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From beginning to end, the story has many ups and downs. Astute writers know these occur at critical junctures in the plot. These junctures can drastically alter the story going forward in ways that take readers by surprise. In this article, we take a look at how to create a pivotal scene, also known as a critical juncture, from beginning to end.
A pivotal scene takes many different forms throughout the story. One can simply be a character discovering a truth about himself he didn’t know previously whereas another can depict him clashing with the villain as the fate of the world hangs precariously in the balance. These such scenes keep readers invested in the plot as they desire to know what happens next.
Before writing the scene itself, you need to set the foundation. This is where you lay the groundwork for what’s about to happen, as if alerting the audience that they’re approaching a key moment in the tale. How you set it up can significantly affect their perception of what happens so it’s vital you do so correctly in a way that spurs them to see what happens.
Writing the pivotal scene itself requires a good deal of thought and planning. There’s so much to consider besides the event itself. You have to think about the emotions of the characters, the atmosphere of the setting, which part of the story it takes place in, and so on. You want to carve out some time to write one that effectively communicates exactly what you want to convey to your readers.
The outcome of a pivotal scene changes the trajectory of the tale going forward. Thus, it’s important that you showcase its effects in several ways. The immediate aftermath, short-term, and long-term effects of such a scene reverberates far beyond it.
This is number twenty-nine in the series looking at writing a fantasy book. There’s tons more articles you can peruse, all of which are on our blog page!
Before you start writing a scene where the story turns, it’s imperative that you set it up beforehand and in a way that spurs your readers’ interest. You want to do so in a way where they sense something is about to happen though they have no idea what that is without being too obvious about it. Subtlety is key here.
The arrangement of the scenes you have before the critical juncture matters a great deal. You can start setting it up one or two chapters before or even at the beginning of the chapter where it takes place in. Regardless of how far in advance you start, these scenes need to be presented in a logical, natural order and each one needs to build upon the one before it, all culminating into the key scene.
Two superb ways to help prepare for a pivotal scene is to change the pace of the story and raise the tension of the scenes preceding it. When approaching one, the story picks up which means the pace should follow suit. A key scene is typically full of tension and showing it rising beforehand is a subtle way of telling the audience they’re getting close to one.
As you set it up, you need to try to consider how the audience will perceive it. You want them to have the right expectations going into it so that they don’t wind being disappointed. Give them something to whet their appetite but at the same time, don’t let them over-inflate their expectations.
There are some circumstances where a pivotal scene can occur without any advance warning. One such is when the protagonist is suddenly thrust into a situation beyond his control. Imagine he’s trekking through the mines when he suddenly falls through a pit, only to wind up in front of a big, bad monster lurking in the depths. He must defeat it before he can get out.
These sudden shifts take the audience by surprise since they too are thrown into something they didn’t expect. Instead of gradually building towards it, you turn it on its head, thereby subverting expectations. Caution: use this method sparingly, using it too much can and will lessen its effectiveness and potentially hurt your story.
Now you’ve set it all up, it’s time to begin writing the critical juncture, a key point in which the plot turns. The scene itself might be easy to write however, there’s a lot of things to take into consideration. It would be prudent to take your time in writing it so that it communicates exactly what you want it to say for your readers.
The scene itself is awash in drama, whether it be one character confronting another over a secret, someone traveling through a hostile environment, or an intense battle. The goal here is to keep your readers in suspense from the moment it begins to the ending. You want them to keep guessing how it’ll end.
It’s vital to capture and portray the emotions of the characters involved in the scene clearly. It doesn’t matter what the format of the pivotal scene is, the audience needs to see what the characters are feeling.
Using ‘show, don’t tell’ works well here as you can describe their emotions based on their facial expressions, how they’re acting, and their body movements. The emotions of the characters are one of the most important elements of a key scene, so you need to convey them the right way.
Another essential component of a pivotal scene is the atmosphere. The scene itself is typically fraught with tension and the atmosphere ought to reflect it. There are several ways you can convey it like using the weather, the lighting — or lack of — of the area. Choose one that works well with the setting you plan to use for the scene.
One thing you need to think about is its placement in the story. Earlier key scenes tend to be less intense compared to later ones. This is because the stakes gradually rise throughout the tale as it inches closer to the climax. Adjusting their intensity to where they occur helps your readers not feel bamboozled since they don’t feel out of place for where they are. After all, the tension will grow with each one over time.
With the key scene now over, it’s time to turn your attention to what comes next. It generates momentum that still goes on after it’s done. That means it’s your responsibility as a writer to keep it going until it dissipates. Think of it like letting it wind down naturally as you pivot onto the next part of the story.
The pivotal scene leaves behind several effects that linger a bit for both the characters and the readers. These effects are divided into 3 categories: immediate, short-term, and long-term. Each one comes with its own set of challenges that impact the plot for its duration.
The immediate is the easiest one since it occurs literally right after said scene reaches its conclusion. It can be just one or several scenes. This is where the characters who were in it begin processing what just happened. It’s a time where emotions are still running high and the tension in the air is still hanging around, leaving the characters in a tizzy, uncertain of what their next move ought to be. This is where the raw emotion they’re feeling can lead them to make a rash decision that they may regret down the road.
Moving onto the second category, the short-term is where the effects from the critical juncture continue to shake out. It typically persists through the remainder of the chapter it begins on or it can span two chapters. In the short-term, the characters are still digesting the event though they’ve cooled down for a bit and are in a relatively safe area. They start to talk about it with each other as they begin thinking about their next move.
And finally, the long-term is where the effects from the pivotal scene continue to reverberate, even many chapters later. The duration of this group can last several chapters later on all the way to the end. This is the most profound of the three, for the effects here tend to be permanent with sparse methods to mitigate them. In this group, the characters have no choice but to cope with its effect for better or worse.
Using all three categories of effects in the aftermath of a critical juncture shows how much it changed everything, from the characters to the plot itself. This is where characters are either at their weakest or strongest and are likely to rush into decisions that might not necessarily pan out for them.
Pivotal scenes bring with them a lot of power and the potential to upend the story. Thus, it’s imperative that you dedicate enough time to make them truly shine. If you feel like how you wrote one isn’t good enough, rewrite it as many times until you feel like you’ve got it right.
There are three parts of constructing a key scene. The first of which is the lead-up to it. You set it up beforehand with the scenes preceding it serving as the set-up. In some cases, you can start much earlier, even going as far back as to the chapter(s) before it. You want to subtlety let the audience know they’re approaching a turning point but still make them want to see what transpires.
The second part is the scene itself. There are many undercurrents at play here, from the emotions coursing through the characters to the atmosphere of the setting itself. Each one serves a vital role in the scene which means you want to ensure that each one all work in synergy with each other.
Last and not the least, the aftermath depicts what happens after the critical juncture. The objective here is to show how the scene impacted the characters and the plot. You do so by breaking down its effects across three groups: the immediate, short-term, and long-term.
Pivotal scenes are an integral cornerstone of creating a great story so it’s important that you get them right. Using them correctly can take your story to greater heights!
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