How to Write Your Novel's Climax | Fourth Quarter Story Structure
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- Опубліковано 13 вер 2022
- How to structure your novel's fourth quarter & climax.
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Watch the previous story structure videos: • How to Write the Statu... - Навчання та стиль
Hope you are all doing great and that you find this video helpful. In hindsight I probably should have made this two parts, but hopefully it's not too overwhelming. Thank you all for your views, likes, comments, and support!
Ellen! Welcome back! I hope you and yours are doing well! Thank you as always!
Thank you so much!
Not at all - this is great!
Three words: Oh. Thank. God (and you!). This is the answer to my prayers.
Ellen: "It's going to be the shortest quarter in your novel."
My Math Brain: *Dies*
A little late on the comment here. I cannot express to the viewers how much value for very little money it is to support this channel and Ellen. I’ve been a Patreon supporter since day one and regardless of where I go in the future the support will continue. That’s all I have to say. Happy writing.
Thank you so much for your support!
Though I plot my stories by intuitive pantsing (and daydreaming), I love learning all of these structures that you can find in many/most good stories. It's just interesting.
Ellen, I humbly request that you please put "Creating Series" at the top of your list. 🙏 It's something I'm currently struggling with and would love to hear your expertise. Series are rarely discussed and when they are it's only about "duologies/trilogies". I hope you can touch on slightly longer series, too. I really can't wait for this video. Maybe it can be a series. (no pun) Thank you. 💜💜💜
Yes! Yes! Yes! Please. There's very little on writing a long episodic series.
I'm happy this series of videos is now complete! now I can reference back to them no matter what point in the novel I'm at :)
If you wrote a book on structure, I would preach it on the corner. I love how you break down the elements of a story with this paradigm!!
I had to like this immediately, I've been waiting for this one :)
you are the kind of person that I sometimes think about and wonder how you doing. even unrelated to writing, I feel like I know you and want to know you more! so likable and balanced and welcoming as a person.
That is so sweet! Thank you! I am on a new treatment and doing really well for the first time in a long time. I hope you are doing great as well!
@@EllenBrock that's great to hear!, I've been re-watching your videos in preparation for NaNoWrimo this year and I was wondering about you as well. Cheers!
Thanks for the vid Ellen :) nice to have another vid from you!
Thank you! I'm converting a sequential dream journal into a novel, and I have just realized there is a whole additional proof of character growth at the twist of the first book.
Yay Ellen upload let's go! Your videos are insanely helpful!
Your timing is so perfect! Last night I finished reading a book and the ending tanked so bad. (yeah... I'm a reader and a writer) As a writer I usually know how I want my books to end and I plot backwards with my outlines before I begin writing, so when I'm reading, it's very frustrating when the climax and ending get muddled. I found myself asking "Seriously? Was that your plan all along?" (like every author knows what outcome they are aiming towards when they begin) It bothered me the way it would if I'd discovered that I'd been swindled by a salesman, to the point that I sat in bed contemplating "Did the author make those conflict to resolution choices for any reason other than to deliver an 'unpredictable' ending...?" And I decided that their need to create an unpredictable twist ending caused the [renowned] author to sacrifice all the beauty they'd woven into their story, all the emotional attachment they'd fostered for the main characters... It ruined the story. I don't just read books and write stories... I study craft. I pay attention to what others teach (thank you Ellen for taking the time to explain elements of craft mastery to help elevate others!) Brandon Sanderson lecture about *Promises, Progress and Payoff* is one of my favorite explanations on crafting a climatic ending. He says "Don't break your promises during the payoff... unless you can give the reader something they want that's even better than what you originally promise!" I realized that this was where the author went wrong in the book I read yesterday... It basically ended with a dirt sandwich. It's so important to not pull the rug out from under your readers in a way that alienates them from a story. I'm glad that you inadvertently weighed in by posting a video that magically helped me nail down why I was so troubled after reading a book with a crappy ending.
I've definitely had that experience before as well. It's so disappointing when a book flops at the end. Brandon Sanderson is awesome! I will check out that lecture. Thanks for watching!
Thank you! I am a writer and a reader so I'm always picking apart and analyzing books and movies. It's so much fun. It's the ending and the details that make it or break it. I used to think I was too critical and I still need to be careful of that, but it feels great to learn and grow and pay attention instead of just vegging out :)
I had to watch this as soon as I saw the upload. Your videos help so much, and always when I need them! Thank you~
Especially the part about making sure the obstacles tie into things that happened earlier in the story is very helpful. I often have trouble with my endings not feeling very satisfying, and I think this will really help improve them :)
Absolutely! That was my thought as well. I had a rough end in mind and now I know where to attach the loose ends. And even as a writer (not only as a reader): doesn‘t it feel so much more satisfying when things add up?
