Writing a Message: The climax and the resolution

The climax in a story is when the tension and action hit with full blast. Something usually happens to the main character that causes or forces them to make a crucial decision that leads to the final outcome in the end.

Deciding on your climax has a big part in creating your moral and unraveling the final message.

I googled some climax examples from stories most of us are familiar with and thought I'd share them with you:

• The deaths of Romeo (who kills himself because he thinks Juliet is dead) and Juliet (who kills herself when she awakes and sees Romeo dead).-Romeo and Juliet 
• Wilbur is declared the winner at the county fair, and his life is saved (the farmer will not butcher him).-Charlotte's Web 
• Peeta and Katniss agree to eat the poisonous berries instead of attempt to kill each other (and the outcome is that they are both declared winners). -The Hunger Games
• When Gaston and the townspeople come to attack the beast, and Belle admits her love for the beast. -Disney's Beauty and the Beast

The climax is always my favorite part to read and to write. It's when the characters are their strongest and bravest even though the end may not look promising. It's usually the most intense but inspiring part.

Then...

Due to the outcome of the climax, everything begins to fall into place which leads us to...

The resolution! This is where the reader can sit back and relax a bit. The story has come to an end. And if it's a good story, it has left the reader with much to think about. It's where the moral is revealed.

The moral of Beauty and the Beast, is that true beauty comes from within.

In Romeo and Juliet, we learn brutally to let go of old disagreement and feuds between families and friends.

What will your moral be? Do you know what your climax is and how it will lead to a satisfying and strong resolution?

So...

Using the last few posts from this series, we have learned to surrender over our story ideas to God and seek Him for wisdom to write a strong message. We talked about writing a powerful story through real events. We learned about the importance of morals and lessons. And now, we just finished up the week, learning about the impact of a strong climax and its outcome.

I've had a lot of fun writing this series. I learned a lot as I explored and researched the topic of creating a strong message. I believe it's one of the most important parts of writing, especially if you want your story to make an impact on someone's life.

What are some of your thoughts on writing a message that is powerful and moving? I'd love to hear from you! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow and I look forward to beginning my newest series next week!

Writing a Message: Morals and Lessons

Every child grows up hearing the fable of 'The Tortoise and the Hare' by Aesop. You know...the story where very determined tortoise competes in a race with a very fast but haughty and over confident hare.

As the race begins, the hare speeds way ahead leaving the tortoise in the dust. In the middle of the race, because the hare believes he will easily win, he stops to take a nap. The tortoise though moving very slowly, passes him and wins. 

Which gives us the very famous moral...'Slow and steady wins the race.'

Old fables and children's stories often have a moral at the end which teach valuable life lessons. In these stories, the morals are usually very obvious.

As adults, we often read fiction for pure entertainment. Romance novels, action and suspense, adventure, fantasy...they all draw us into exciting, compelling stories, allowing us to escape from our own hectic lives into the lives of other characters . 

But what makes a story more than just entertaining and engaging writing, is the lessons the reader can take away from what they've just read. When I set down a book feeling motivated to grow and be a stronger individual, I know that it was a really good book.

When it comes to Christian fiction, if the story tends to be full of cliches, mentioning God a few times here and there without showing the true impact of His love and grace, I feel as if the reader just walks away with a fun story. I know some authors tend to be careful about coming across as preachy. 

But the books that put emphasis on the characters battling faith through hurt and the painful challenges of life, then finally surrendering their burdens to God, and seeing His hand work in amazing ways...do not only change the life of the characters, but the readers as well.

The books I can remember most are the ones that have helped me grow in my walk with God, and have encouraged me to write stories with impacting morals and lessons. 

Whether the moral of your story is 'Slow and steady wins the race', 'Being smart is better than being beautiful', 'Good always wins', etc...if it teaches a lesson that you have learned in your own life, and is something you can't help but sharing, the story will be much more than just a story.

Ask God to give you wisdom and strength as you put together a story that isn't just convicting. But a story that reveals His ways and teaches of His mercies and kindness even amidst a hurting and broken world.

I know it's easy to get caught up in trying to write something that your readers will enjoy. Instead, try to imagine what it would be like to find out your story helped someone. Truly helped them. Whether it convicted them to make the right decision, comforted them, or maybe just reminded them they are not alone. 

That, dear writers, makes a story much more powerful, personal, and worthwhile. <3 

Writing a Message: What makes a story powerful?

In the movie Amazing Grace, we watch an English politician and member of Parliament named William Wilberforce put years of effort into abolishing the slave trade. His strong belief in God's creation of men to be treated equal, pushed Wilberforce to help change what he did not think right.

In the book The Hiding Place, we become engrossed as Corrie Ten Boom describes the brutality of the concentration camps during WWII. We can almost feel the pain and hunger she and her sister felt. We cry at the devastation, the hurt and suffering atthe hands of Nazi soldiers. Then we feel conviction and bewilderment in the end when Corrie forgives the very soldier who was cruel to both her and her sister.

What makes these stories so powerful? What makes them draw a person in so much they can sense and feel every emotion that character went through?

Because they are stories that really happened. They are stories about real people who even through trials and devastation, they trusted their Heavenly Father to use them and bring glory to His name in the end.

It's stories like these that tell a strong message that reveals the power and mightiness of God.

Can you remember situations in your life where God's hand was evident? Can you remember trials or experiences that left you hopeless, but the Lord taught you to trust Him through it all? Remember looking back and being in awe of His constant goodness?

Or what about someone you know? Did they go through tough times that you could never imagine experiencing for yourself? Were you amazed as you watched God work miracles in this person's life as He turned ashes to beauty?

