I spent the last week with one goal: to outline my first novel from start to finish.
While I’ve written a number of nonfiction books over the past year and I’m close to releasing my latest book on how to wake up early in the next month or two, I decided to spend a week outlining my first novel to create a road map before I’d begin writing. I’ve been wanting to write a thriller for some time. I knew I’d need a week to have enough time to dream up and capture the story.
Whenever you set out on a new adventure, it’s best to understand the rules first. I’ve spent months learning how to write good fiction and what I’ve found is every story follows the same pattern:
-Movement 1: The gripping opening where a character finds themselves in terrible trouble.
-Movement 2: The evil plot gets underway and the hero, in trouble, fights a defensive battle.
-Movement 3: The turning point (a symbolic death and rebirth). The hero goes on the offensive.
-Movement 4: The hero confronts the villain in a slam-bang climax.
-Movement 5: Resolution. What happens to the characters due to the hero’s victory or defeat.
At the end of movement 2 is a critical part of a novel. It’s called “the dark moment.”
The dark moment is when the hero finds themselves up against the wall and running out of time. There’s a deadline, so the clock is ticking like mad. The hero has run out of leads and the trail has gone cold. In the dark moment, it feels absolutely impossible that the hero will be able to foil evil.
It wasn’t hard to write the dark moment while outlining my thriller yesterday as I sat in a Dunkin’ Donuts eating a double chocolate and chugging a hot latte with notes sprawled out on the table.
It was a little too easy. That’s because we find ourselves experiencing dark moments often in life.
The bills pile up. We lose our dream job. We lose someone we love.
In a dark moment, we reach rock bottom. All hope seems lost. We see absolutely no way out.
But the dark moment is necessary in every story. Without it, there’d be no wisdom or revelation. The hero wouldn’t be transformed. Their determination wouldn’t be redoubled.
The rest of the story, from the turning point when the hero experiences a symbolic death and rebirth and goes on the offensive, to the confrontation with the villain in the slam-bang climax, to the resolution comes from one thing: The hero’s decision while experiencing their dark moment.
Only the hero can decide to muster up the determination to do something about their situation.
You’re the hero in your story, the story of your life that you’ll tell your kids and grand kids one day.
If you’ve found yourself in a dark moment, know that it’s a necessary part of any good story. Understand that you’re not really at the end of the story, you’re actually in the middle of it.
But you do have a decision to make.
Is this where the story will end? Or will hitting rock bottom be your turning point, the very thing that encourages you to go on the offensive, redouble your efforts, confront your villain, foil evil and win?
As the hero, you’re the only one that can decide.