Wow thanks Ellen, really cool having this sort of access to a professional editor.
Good to see you again, Ellen!
Really was looking forward to this. Really brilliant insights.
Wow, all of your videos are full of useful information, but this one is especially meaty! Personally, I love that it's all contained in one video - I often listen to your story structure series while cooking and doing chores, and I'll certainly replay this one many times. Like a good story, there will be new details to absorb with every listen! Thanks so much for what you do :)
I've been needing this video so much. When writing the first book in a series, the topic of this video seems especially important to me. Applying this advice to that situation would be a fun thing to explore!
I’m glad you’re back with another informative video. Using movies for the examples really helps because screenwriters are constrained by run time and therefore strictly keep the plot structure. Novelists have more flexibility, and I read a lot of novels that are either open ended after the climax or open to interpretation (and bittersweet even if they aren’t horror genre). Perhaps that’s because they are more internal, and the narrative voice is stronger. I think it’s difficult to represent narrative voice (not to be mistaken with the director’s vision) in film. I’d love for you to explore the difference between movies/screenplays and novels and narrative voice. Thanks for all your content! ❤️
Super helpful! Can you add character arcs to your video agenda? I use KM Weiland's books, which are fantastic, but your take on things is always fresh and nuanced so I'd love to hear it.
So happy to see you! Thank you for the new video!
Once again a really well-structured video with nice explanatory examples!
Wow. Thank you so much for this series. Just finished the video. As always, you pack it with so much insight.
Yaaaaaaaas. I've been loving this series.
This video series has been incredibly enlightening! I can only imagine how much time went into arranging all of this knowledge into this digestible format. Thanks so much!!!
Hands down one of the best writing channels in all of UA-cam. Thanks!!
This series has been super helpful, thanks Ellen!
Just finished watching the whole playlist on structure. These videos have been super helpful! Even as I was watching them, I could identify points in my structures that were tripping me up or getting confused/ignored. Looking forward to going over my work properly when I get the chance with all the points in mind. Thank you so much for the videos!
Thanks for sharing your brilliancy with us! So helpful and inspiring.
I’m late to this series but it’s amazing! Thank you for all of this work you’ve done this is so helpful!
It’s also helpful to see it in movies because they stick to a stricter structure (wow say that 3 times fast! 😅), whereas novels can drag. So often novels (especially fantasy) can meander big time, and you have scenes and chapters where nothing is happening and it’s hard to find the motivation to keep reading through major slumps that can last 100s of pages!
This series you’ve made is great at avoiding endless meandering. Thanks again!
P.S. I hope you’re all recovered from long Covid by now!
Thank you. It's been very helpful (I've made tonnes of notes, getting inspired) and I will be rewatching for more! I'm writing a novel that is broken into a series of books and I'm just finishing the second one, and the climax of the second part is ahead of me. By the way, I'll be exciting to hear about writing a series, and I'm also wondering about your remarks about this specific kind, where all the books are actually one novel in parts (Lord of the Rings style)?
Been looking forward to this one!
Thank you for your always helpful and insightful videos!
I love your videos
hey Ellen I just wanna say thank u for the great content. As u once said a right explanation for one can differ from one to another. And ur explanation is one that sticks in my memories for the most parts. Congratulation for that.
I love that so many people are taking notes here (including me). It shows how much the content here is valued in terms of content.
Greetings from Germany
Been struggling with writing a satisfying climax to the story, having it broken down like this is a life saver
greta stuff Ellen! I love your videos - and then when I see its nearly an hour long I get excited!
these videos have been so helpful. thanks for doing them
This was such an incredible aid! I’m so close to wrapping up my novel and didn’t know the keys.
Thank you so much for making these amazing videos!! Once you end up making a series where you talk about books instead of movies, I would love to hear about Percy Jackson because it's probably the series I know inside out the most and I aboslutely adore it. Also, you recently mentioned that you were going to talk about book series - I am absolutely looking forward to that because I am really struggling with figuring out a satisfying end for a book while still leaving enough of a hook that there can be a sequel
You are so clear, sharing examples to highlight the points along the story arc. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your support!
This series has been incredibly helpful and has helped me transform my MG story before diving into my second draft.
Bloody awsome, your content is a vast goldvein of usefull information. Thanyou Ellen for all putting all of your hard work into this final chapter. I ve been waiting for this one for a few months now,and it does not disappoint by the least! Foccused on me writting the climax of my very own book, this has really helped me finding a clearer crafting proccess, how to knot all of the past prommises together into one fluent storyline.