As you think over these times, get out a pen and paper and write it down. When you write a story based on real happenings, the story is much more believable and will touch your readers and open their eyes to the wonder of God.

Writing a Message: Surrendering your words and thoughts

How easy is it to sit back and dream of the day you'll be holding a bestseller in your hand? Not just any best seller, but your bestseller. Isn't it a wonderful thought, imagining a long line of people waiting impatiently for you to sign their copy?

Do you ever dream of the constant royalties coming in? Can you just see yourself leaving your ginormous house in your brand new Mercedes as you are on your way to speak at a writer's conference?

Oh the glory and fame! What a life that would be to live! Right?

But after you spend ten minutes day dreaming, you snap out of it, return to reality, start typing out a paragraph, then frown because it stinks. You then open up blogs of best selling authors and spend ten minutes envying and admiring them, thinking, "Why can't I just write a book as good as their's?"

Yep. Been there. In fact, it's a daily struggle for me not to get caught up in this perfect plan I develop in my mind. Then I grow discouraged that I am still where I am, and not a well known published author.

But whenever I look at my writing and cringe because I think it's awful, I suddenly become humbled, remembering that God did not plant in me the passion to write just so I could become a successful and famous author.

In fact, if I wanted to, I could write something that would appeal much more to the world instead of holding fast to the convictions in my heart...and possibly have more of a chance to get my name out there.

So, basically, I could pursue my own false desires to become a best seller by completely ignoring the wisdom and strength God has to offer and write things that do not honor His precious name.

Or...I could surrender all my dreams all my words and all my thoughts to write what He has taught me.

I would much rather know that one person has received Christ by reading something I write, than becoming well known for writing something that would break God's heart.

Don't get me wrong. There is certainly nothing wrong with becoming a well known writer and best seller! In fact, there are many Christian best sellers who I look up to and it is easy to want to follow their foot steps.

But as writers for Christ, if our focus is completely on our Savior, and if we are surrendering every word we write to Him each day...we need to trust that God will use our gift in ways we can never imagine. When we share a powerful message that shows who God is, we are living out His will and knowing that lives are being changed because we surrendered!

November Blog Series: Writing a Message

This month's blog post series as you can see, is titled 'Writing a Message.' There are lots of people who can say some things much better by writing them down. Sometimes it just feels more meaningful to pour out your thoughts with a pen and paper.

A writer is a writer because they have something to tell. A message to convey. A story to reveal. 

And as Christian writers, God has given us the ability to share His undying love with others through our desire and ability to write. Because Thanksgiving is coming up and I am so thankful that God has placed this desire in my heart, I thought it would be a good topic to discuss for this month's series. 

It's not a series on apologetics and how to witness the right way through your writing. I simply want to share the blessings of surrendering your writing abilities to God, and letting Him speak to your heart as you write a message that gives Him glory.

 

The Joy of Editing: That final draft!

Finishing up that final draft is scary, exciting, and satisfying. At last! You've done you're absolute best at creating this masterpiece. You've plotted, outlined, written, rewritten several times, proofread, rewritten again, edited, revised, and rewritten probably once again. 

Your characters are consistent, relatable, and have learned and grown through through their experiences and challenges. Your setting is believable. Your writing is engaging. Your sentences flow. You have checked and double checked for grammar and spelling errors. 

If the project you are working on is not fiction, the above applies as well. If it's a blog post, an article, a sales letter or landing page...at this step your writing should be compelling, your claims believable, and your tone friendly. You've done your research, gathered your proof, and have a strong piece of copy.

You are truly happy with your project and ready for the next brave step! It is time to...

Hand it over to someone else! 

I know...it's not easy to do.

Each time I let anyone, and I mean anyone, whether it's a stranger, a family member, a friend, or a professional read anything I've written, I always get this horrible nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. As writers, we pour out our souls into our work! Our stories, our poems, and even articles, come from deep within us, and therefore our writing becomes a part of us.

Novelists have it the hardest. They have created characters and stories which have become alive and real to them. They have put on paper secrets and ideas that have come from their innermost imagination that they've never shared with anyone else.

To let someone other than yourself see that especially for the first time is really quite torturous. When you first send your writing to a professional, inside you know that this basically will answer your question on whether your writing is garbage or not. You've gone to so much work, the last thing you want is someone telling you they hate your writing.

But...regardless of whether your writing gets negative or positive critique...what does this step tell you about yourself? It says that you've already worked your absolute hardest on your own and you're ready to see how you can make it even better if need be. You're ready and open to hear what others think and because you are dedicated and love what you do, you're willing to take the advice of other writers and editors to make your writing its very best.

Before I end this post, I want to give a few words of advice when it comes to critique:

• Don't take critique personal. You may have created your characters, but they are not you. If someone doesn't like something about your story, that doesn't make you a failure as a person or a writer. When one of my piano students' plays a wrong note, that doesn't make them a bad pianist. They just need to work some more on the song. I have them practice again until they get it. Writing is the same way. The more you practice, the better you'll get.
• While listening or reading someone's critique, understand the difference between professional advice and their personal opinion. It's good to know someone's opinion, to have an idea of what readers will see when they open your book. But don't change your story just to please someone with a different opinion than what you have.
•  Think positive! Getting critique is one of the best ways of expanding your writing education. Think of critique as a teacher and coach to help you grow and become the great writer you dream to be. Don't allow yourself to become discouraged. And most importantly...keep reminding yourself of how far you've already come from the time you began that very first draft!

This is the end of The Joy of Editing. I hope to hear of all the ways you edit, revise, and prepare for the very last draft! Thanks so much for reading, and stay tuned for the next blog post series coming soon!