Write the Damn Thing!
DAY 24
Welcome back!
I can’t believe we are here already. The beginning of the end. Today we are starting the final act. The curtain will rise for one last fateful act, everything that’s been set in motion will finally collide. There’s no escaping it now.
You might be feeling the urge to go back and re-do some of the stuff you’ve written so far. This is no time for such nonsense. You’ll have time to rewrite later. Today we push onwards into the night. Don’t let the darkness scare you away. I bring torches for all of us.
Let’s see where the darkness leads to…
Key aspect of screenwriting: The aha moment.
If you’ve done your job correctly as ‘head torturer’, the hero has been beaten and abused. Great.
Right now your hero has retreated. They are doubting themselves. They crawl back into their safe space… but something is missing. They have been transformed by the journey so far. That’s when they discover something new.
Now the hero must have the “aha” moment. They must realize there’s still some action they can do to save the day. As I stated previously, this discovery can come through the b-story.
Something that we thought was just there taking up precious space through the whole story… has now become incredibly important. In Zootopia, Judy discovers that the “night howler” has a violent effect on mammals. They can all be turned savage by this plant. Judy now has new information to take her into the final act of the story. Her energy and hopes have been restored by this discovery.
In Jurassic Park is when Hammond decides to reboot the park’s system as the last and only chance to regain some control over it. Previously, they were defeated, Ned’s virus had corrupted the computers. But now they have this last chance to make everything right again.
With this final push, your hero makes one last decision. Either they get what they’re after our they’ll die trying.
Day 24 task:
Start writing your 4th Act. What is this vital piece of information your character discovers? What gives him or her the last push they so desperately need? These are the questions you must answer in the coming 2 or 3 pages. Let’s get to it.
That’s gonna be all for today friends. I hope you are having fun. Writing the final turning points of your story always feels good, right?
Happy writing!
DAY 23 is here, if you missed it.