This has been super useful for my methodological planser brain since its giving fenceposts to hit without being super rigid about what they look like or the timing. Using the third quarter and this one to plot out the next part of my half written draft.
Came here for the great content, left with a lovely deeper understanding of Woody and Buzz's "youre flying!" Scene. MY HEART
OMG yaaaassss! I’ve waited so long for this. So excited! Thank you.
So useful and illuminating! I'm really looking forward to your breakdown on the structure of a series. Since I normally write based on intuition/gut feeling it's so helpful to have a logical breakdown of everything and a way to name all the beats in a structure so that I can really pinpoint what is making me struggle in book 2 of my series.
I have to look closely through your previous videos, but something that really trips me up is the character flaw, misbelief and fear. I don't understand these terms and I don't know if they are all the same. It would be nice to hear a detailed breakdown on this in the future if you haven't already.
Thank you so much!
You’re an amazing teacher. Thank you for everything you do! It’s truly amazing and valued. Stay healthy, girly. You rock
I'm astonished how useful your videos are. They've really resolved issues I've been having and strengthened other parts.
I stumbled across this video and your channel. Love the content. Helped me so much with my writing.
Excellent break down of the key concepts. Thank you so much for sharing.
Brilliant! I feel like I have a solid handle on story structure now, although I think I will have to revise this series when I get to my second draft. Thank you so much!
This series was extremely helpful. Thank you very much.
Awesome video! It answered loose ends I hadn't even realized I'd had.
I was stuck writing a finale. Holy moly this helps a lot!
Really good job with this discussion. I’m 80000 words into my first novel and I’m in the 4th quarter. This was really helpful. Thanx.
It’s been a great and helpful education for me, thank you very much 🙏🏻💐
Thank you! This series was very helpful. I also want to thank you for the incredible amount of preparation needed to create this. I hope one day to write a book that you will enjoy reading.
This video is so helpful. TYSM ❤
I love your videos so much!
I love your videos and find them very helpful! I was looking through and didn't see one on unconventional plot structure. For instance, I'm writing a novel that has a six act structure. It follows two main characters who make up the first two acts, then their meeting and developing relationship is the third act, then their tragedy is the fourth act, then the fifth act will follow a second tragedy that's a result of the first, then the sixth act reveals the why and the how of the mysteries that surrounded a lot of the tragedies woven throughout the story.
love these videos so much.
You are saving my life.
Very helpful. Thank you so much
Harry not viewing the Dursleys as his home is a movie thing btw as it is revealed in the seventh book that as long as Harry still sees that as his home, a protection charm stays on the house to keep him safe from Voldemort (as long as he returns at least once a year). And the reason he specifically had to go to the Dursleys is because Petunia is Lily's sister and therefore the protection that Lily gave Harry when she sacrificed herself is maintained.
I’ve been looking forward to this, thank you so much! Informative, great examples, just awesome! Feels almost illegal I get to watch it for free
This whole series was phenomenal. The best writing advice online, for sure. I just subscribed to Patreon and am so thankful to have such a helpful resource. I only wish I'd discovered your vids during preptober! I do have one question about the structure of the fourth quarter. Do these steps always have to go in order? The way I've plotted my story, act four currently looks like: Preperation, approach, surprise, confrontation, sacrifice, aftermath... Does that really mess things up structurally?
Ellen thank you!
Thank you, great!
Thank you, amazing work as usual! Your videos are super detailed, super helpful and (like with books) I love the fact that they are very long haha. I have a question regarding the surprise...does it have to be there always? I'm trying to find some examples in romance but can't seem to find that beat. Does it always happen during or after the confrontation?
It was such an insightful, mmasterfully crafted series. Thank you. I could use some structure when I'm stuck.
I just wanted to note that sometimes "amateur" randomness is actually welcome. It's closer to real life. Films and books and even series these days are so predictable I can't watch or read them. If you've seen ten, you've seen them all.
Be my friend. I'm a Afghan Combat veteran trying to write a political/historical/military warfare fiction. Very passionate about it
I have not much with writing but I am subscribed just to see your face while you talk :) You are so incredible beautiful. Thanks for another video :)
this confirms my novels work.
This series was SO helpful and clear! I took notes and started applying them with immediate results. THANK YOU!!
