The Contour Guide, Step # 12
GOOD GUY VS. BAD GUY OVER STAKES (pages 95-105)
The climax of every well-told story is the protagonist in pitched battle against the antagonist over the stakes of the story. I’ve seen films where the final battle is handed to some subordinate or minor characters (THE HUDSUCKER PROXY comes to mind), and you can feel your brain rebel while watching.
In your story, make sure it is your main character who has to get his or her hands dirty, not someone else. You main character might get some desperately needed help, but choices and action belong to your main character.
In romantic comedies, this is the final moment when the lovers seem both destined to be together and fated to be apart.
And when this is over toss in a short denouement that caps off the story and shows the main character in his or her new reality, and everyone goes home from the theatre happy!
- Brody is on the sinking Orca and squares off against the shark to save Amity. ( JAWS)
- Jack fights Barbossa to save Will and Elizabeth. (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL)
- Sam finds Jonah at the top of the Empire State building, almost misses Annie, but finds her when they come back to retrieve Jonah’s backpack. (SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE)
- Luke destroys the Deathstar and saves Leia. (STAR WARS)
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