Hello, Campers, and welcome to Act III.
Last month we covered the Crisis in our romance. Headed into Act III, most likely your hero and heroine have gone their separate ways. Broken up. Finit! Sigh.
But we all know where this is going. That’s why we’re still reading.
The Dark Moment has done its duty, showing these characters the big Why Not (thanks to Susan May Warren). Now we’re going into the Climax, and our characters are suffering. Like they haven’t suffered throughout the entire novel.
They’re suffering because they are not together.
Over the next pages, the hero and heroine – separately, of course – are going to be presented with the big Why. But make sure this doesn’t come easily. This is the reason they MUST be together. This big Why shoves all the Why Nots right out the window. Quite often they get to their epiphany with the help of their friends. They are faced with the lie they’ve been telling themselves throughout the book and now are faced with the truth.
Once each of them has the epiphany that they are meant for each other, then comes the action of the climax. This is the action that they each take to stay together. It needs to be big – and if you can tie it to their greatest fear, so much the better. This is the Big Gesture or Big Sacrifice.
This is the moment they both head to the Empire State Building in Sleepless in Seattle. In Outlander, this is the section where Claire puts her plan into motion to save Jamie from his delirium. But I also think there’s a bit of this in the scene when Claire walks back and forth toward and away from the stones, until at last she ends up down the hill by Jamie’s side. Note: Diana Gabaldon doesn’t always do things “by the book,” if you hadn’t noticed.
Here’s your homework: go take your favorite book off the shelf. Flip to the final fourth of the book and watch this unfold. Do it with several books. Jot down your thoughts. Feel free to share them here.
Last month, I promised that we’d do the Resolution this month – obviously I was a step ahead of myself. Next month, we’ll get to that piece – the Happily Ever After.
Until then, BicHok – Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard.
Cheers, Jax