I wonder about duologies? If book 1 ends, should the same 3-4th quarter tactics be applied? Do both eyes open to a lesser problem than the overarching 2 book story plot? Would LOVE a follow-up video, or series talking about how these apply to multi-book installments
Thank you
Amazing
So many things about story structures make no sense to me until now that I've heard an explanation using Shrek
29:20 The Fiona thing,.... i think there is a misunderstanding as to what the "twist" actually is. While factually true... the callback is to her being disappointed that her Prince Charming is an uncouth ogre... also much earlier we learn Fiona's Curse, which is a Poem and goes "This shall be the norm, until you find true love's first kiss, and then take love's true form." So it is not a "twist". Its there in the very beginning. The Poem clearly states she shall take her love's true form. There is no twist in the story. It doesn't surprise you, when you pay attention. What it however does is not call back the wording of the poem until it subverted your erroneous expectation set by all those other Fairytale stories (which is what Fiona also falls prone to - this is the call back. She has expectations as to how this should go...and her expectations are wrong). It simply isn't a twist, because you were told this was going to happen. It is on the audience (and Fiona) to have different expectations from what the story told you would happen. The twist is.. at best "Surprise, i didn't lie!". It would have been a Twist if she had stayed human and it then was revealed that Shrek was cursed to be an Ogre. Because then the twist would be that her true love's form wasn't an ogre as everyone thought it was... but that his true form was human.
Really helpful. I’m trying to match up these guidelines with why the climax(es) of the Black Widow movie didn’t work for me haha
I love all the videos in this series, I just wished you'd take book examples, not films. Films are too rushed and have to be done in 2 hours while books have different types of variations on 3 act structure and are differently stretched and done in different quarters. Your advice has helped me nevertheless. Thank you!
Awesome video! Do you know why anti-heroes or people who used to be enemies and then become friends always die for their arc? (Harry in Spiderman 3 and Loki in Infinity War) I love that tight and close friendship and sibling feel but they always die. Do you know any movies where that doesn't happen? I'm guessing they feel they need to make up for what they did and so do something grand and sacrificial?
How about making this a podcast on Spotify etc.? It would be great to listen to this with the screen off!
A minor plot issue with Harry Potter is that if Harry truly felt like Hogwarts was his home, then the protection Dumbledore put into place at number 4 Privet Drive would be nullified… idk if JK has addressed this.
I think the ending is the hardest part to write.
45:45 is this why The Force Awakens got so much flack from the fan base?
First!
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What's another word for thesaurus?
Why is there no synonymocron?
i'm only 5 minutes in, but i don't think i like or agree with you describing the start of the fourth quarter as "preparation".
yes, a lot of stories do signal it with preparation, like a mom telling all the kids to get in the van so they can finally go to the big event that the entire story has been moving towards... but, it really starts with more of the final build up to the climax, which will achieve resolution, and it also can mean that there are decisions involved, like with the examples that you give.
but "preparation". feels kind of flat. the climax serves to be the payoff for the story. this is what the tension has been building up FOR. this is what will give the audience their release. the ENTIRE STORY should have been preparation for this climax, whether it be by the characters, or the world, or the thematic/ philosophical conflict.
if the story just requires the characters to go, "oh, let's grab our friends and wrap this party up!" then what is the story trying to build up exactly? a story CAN be resolved in that way, but what does it MEAN?
your toy story example: it's NOT ABOUT preparation. it's the CULMINATION of woody and buzz finally coming to terms with each other, and the differences that drove them apart are actually what helps them HELP EACH OTHER.
the PLANNING is the LEAST important part. the PLANNING is just the context, and the subtext is WHY we even care about the planning in the first place.
... i'm really sorry if this isn't worded very well or if it doesn't come off sounding very nice. but i... i just wanted to be selfish and rant. even though i only listened to 5 minutes so far.
i got triggered.
... if you listened to someone else explain it this way, would you not scratch your head furiously at the sheer surface level of such an explanation? and, if you do think that such an explanation is perfectly fine, i would very much argue that... you... are not creating a proper story.
you are simply tying up loose ends because you have to. you have simply thrown ingredients into the pot, without knowing WHY, and now, because you have seen others use this trope, you THINK that this is how it SHOULD look.
without knowing why. and that would suggest that such a writer has both their hands tied by trying to imitate convention, rather than expressing themselves and what their heart really wants to say.
sorry. i'm just so triggered. i will keep watching. and hopefully i don't keep ranting.
... i think... that your description of what endings are can perfectly encapsulate why so many endings feel forced and anticlimactic. people are working off tropes of what other stories do. a story can do all these things, but all this... plot... are just the notes on a music sheet. i feel like you are missing the timing of the music. you are missing how all of this is used for emotional build up.
