of it in my mid-20s. I felt so alone, so isolated…so weird. With the internet it is much easier for newer writers to find help. We realize that there are others out there who hear voices in their head and have reasonable conversations about murdering characters and destroying relationships. [All in the name of craft] We have an incredible opportunity now to learn from other writers—are you taking advantage of that? “Well, Tiff, I’m reading this blog post, aren’t I?” Yes, you are. But what are you doing with it? What did […]
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Quick Skills: The Final Battle Breakdown and Flow Chart!
How do you create a triumphant ending? We touched on the why yesterday in “conversations” but today I wanted to put tools to the theory. Just as a reminder: the point of the Final Battle is to convince the reader (and the character) that true character change has taken place by putting it to the test. You are waging an “internal battle” using external elements. I like to use the movie The Patriot because it is an actual battle, but it also clearly illustrates the internal/external final battle of a story. The idea is: armed with the TRUTH, which has caused their epiphany, your character will face their last challenge, that thing they couldn’t do at the beginning of the story that they can no do (or are willing to face) […]
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Quick Skills: Black Moment Construction
The Black Moment in your novel is the most important part of your novel. I just had to say that because I see so many manuscripts that pull their punches on the Black Moment. Authors have fallen in love with their characters and they just don’t want to hurt them. But creating a powerful Black Moment is what both the character and the reader need to convince them they must change. So, how do you create a powerful Black Moment? First…let’s just take a look at the Black Moment Flow Chart: Dark Moment of the Past (Greatest Fear + Lie) = Black Moment Event = Black Moment Effect = Epiphany = Character Change. Again, how do we find the Black Moment? We go into our character’s backstory and find a […]
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