@kit888

1 year ago

04:30 When the ending is not a massive battle - For some genres such as contemporary, literary, romance - Only involves family and friends - Or protagonists facing their greatest fear - Or some small challenge they have been trying to overcome throughout the story - It's more about the character's internal emotions - The reader wants to see how the internal conflict, explored for so long, ends - (see previous video on heightening internal conflict) 05:50 Different stakes for different characters - Applies to all genres - Stakes, consequences, should be uniquely higher for the main character Up the internal conflict for the main character - Dig deeper into who the character is - Show how this end game moment connects with what they've been pursuing this whole time, their fears, their misbelief 07:15 Show them learning something, realising their misbelief at the end - Their want is not their need - What they need is outside their comfort zone - Their fear has been holding them back 07:49 The climax is them climbing over the wall What is the wall, hurdle, the proof of change, something they couldn't have done in the beginning? - Defeating that big Fantasy army - Reconciling with someone - Admitting a truth - Reigniting a passion Otherwise, the story feels flat because the character doesn't change 09:20 Even with a negative character arc, the person should change - Due to the person punching back at the plot - Can be subtle, like a perspective change 10:10 Flat character arcs - The person with a flat character, serves a function for another character - Suitable for a side character If is a main character - Should still go on an emotional journey - Struggles with conflict and making decisions - Example: Jane Bennett, Pride and Prejudice - Example: Margaret Schlegel, Howard's End 14:25 It's not about what happened in the plot - It's about who these characters have become because of what has happened - We have to care about the characters, step into their shoes, see through their eyes - It doesn't have to be a life and death scenario 16:00 At the end - How have they changed, even in subtle ways? - How has their perspective changed? - How has their decisions impacted other characters - for better or worse? - How do they come to terms with who they are, who they have become? - How has everything that has happened, led to this moment? 16:45 For a book series - Doesn't have to be a total resolution - Not all the loose ends need to be tied up - Set up the inciting incident for the next book - Give enough closure while keeping the door open for new story possibilities, opening a new can of worms - Close subplots that won't be returning in the next book 18:37 Spotlight the end - Even for subtle or flat arcs - Readers can reflect on the characters' journey - How every little decision has led them to this moment - How this has had a greater impact on the other characters - How things have changed because of their internal struggles - Focus on the emotional aspect - How the events have changed the characters internally - How would the reader feel if they were them and went through those struggles, understood their perspective - Leave the reader with a feeling, something to think about 20:38 What do you want your readers to be thinking about at the end of your book? - Theme - The one truth you want to communicate - The closing image - What readers feel when they close the book - positive, alive 22:20 Recap - Don't make it exciting, make it emotional - Focus on what is happening inside the characters - What are the stakes for the main character, different from the other characters - How would the reader feel if they were that character - Can be a simple premise - Have the character realize their misbelief - See where we started and where we ended up - What wall did they have to jump over - What transformation took place, even a small one, a shift in perspective

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