Plot: Climax, #Preptober Day 29

Preptober is almost over! That means NaNoWriMo is almost here! Where did all the time go?!

With just three days left in the month of October, it’s time to talk about the climax of your story.

First, just what is a climax, and why do you need one? The obvious answer is that this is the Big Moment that your whole story has been leading up to, whether it’s a big reveal (Clark Kent is really Superman!), a big wedding proposal (yay, s/he finally popped the question!), a big showdown between the hero and the villain (hooray, the bad guy is FINALLY defeated!), or something else BIG, it’s THE definitive moment in your story – the moment your reader has been waiting for all this time.

The climax is the highest point in your story. Tensions are high. Nerves are steeled. Everything hangs in the balance at the very top of the roller coaster’s ascent…

And then WHOOSH! it’s all downhill from there as you tip from build-up to resolution. Which is, coincidentally, tomorrow’s topic!

Naturally, I can’t tell you what the climax for my story is (I mean, why would you still want to read the book if I just gave everything away?), but that’s the gist of what you’re aiming to do in your climax. This is another good place to ask yourself “Where is my story headed, and how do I get there?” If you haven’t hit your climax by the end of the book, something is missing. So make sure to aim all of your metaphorical arrows at this point, because that’s where your hero is heading from day 1 – even if they don’t know that yet.

Want to prep with me?

Share your Preptober story’s title, or tell us how your prep has been going so far in the comments. Or, post about your progress on your blog, and be sure to use the hashtag #Preptober when sharing on social media so we can find each other.

Don’t forget to grab a free copy of my Preptober Prompts Printable, which you can print out for personal use.

See you tomorrow with a new prompt!