Last week I discussed the Climax of a plot.
Recapping, the Climax is the actual turning point of a plot. It is where the suspension of a story, plot, problem, conflict comes to a head – so to speak.
What then must follow is the fall of the emotion building up the suspense. This is the Falling Action. In this stage of your plot, you want to turn on a dime and begin describing how the conflict in the plot will be solved. This should equally blend in with the other stages of your plot so that you do not lose the reader.
In this stage of the plot, your main character will be solving any internal or external emotions of conflict. The situation that created the plot will begin to take a back burner to the new situation of conflict resolution. There may be a sharp contrast in scenery, temperament, attitude, etc., but be careful not to change your theme.
Your main character may, for instance, win over the support of any opposing minor characters in the story. The main character may realize that some of the actions leading up to the Climax of the plot work or do not work. Either way, the main character should be closely attached to whatever your theme is by this point of your story. He or she will be focused on solving and it is not wise to create a new conflict in the same story at this point. Know when to end the height of the drama and not wear out the emotions of your reader. There are professional writers who are very good at telling a story with lots of details from beginning to end to make for a great action-packed story. There are also some writers who have waaay too much going on in their first book. This can give the impression that the writer loosely organized the story, clearly lost focus, and/orover-looked the benefits of professional editing. The bottom line is that it is the writer's decision what details get taken out of the manuscript and what stays. Whatever content stays, should follow the triangle example of creating a good plot or story.
So, if we use the sampling of Zora’s "Dust Track On The Road from previous posts," a logical turning point will be the realization that John or Zora made a better life for themselves … or made his or her life worse than it was at the beginning of the story. It could be the climax of the story if after moving from town to town and hopping from job to job, that Zora lands the perfect job as a writer earning big bucks. She is able to purchase a home and a car and shop at all the up-scale stores. (You get the idea...?)
In using Zora’s story, a question a writer may ask himself is what event caused the main character to decide he or she had the dream job or career that was a lifetime goal of achievement? What did they compare it to? Why? Etc....;
What are some things that the main character can now afford to do or to have with this dream job that he or she could not have accomplished at the beginning of the story?;
What led to that dream job?;
What lessons did the main character learn?;
How will he or she keep that dream job?;
Where is the dream job?;
Do they have power or contol or authority?;
Are these important traits to create success in the main character’s mind?;
What about the people he or she met on the way up the ladder to success?;
What about those folks who do not want the main character to be successful?;
What social elements or natural elements are affecting the characters and plot?
These questions should be answered with details to create content for your book.
Of course, you can come up with endless questions on your own for your plot and its Falling Action to balance out your story, but be careful not to try to include too many new events, characters, details, etc. (save some for the sequel) in this stage of your story. Keep in mind that the writer's tone should be reflected in the story as the reader is engaged in the plot., too. These changes in the writer's tone will become clues for the reader to pick up when the story is moving from one stage to another. Good word choices and proper punctuations also contribute to the different stages of a plot.
Ok, so let’s look at that triangle again and see what it looks like now when it is right side up. Along the left side of the triangle starting at the base and moving upward, your plot should follow this order: Exposition at the bottom, Rising Action is the next layer, and Climax is the next layer and at the very top.
When you drape your eyes down the left side of the triangle, the Falling Action will come under the Climax. Ok, so work out your outline and note cards and it is alright to tweak here and there.
TIP: Read your note cards aloud to yourself or a friend and see if they can identify the Climax of your story and where the Falling Action begins. The only clue your friend will have is the chaqnge in your tone. This is the same clue the reader will have, too. Smile.
See ya next week,
Swaggie Coleman
Swaggie’s Voice is Exclusively Published by Levine-Oliver Publisher and can be visited at:
http:swaggiecoleman.blogspot.com. If you have any questions, please e-mail Swaggie at Swaggie86@aol.com
Posted By: agnes levine
Saturday, February 13th 2010 at 5:07PM
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