And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for: The CLIMAX!

Also known as the Ordeal.

Much like Crossing the Threshold, the time for thinking, worrying, planning, and/or preparing has passed. Time for the Main Character(s) to face their greatest challenge and die! Wait…die?

Elements of an Ordeal

• Setting – where is the Ordeal taking place? Whatever your first answer, great BUT how can you make it worse? Remember, the writing exercise from the Approach? Let’s say your setting is “while shopping” (16-17 roll). What if a child runs off in the mall/market? What if there’s a fire? What if the shop is all out of whatever the MC most needs?
• The Goodies – the MC will definitely be part of the Ordeal, but who else is there? Are they present the whole time or, like the Great Eagles, do they just swoop in all deus ex machina style? Sadly, any mentors who have survived this long are in grave jeopardy during the Ordeal, as there’s often the self-sacrifice of a secondary character to allow the MC to continue on their path. This is also the last chance that untrustworthy “friends” have to betray the MC and reveal their true colors.
• The Baddies – stack the deck in their favor. Whether physically, emotionally, or other, the Baddies have the high ground and the Goodies can’t possibly hope to win against those odds. Baddies suffer from hubris, ignorance, or some other flaw that’s directly related to the MC’s starting flaws. Remember, the Baddies are warnings – this is MC’s future if they make poor choices, if they succumb to temptation, if they fail.
• Final temptation, offer or chance to turn back:
  • Join me or die
  • All this can be yours
  • If you love me you would/wouldn’t do this to me
  • I can make all your dreams come true
• Death – Death and rebirth are part of the Ordeal. That may be literal, as in many mythologies where a divine being dies and comes back to life. It may be figurative, such as when the MC undergoes such a dramatic transformation that the version of them from the beginning of the story is essentially dead and gone.
  • Genres where literal death is more likely or more common: thrillers, action/adventure, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, Westerns, historical, literary fiction
  • Genres where literal death would be very shocking to readers: romance (unless there’s a HEA baby), contemporary fiction, mystery (especially cosy ones)
• Outcome – There are three main options and yes, you very creative types are welcome to send me examples that fall outside these categories.
  • Win – The MC succeeds, whatever that means for them. They may or may not live, but they did win and the story world will forever be better off for it.
  • Lose – The MC fails, usually because they refused or were unable to learn the lesson of the story’s theme. For example, in Romeo & Juliet, one of the themes is Love Conquers All, but when Romeo finds Juliet apparently dead in a crypt, he despairs and instead of believing in their love, he kills himself. Stories where the MC can’t or won’t change in the way they NEED to are tragedies.
  • Draw – The MC kind of wins, but also kind of loses. Ambiguous endings frustrate some readers, as do cliff-hanger endings and friends, when you see these endings, you probably have a series on your hands. Keep going and you’ll eventually come to a more definitive resolution.
• Legacy – Not all MCs survive the Ordeal and not all those that die rise from their graves, which is good news (unless you like zombies). For MCs who die for REAL and don’t resurrect via magical, mystical or medical means, there is still a rebirth, but it takes the form of legacy in the story. Legacy can be as large as saving the multiverse or as simple as changing the school’s dress code (Hopefully, no one has to die to achieve this!). Sometimes, legacy is physically embodied by a child who is able to carry the MC’s cause forward (cue the convenient pregnancy trope). It can also be shown through the way future generations remember and celebrate the MC.

Writing Exercise

Brainstorm your Ordeal.

What is the setting? Make that worse in at least one way. Not only is the forest haunted, it’s also quite stinky.

Remember the Try-Fail cycle from Refusal of the Call? The MC tries to do something and gets a Yes, BUT or a No, AND result.

Think of the best result the MC could hope for. Wonderful, isn’t it? World peace and chocolate cake now grants you three wishes. Just as your MC lifts their fork for that oh so satisfying bite, drop in the BUT. Yes, they achieved world peace, but…

Imagine everything has gone horribly wrong. The love interest turned out the be the main baddie and they never actually liked the MC’s hand-knit scarf. Just when your MC thinks things can’t get bleaker, give them that AND. Did you win? No, and on top of everything else…