Tag: challenge

The Point of No Return

Quan

In every story, there will be a time where the Protagonist has gone too deep into the progression of the narrative to opt out or turn back. This is a moment where things have developed so far that all other options of dealing with the problem outlined at the outset of the story are no longer viable, and the only way the protagonist can get through the ordeal is to continue down the path he or she is travelling on. I call this moment The Point of No Return. Every story has it. This moment has to happen early in the story, but it doesn’t necessarily have to happen right at the beginning or even in the first chapter.

Wizards of the Coast head of R&D Mark Rosewater has a prefect description of the three-act story structure: Act 1: get your protagonist stuck up a tree. Act 2: throw rocks at them. Act 3: get your protagonist down from the tree. In the 3 act structure, the Point of No Return happens somewhere in Act 1. That is when your character is firmly stuck up the proverbial tree. Or, at least, has climbed so far up the tree that it is pointless to go back down.

The benefit of knowing where your point of no return lies is that you can fully focusing on enhancing hat singular moment, and making it truly stand out dramatically. The Point of No Return for your protagonist should also be the point of no return for your reader, as well. This is the moment where the reader should be fully invested in seeing the protagonist through to the outcome of the story. So you really want to make that moment grip the reader and stick in their minds, leaving them wondering what is going to happen next.

When determining when your point of no return is for your protagonist, take a look at your narrative overall. It would help if you already have a story outline or a chapter-by-chapter synopsis, but those are optional. Look at how the story progresses and ask yourself at what point does the proverbial “sh*t get real”? This should be at an early point in the story. Ask yourself at what point do your central characters lose the option of turning back or changing course? There should be a moment where the protagonist becomes kind of locked in to the path they are heading down. It could be a crucial decision they make early on, or a particular situation they find themselves in, or a moment where they take responsibility for something or someone, or when they cross a line that they wouldn’t have otherwise crossed. A story I am seeking representation for as of this writing literally has my protagonist at the edge of the “wrong side of town.” realizing that his idyllic way of life has forever been altered and the only way to get back to some semblance or normalcy is to see his predicament through to its conclusion. This moment happens at the end of act one, and is his Point of No Return.

In my stories, I tried to keep my point of no return towards the end of Act One, and I made it pretty obvious. In Godmode, it was when Elijah learned that his family was being held by Claudius Webster. That upped the ante and made it so that he could no longer afford the option of letting those monsters kill him. In Double Entry, that moment was when Melvin asked Dana if he could meet his estranged son. That took their interactions from purely business into something personal, and there was no way things could go back to the way they were now that he had made that intention known. For The Hand You’re Dealt, three were two points because there were two narratives being told concurrently. In the past, it was obviously when Tika and Jay shared their first kiss. But in the present, it was when Tika met her absentee father for the first time. I tried to make sure all of these moments had extra emotional impact, so that the reader will understand how that moment has changed everything.

I strongly recommend finding this singular moment in your story and emphasizing it. It will add to the drama of your story and help with keeping the reader engaged.

Writing The Final Battle

Quan

Probably one of the most fun and challenging parts of writing Godmode was coming up with the final battle. My Content Editor is working on her latest novel, and came to me for some advice about the process of it. This is what I told her:

The final battle is the culmination of everything your story has been building up to. Basically, everything your protagonist has done, experienced and learned was in preparation for that one moment. and with it being a battle, it will be against a foe that will require everything that protagonist has learned to defeat.

Take an inventory of your heroine. What are her special abilities? What has she learned throughout the course of the story? What are the weapons at her disposal? What life lessons has she learned that will be of use during this conflict? What weaknesses can the foe still exploit? Why is it more important to your heroine personally to beat this foe than any previous one?

Now look at your villain, or whatever your final foe is. What are his special abilities and skills? What are his weapons and tools? What are his weaknesses? How far in advance would he have planned for this battle, or was he caught by surprise? Most mastermind-type villains are very hard to beat when they’ve had time to prepare – that can also apply to heroes, by the way. Heroes like Black Panther and Batman are dangerous despite their lack of superpowers because they are meticulous in scouting their opponents and preparing for them accordingly. Being mere mortals, they would get creamed in a fair fight against these demigods…so they make sure the fight is never fair. Or you can go the opposite route, with a foe that can adapt to any situation and turn it to his advantage (re: Captain America and James Bond. a villainous version would be Deathstroke the Terminator). Both types of foe present their own sets of challenges for the heroine. And finally, what are the stakes for the villain? Why is this a fight that he can’t just walk away from?

Your final foe has to be able to push your heroine to the absolute limit of her abilities and endurance. This has to be her most dangerous battle, the one she is in the greatest danger of not making it out alive from. So think about your villain’s abilities and weapons in this way: how will this ability or weapon test my heroine? What skills and knowledge will it force her to utilize? What happens to her-specifically- if she can’t overcome that particular ability or weapon? Godmode’s final monster battle was the amalgamation, a mishmash of a bunch of deadly animals, that had an answer for everything Elijah tried to do against it. To win, Elijah had to utilize the tools of his environment, tap into skills he had forgotten he had, and …most importantly…not lose control, because his rage mode would have surely gotten him killed.

Now look at the environment the battle is happening in. your characters are not going to be fighting in an empty room, or even in a ring. There will be natural obstacles and weapons lying around which can help raise the stakes and the level of danger in the fight.a crumbling stronghold holds different obstacles than a sinking ship, which is different from a desolate battlefield or a dense jungle. The final battle in Kill Bill happened at a picnic table in a couple of lawn chairs in a suburban backyard. When you’re in a fight for your life, and you’re fighting for everything you hold dear, you’re going to utilize every advantage at your disposal.

This is a formula similar to that in many video games. in most action and adventure-based games, you’ll have accumulated a lot of new weapons, techniques and abilities to get through the game, but to defeat the last boss, you’re going to need all of those skills and then some to find a way to win. Especially in JRPGs like the old Final Fantasy games. your characters could be leveled up to the max with the best weapons, but if you don’t wisely utilize your attacks, spells and items, you will still get your rear end handed to you.

This is the fight where your heroine reaches her full potential, so don’t be afraid to cut loose and go all out with the special effects and collateral damage. If you get stuck, blow something up. it worked for X1999 and Akira. Dragonball Z and The Matrix, too, for that matter. and Man of Steel. and Pacific Rim.

Another thing to consider is the personal element of this confrontation. How are the people involved connected? What kind of dialogue would they be having in the middle of this fight? What personal history or surprise revelations are going to be brought up? Remember that moment when Vader told Luke he was his father. That revelation was made even more powerful because Luke had already lost the battle, as well as his hand. It was demoralizing for him as a character, but planted seeds for the next phase of the story: how is Luke going to redeem his father? Inception’s final confrontation didn’t have a big fight, but it did have Cobb finally owning up to the truth about why his wife killed herself, and confronting that aspect of his psyche that had been sabotaging his efforts from day one.

As for the fallout…what is the purpose for your final battle anyway? What is your heroine trying to accomplish and why is the foe trying to stop it? And not in the meta “Save the world” sense, but very specifically: what exactly is your heroine trying to do, (press a button, deliver a message, drink a soda) and why exactly is this person or thing trying to stop her? Answer that question and you’ll answer what to write about. In the end, your heroine will either be able to do what she set out to do, or she won’t. It’s as simple as that. Start by writing that exact moment, and build off of that. I’ll even say that writing the aftermath might give you some clues as to what happens during the battle.

My example this time is a Final Battle that Wizards of the Coast had been building up to in 3 years’ worth of stories. In this novel all of their discordant threads come together and the heroes are put to the ultimate test.