Section 11 – CLIMAX

Section 11
–
CLIMAX

CONFRONTATION
Story Creation Step 11 is where the Hero confronts the Antagonist directly, and this must be the sole focus of the Step. Although the Hero may have had other dealings with the Antagonist in past Steps, this time the Hero has already made his or her critical choice. So this confrontation marks the Hero’s public display of newfound adult knowledge. It also marks the Hero’s general proving of him/herself and his/her putting the previous learning process to good use.

This Step is the resolution of all the plot development to this point, and it is the plot that must be central to this Step. The Hero has already had his/her personal, or character, transformation. Now it is time simply to take action and bring the Antagonist to justice. This Step is usually the most exciting of all and might involve a chase sequence.

EXAMPLES
* Marian’s mother, in The Go-Between, runs through the torrential dragging an unwilling Leo by the hand, to Ted Burgess’s farm. They run into the barn where they catch Ted and Marian in flagrante. Leo thus has his final, decisive confrontation with the Adult World.
* Jem and Scout, in To Kill a Mockingbird, are attacked by Bob Ewell, who breaks Jem’s arm and tries to kill them both before they are rescued by the mysterious Boo Radley.

The Antagonist as Sympathetic Figure
There should be little, if any, sympathy for the Antagonist.

‘Death’ of the Antagonist
Often, a result of the confrontation is the ‘death’ of the Antagonist. Note that, although the ‘death’ might be a literal death, it can also be a symbolic one, referring, for example, to the Antagonist’s loss of power or control.

TIMELINE
The scenes in this Step should take up about 10 percent of your story.