This week: That Most Important Scene Edited by: Joy  
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“Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.”
Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
"That's the thing about pain, it demands to be felt..."
John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
“It is nothing to die; it is dreadful not to live.”
Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will, which I now exert to leave you."
Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places.”
Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms
Hello, I am Joy , this week's drama editor. In this issue the discussion will be about which scene in a fiction could be the most important.
Thank you for reading our newsletters and for supplying the editors with feedback and encouragement.
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Welcome to the Drama newsletter
Hasn't it always been a dilemma for us writers to figure out which scene could be the most important in our stories?
I think this partly depends on our approach to writing any one story. Some of us, especially the pantsers among us, just write whatever comes; then, during the following revisions, we focus on the scenes. This is one method and it works for some. Then, other writers, meticulously design their stories before they even jot down the first word. This has to do with excessive planning, and even though it may work very well, it can also take the joy out of creating a story.
I am guessing, however, that most of us use an approach somewhat in between the two extremes.
Whatever our approach is, any one story has to give the reader not only a sense of forward movement but also the feeling that the tension grows with every scene. To do this, we need to build on scenes.
This is because one special scene, which could be two or three in longer works, can give rise to some very critical story twists and turns. This brings to my mind the early scene in Alice in Wonderland when Alice goes down the rabbit hole. Didn't that scene set the direction for where the story went?
Yet, the most significant scene can come at different places and times in different stories. This means any scene--such as the climax, a story twister scene, or the turning point--can become the most important scene in our fiction pieces, especially if they affect the course of the story in a significant way.
Then, as an aside, in those most important scenes, subtexts do help to sign where the story will go. This is because a subtext covers everything that is under the surface and not yet said. Subtexts are always implied. This means, they point to the story's direction and they usually are employed well in that specific scene, be it in the beginning, at the turning point or in a twister scene, or in the climax.
So, what is the best approach to writing that important scene? I would say, we have identify the purpose of it first, and then, add a bit of mystery or a possible conflict, maybe in a subtext. And also, this special scene's pacing should be in the forefront of our thinking. This is for making sure that the story's turn, twist, or hint at the future can produce an impact on the readers.
In writing a most important scene, another consideration may be to identify its high moment, possibly to be stated in one or two sentences. This is because everything else in the scene will add up to this moment.
As an example, in Goethe's Faust, Heinrich Faust, a well-educated man, is at the end of his life, and is in despair for more knowledge, so he's on the verge of suicide. This is when Mephistopheles appears and promises unlimited knowledge and power. The cost is only Faust’s soul--on the condition that Faust will feel a moment of pure happiness and contentment. Faust agrees, and the two begin a tragic adventure of black magic, sin, and death.
In this story, it is debatable whether it is the despair of Faust or the appearance of Mephistopheles is the highlight of the story. In my opinion, Mephistopheles' appearance with his promise, since he is the one that set the story's course, is the highlight and the turning point in the story. This goes to show that creating conflict makes the story stakes rise higher as it drives the plot and the characters forward.
Then, in some fictional stories, those climax scenes make the story. The climax scene has the highest level of conflict, the greatest tension, or the most devastating emotional storms. The climax scene mostly occurs at or after the middle of the story. One point to remember when writing this scene is to make sure the protagonist is in this scene in some way or our readers might be alienated. Then, if the climax scene is too late, it will make the resolution scenes obsolete.
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The climax comes when the jury delivers the guilty verdict against Tom Robinson. This moment announces strongly the novel’s central themes of racial injustice and moral growth, affecting all the characters, especially Scout and Atticus Finch.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling, the climax scene happens during the battle, when Harry confronts Voldemort in the Great Hall, for the last time. This is where the story is: If Voldemort wins, it will be darkness and tyranny. If Harry wins, peace and justice will rule.
Speaking for myself, a climax scene that most affected me was when we were listening to a radio play, way back when. In that play, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George reassures Lennie that he is not mad at him. Then, he shoots Lennie. To this day, even though I am not anymore the kid that I was then, the memory of that moment and the sound of that shot have stayed with me.
So, may all your stories and scenes rock with their high and low moments and may all your characters and plots come alive for your readers...
Until next time! 
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 Enjoy!
| |  | Grandma's Pot (E)
There is something about Grandma's pot that makes food cooked in it taste so much better.
#2189581 by Ametorpe  |
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 This Issue's Tip: If you are confused about what the climax is, the climax means transformation in any story. It usually comes toward the end. It’s when your character’s inner journey crosses against or agrees with their outer journey, which is the plot.
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Feedback for "That Political Drama!"
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Quick-Quill 
I don't read Political books, but Vince Flynn wrote Term Limits, and I was hooked. I loved that book and the concept. Well written, plenty of conflict, and a surprise ending. Can't get any better
Sounds interesting. I think I heard of that book but I never read it. I'll put it on my list. Thanks for the recommendation.
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Drama: July 16, 2025 Issue [#13233]
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