The black moment for your character or characters doesn't just pop up. The moment has to be developed so the reader believes this is for real. Remember during the black moment, the character must believe all is lost. The reader must believe this as well. So how does this moment happen?
Just what is the black moment? this is the time when a character realizes all is lost. The hero knows he will never win the girl. The heroine sees her dreams for happiness evaporate. The villain realizes he will be found out.
The key word is believes and this can be hard to make clear. If you're writing a romance, you know there should be a happily ever after or a happy for now moment. In a mystery, you know the villain will be unmasked. In any genre the time needs to come for one of the characters to realize all is lost. In a science fiction story the hero or heroine might believe the plague will never end. In fantasy, the wizard believes he or she ahs lost their powers. A bit of note for the horror genre. The black moment may become the end of the focus character, What could be blacker than that.
Is it possible to have more than one black moment in a story? Skillfully done, this can be achieved. The character may believe all is lost. Then he or she decides to go on from there. Then, during the new path he or she has taken there comes another time when all can be lost.
Here’s a sketch of what my Black Moment will entail. The hero has tried to rescue one of the girls the villain holds prisoner. Instead he is captured and the villain taints his lines. The hero believes he has lost everything and he flees. When the alien finds him, he is unable to fight the man. The heroine arrives. The alien is pleased but the heroine offers the hero a chance to cleanse his lines. He must decide to do something he has fought since he first met the heroine. This leads to the final scene and also gives a little hint about what the third book in the trilogy will be.
When the black moment goes awry, the search for what has gone wrong has to be discovered. A flat black moment can't bring the reader any excitement. So just what can go wrone.
In your book, you may have a number of important characters. Choosing the wrong one to have the moment when they believe all is lost makes the moment fall flat. yes, you can have more than one character have this moment but they shouldn't be back to back. Having say the hero, the detective or whoever have the black moment and then have their opposite have one at the same time. We'' as a reader, I would believe the story was totally boring. So choose the right time as well as the right character. Then that character can decide to try a different approach to his or her goal. Only then can the opposite character have their moment of belief.
Other things is basing the black moment totally on the outside force. The black moment has to address something in the main character. If the character is poorly motivated the black moment will fall flat.
Another way to go wrong is to use coincidence to bring the black moment about. Coincidences happen in real life but shouldn't in fiction. If you're going to use what looks like a coincidence, you'd better plan it carefully. Misunderstandings give the same result as coincidences. A misunderstanding can be used for a minor bit but clear it up quickly.
The last way a black moment may feel forced or wrong is to have it happen abruptly. Black moment in three paragraphs or less isn't going ot convince your reader that the hero or heroine believes all is lost.
So plan for your black moments and when they occur play them out to the full.
When the black moment goes awry, the search for what has gone wrong has to be discovered. A flat black moment can't bring the reader any excitement. So just what can go wrone.
In your book, you may have a number of important characters. Choosing the wrong one to have the moment when they believe all is lost makes the moment fall flat. yes, you can have more than one character have this moment but they shouldn't be back to back. Having say the hero, the detective or whoever have the black moment and then have their opposite have one at the same time. We'' as a reader, I would believe the story was totally boring. So choose the right time as well as the right character. Then that character can decide to try a different approach to his or her goal. Only then can the opposite character have their moment of belief.
Other things is basing the black moment totally on the outside force. The black moment has to address something in the main character. If the character is poorly motivated the black moment will fall flat.
Another way to go wrong is to use coincidence to bring the black moment about. Coincidences happen in real life but shouldn't in fiction. If you're going to use what looks like a coincidence, you'd better plan it carefully. Misunderstandings give the same result as coincidences. A misunderstanding can be used for a minor bit but clear it up quickly.
The last way a black moment may feel forced or wrong is to have it happen abruptly. Black moment in three paragraphs or less isn't going ot convince your reader that the hero or heroine believes all is lost.
So plan for your black moments and when they occur play them out to the full.
1 comment:
Thanks for explaining the black moment including how it can fall flat.
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