Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Climax Decision and more

The climax of a story means the character has made a decision. The decision pushes the focus character toward the resolution. There is more to the climax than the decision. The climax also means action. The character can't just decide what they will do, they must act. This action should be triggered by emotion and may not always be what is the logical way to go. If the character is going to reach the goal he or she has dreamed of the action the writer sees may throw the reader into wondering why this is done.

When writing, I face this challenge every time I end a story. Sometimes readers don't like what happens in the resolution. Remaining true to the character is the way to go. When writing Code Blue the climax of the story and the heroine's action stunned my critique group. My character acted on emotion and did something that was true to her nature and not a logical choice. But this has been one of my best selling works and I haven't heard anything about the crisis situation from readers.

So when reaching the peak of a crisis remember though the character makes a decision, they must act and the action is an emotional response. The emotional action may not be what a reader believes is the good choice but it must be the right choice for the characters.