Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

The Climax

The Last Crisis... The Climax


So at last we’re there…. This is the climax of the story. This is the big time, where our CC is either going to shine or complete the death spiral and implode before our very eyes. This is the final test and if the story is comic it ends well and if it’s tragic it doesn’t. It’s about to resound with a “Ya-hoo!” or an “Oh my Goodness Gracious!” This is when the writer really begins to show their craft as they milk the action and squeeze the last drop of emotion out of the Central Character. At this dramatic moment the reader or audience is brought to edge and tossed in. As the writer has labored diligently it has been to lay the groundwork for this huge moment of conflict and drama. The spade work is finished, the channel dug and now the emotion rushes down the trench to its inexorable conclusion.

This is the moment the reader or audience is waiting for. It is where the dilemma is resolved and it should be the high water mark of the work and a moment of great magnitude. For better or worse the whole matter is going to be resolved… an explosion is about to happen. This is often referred to as the Last Minute of Suspense or the Climax. The CC will either accept the inevitably of fate or Triumph over adversity.

Now we see the CC in final form, crushed and dying or trumpeting his dominion. He has finally succumbed to all those deficiencies in character or been overwhelmed by forces beyond control…. or has grown in stature and became the person they wanted to be. The reader sees this at the end or the audience watches spellbound as the character they rooted for or agonized with, flicker or is born again. They withdraw now from the character they briefly became and bid its spirit adieu.

Then comes the resolution and it needs to be dramatized. Don’t go short-changing those who paid to revel in the suffering or triumph. Don’t drag it out or keep the reader in the dark. Give the audience the imagery to put the story to rest and go home with something to talk about.