That Girl Who Wrote A Book

      You've done it. You've reached the point in your story where everything changes, whether it be for better or worse. You're at the climax of your novel.      I've titled this post "The Point of No Return," which seems like a weird title when you're talking about events in a story, but that's what your climax should be. This is the most important part of your book: it's the part that changes your characters, changes the direction of your plot, speeds everything up and slows it all down at the same time. It's the moment where everything that's important comes out, everything begins to make sense, everything changes. It truly is the point of no return and there's no turning back now.      Generally, most people already have the climax planned before they even start outlining their story. Usually, it's this big moment that's stuck in your head that inspires the whole thing. Everything that happens leads up to and stems from thi...

    Trauma makes a character great. It is an understanding amongst the writing community that if you don't make your characters suffer, your story will be boring. But what nobody seems to realize is that there is a right way to torture your characters and there is a wrong way.      Let's start by discussing the wrong way to challenge your characters. Something that I find very mundane is when a character can go through hell and come out with a smile on their face. Remember that everyone has their breaking point, and so your character should too. If you want to be realistic, your character will not face everything with a big, cheesy smile. Even the most resilient characters (if written well) will reach a point where they can't seem to go on any longer.       T he moment your character breaks is the most important moment in your story. It is the moment that they change, whether it be for the better or for the worse. If you rush through this dev...