Plotting is like sex. Plotting is about desire and satisfaction, anticipation and release. You have to arouse your reader's desire to know what happens, to unravel the mystery, to see good triumph. You have to sustain it, keep it warm, feed it, just a little bit, not too much at a time, as your story goes on. That's called suspense. It can bring desire to a frenzy, in which case you are in a good position to bring off a wonderful climax.
Fulfilling Film Endings: Both Happy & Sad
Billy Mernit of Living the Romantic Comedy has written a new article commenting on another article, Perfectly Happy, Even Without Happy Endings.
Climaxing the Right Way (In Your Script)
This article by Candace Kearns Read lays out some important guidelines to follow while crafting the third act of your script, and particularly the climax: The climax is the action the protagonist chooses to take after facing the moment of crisis, where he or she is pushed to the edge with no way out. This... Continue Reading →