writing 4 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜: WRITING ADVICE TO MAKE YOU A BETTER WRITER

How to Write an Epic Climax

This topic something super intense and epic and awesome and that is the climax... of a book. It sounds really simple but it's not. If you've written an entire book surrounding this conflict then that means resolving it needs to be really hard and really impactful. Because of this, the climax tends to be the most exciting part of the novel. Stuff gets lit! Now, a lot of newbie riders struggle with this; they build up all this anticipation and then suddenly they're at the climax and everything falls flat. So here are five tips on how to write a strong climax.

by Jenna Moreci

Climax: when the conflict is resolved or the protagonist's goal is achieved; usually occurs toward the end of the story

1. Give your protagonist a disadvantage. Nothing makes the climax more intense than when the protagonist is walking into the moment as the underdog. You want the reader to question whether or not the protagonist is going to succeed. If they feel like stuff is in the bag it's not going to be exciting, so have your protagonist enter the arena the expected loser. 

This can translate into all if not most fiction genres. If you're writing a war story, make sure the protagonist's army is significantly outnumbered. If you're writing a love story and your protagonist is fighting to win his girl back, make sure she's already dating someone new.

2. Your bad guy needs to be badder than ever. Whatever the obstacle is, it needs to suck the absolute most at the climax. Now you might be thinking, "But Jenna!!! If I make my bad guy unstoppable, how's my protagonist going to succeed?" I don't know. Figure it out. That's your job as a writer. But I'm telling you, there are few things more disappointing than when the reader gets to the climax expecting an epic showdown and the bad guy just curls up into the fetal position and says, "Don't hurt me!" 

Theoretically, your protagonist has been scared of this bad guy or this obstacle for the entire book, so when they finally square off the apprehension needs to be justified. 

If your reader is not intimidated by the bad guy or the obstacle, then you're doing it wrong.

3. Your protagonist needs to almost fail. Remember how I said that the bad guy needs to be badder than ever? I meant that. They need to be so bad, they almost win.

What makes a climax especially memorable is if your protagonist nearly fails. This, of course, is assuming that you're writing the kind of climax where the protagonist eventually succeeds.

This is not just my opinion. There are tons of studies on storytelling that state that climaxes where the protagonist almost dies or they almost lose their lover are just more powerful and more enjoyable. Audiences respond to them. They like them so much more than climaxes where the protagonist instantly succeeds, and there's a good reason for this. Readers tend to prefer protagonists that work really really hard. They want to see the struggle. They want to see the protagonist grow and push themselves. Perseverance is really inspiring so having their protagonist almost lose it all and then suddenly come back swinging is going to make your readers super excited. They'll want to see them succeed and then they'll be so satisfied when they finally do, provided they do.

You might be writing a story with a sad ending, in which case your reader will be devastated but I imagine that's what you're going for. Those writers. We're evil.

4. Surprise the reader. Not all books feature surprises or plot twists. I get that. But if you're going to surprise the reader, the climax is the place to do it.

Ya know what makes the climax much more exciting? When the reader is expecting a right hook, and instead you knee them in the you know where. Okay, maybe that wasn't the best example, but dropping a bomb on your reader that they weren't expecting is going to take a climax to a whole new level.

The best climaxes will have the reader gasping out loud or cursing or yelling, "WHAT!" at their book.

"But Jenna!!! I don't know how to surprise my reader." There are a million ways you could surprise your reader! Come on! You're a writer! Get creative! Maybe the bad guy is finally revealed and it turns out, she's the protagonist's lover. That shady butt! Maybe the protagonist is trying to stop the evil sorcerer from attaining the Sword of Truth, and it turns out he had it all along. That shady butt again!

Now again, not all climaxes feature surprises, and that's okay, but you really ought to consider it because a plot twist is guaranteed to take your climax to the next level.

5. Make it climatic. There is nothing more disappointing than an anti-climatic climax. It's the climax! It's the most anticipated part of the book! Pull out the big guns! Get stuff firing off!

The climax doesn't have to be the readers' favorite part of the book, but it does need to be the most intense.

A good rule of thumb is to look back at other exciting moments in your novel and try to surpass them because the climax should reign supreme in that department. This is the moment everyone's been waiting for so you've gotta deliver.

Now, I shouldn't have to tell you that the climax needs to be climatic because they're basically the same word, but a lot of newbie writers miss this step. They finish off the book all nice and easy, and the reader's sitting there going, "That's it? I read this whole book for that?" Don't make the reader feel like they wasted time on your book. Melt their brains! Leave them wanting more!

The climax is one of the most important parts of your novel if not the most important part, so you really gotta sell it. At the end of the day, the key is to put the odds against your protagonist, and make them work really really hard to achieve whatever goal they're trying to achieve. This is going to keep your reader on their toes and rooting for the protagonist's success.