... i would recommend watching some video essays on character analysis, and arcane, the animated show, comes to mind. it... they do a really good job on explaining how they are left affected by what they have seen on screen. their interpretation of what they saw is said into video essays... because they are so left so heavily affected.
they talk about little moments, and they talk about big moments. and the video essays talk about how this world affects these characters. how these characters affect their world. and how they are left emotionally changed. because of a show.
and it's not just arcane. there are so many video essays on so many different kinds of media.
if they don't FEEL anything, then they wouldn't talk about it.
your story... is using... all these tricks... to become better crafted... to make your audience feel something. and, hopefully, they feel something that you had somewhat intended.
you discuss these concepts like... "oh, i should grab some groceries. these are groceries that i want. and i wonder which things will be on sale this time."
... i think you are reducing the emotional build up and impact that these endings have had... to the lifeless chore of getting groceries (sorry, i don't know why i am stuck on the example of groceries, but it feels quite apt for this, so... i'm sticking to it).
no one wants to see me, or you, buy groceries. cleaning house. walking the dog. and yet, i feel like this is how you are... presenting this.
and it makes me wonder what kind of emotional build up and impact that your own stories would have if you can only seem to categorize the endings into neat little boxes that other people have thought up.
i don't read stories or watch them... to see characters do their grocery shopping. i mean, theoretically, you COULD make a kick butt story with that. but that is... i mean... you would need some very skilled execution of context and subtext to keep your audience engaged from start to the finish line.
sorry. i don't know why i'm angry listening to this. i should just stop and go do anything else.
but i felt like i needed to say my piece.
@@uglystupidloser I think you are placing far too much emphasis on semantics. 'Preparation' is just a way of categorising this stage of the story. It seems that what is described is quite flexible and adaptable with it being said multiple times that different stories can use each of these stages to greater or lesser effect. Of course, the entire story has also been building up to the climax. It didn't come across to me that each of these stages * must * be used in every story, or * always * in the same way. In fact, the examples given demonstrate how these stages are quite broad.
Frankly, I think some people are rather naive about story and character, into thinking that it is some kind of 'mystical art', when the most experienced writers and writing gurus will freely discuss how mechanical it is. Of course, for the audience, we don't need to be really overt in signalling these stages, it is very much implied or symbolic, and the audience is expecting these stages in a subliminal way, at least. And obviously it should never be the intention of the writer to make the audience feel it is mechanical. I'd argue that stories feel the most mechanical, contrived and convoluted when the tropes are used poorly or the situations are predictable, and stories feel the most organic and real when these tropes are used with care. In fact, Ellen even makes the point that you can't just chuck things in the climax that weren't established and hope it will work.
Consider the opinion of John Truby, when he states it's not tropes that make stories predictable or banal, but in the ways that writers execute these tropes. That is to say, to make a rewarding experience that resonates with the audience, these tropes have to be written with imagination and turn the story in compelling and original ways. Knowing what the stages are, and what effect they can (or should) have doesn't make a story feel mechanical.
Sure, we can break a story down into whichever paradigm or beat sheet we see fit through interpretation, but I assure you, Toy Story was created in a very mechanical way despite these techniques triggering an emotional response in the audience. How could I possibly know this? Because Michael Arndt has made videos describing the dramatic reversals in Star Wars, and how they wrote Toy Story 3. I recommend you check those out (and watch them again if you've seen them before). His youtube channel only has a couple of thousand subs and he has over 3 hours of content on Toy Story, Star Wars, The Graduate and Little Miss Sunshine.
Finally, this series is not about 'character'. This series is specifically about structure. Of course, any story worth creating or reading/watching requires the integration of character, structure, theme, symbolism, voice etc etc. I don't think anyone would claim that you can create a great story just by using structure (and tropes) and ignoring character. That would be as you claim, 'not a proper story'.
the thing is, stories usually are an endless cycle of "situation - disruption/action - aftermath/reaction". the preparation phase she is describing is in _reaction_ to the second plot point, and it is the situation in which we start the fourth quarter. it doesn't have to be long, and as she said, it can be implied (like, if it involves shopping for groceries, maybe you only need to know that it happened but not tell it 😂), but it's part of the flow of the story.
also, as another commenter said, you started by getting hung up on semantics - if that's your problem, you can just swap "preparation" for "buildup" and perhaps you can still benefit from the structural advice. Ellen often says that what's important is finding the words and story beats that work _for_ you and make sense to you
for me, preparation makes sense because it gets me thinking "ok, what is it that my protagonist(s) need before the climax". maybe what they need _is_ linked to character and relationships. I understand if "preparation" bugs you, but I'm not sure how it's inherently bad advice.
of course we need to know the _why_ and think about character development, but this series is about story structure, the grid into which a lot of meaningful stories fall. I don't see how the structure she describes denies emotion - it all depends on the stakes of the story, and it all might evolve emotional moments.