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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAfter the Climatic Moment, your story is going to start winding down pretty fast. Now, depending on your book\u2019s pacing and length, the length of your Resolution will vary. But, generally, you\u2019ll want to keep it to only a few scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In \u201cBeyond the Mask,\u201d we cut to a scene where the Declaration of Independence is passed, and Ben Franklin breathes a sigh of relief when the Continental Congress is not <\/em>exploded to bits. Will and Charlotte flee for their lives as the windmill burns around them, diving off the dock just before the final explosion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cIn Time of Need,\u201d the Climax and Resolution are in the same scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Resolution is one last chance to have fun with your characters, so think of it almost as a new Hook\u2026 only, this time, they\u2019re entering their new life believing in the Truth. Let\u2019s take a look at some things to remember when writing your story\u2019s Resolution:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The MC and the supporting characters are going to enter a new and final world\u2026 the new Normal World. This is a world based on the Truth that the MC has finally come to believe. Not every part of the world has to embrace this Truth\u2026 you could end on a slightly more shadowed note by showing the opposition the MC may face in the future, whether from other characters or from another part of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, generally, you want to show how the MC and the supporting characters are using the Truth to create a new life for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cBeyond the Mask,\u201d though Will is pushed into a prison carriage, it\u2019s later discovered that Benjamin Franklin is going to protect him and help him start a new life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cIn Time of Need,\u201d Tad and Ava inherit their money and go to live with Reverend Sheppard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though we already demonstrated the MC\u2019s belief in the Truth at the Climatic Moment, this is your opportunity to show his belief in the Truth during normal life. After all, the events of the Climax were far from normal. So, now that everything\u2019s over, how will your MC be different from who they were at the beginning of the story? How will their life have changed from what it was during the Hook?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cBeyond the Mask,\u201d Will humbly allows the guards to arrest him and put him in the prison carriage, even before he knows that he is, in fact, not<\/em> being escorted to jail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cIn Time of Need,\u201d Tad is finally able to walk tall and confident down the street, trusting that Reverend Sheppard\u2014and, ultimately, God\u2014will take care of him and his sister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the Climatic Moment was mainly about resolving the MC\u2019s struggles, you may have a few more things to iron out in the Resolution. And, even if the supporting characters got their own Climatic Moments, you still might want to offer them the same kind of Resolution you did for the MC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, characters who were previously enemies might now clasp hands in friendship. A formerly selfish character may now be shown to be living a generous life. A romantic subplot might finally come to a resolution when the characters announce their engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, if your antagonist survived the Climatic Moment, you might want to at least hint at what his Resolution was. He might go to jail, eventually turn good, or even escape to plot some new evil scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cBeyond the Mask,\u201d both Charles Kemp and Basil were killed by electrocution at the Climatic Moment, while Mr. Harrison is arrested. It isn\u2019t shown what happens to the doctor, but it would seem that he died in the explosion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charlotte is shown to be living out her Truth to the full potential when she gets in the prison carriage with Will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cIn Time of Need,\u201d Mr. Beasley is forced to treat his tenants and factory workers right, for fear that Mr. Sinclair will shut him down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If there are any other needs to be taken care of or things to wrap up, the Resolution is the place to do it. Maybe an orphanage finally gets the funding it needs, or the heir to the throne is finally crowned king.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cBeyond the Mask,\u201d Benjamin Franklin arranges for the prison carriage to take Will and Charlotte to his home, rather than to jail. He also alludes to the fact that charges will not be pressed on Will, seeing as his crimes were committed on British territory, and the newly-formed United States of America will soon be at war with Britain. Will and Charlotte also (finally) get engaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cIn Time of Need,\u201d it\u2019s alluded that Bevan and the other tenants and factory workers will lead a much better life than they had before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, some stories will end more happily than others, and there are times for a darker ending. But, overall, you\u2019ll want to end on a more positive note. Try to get a perfect combination of bittersweet to make for both a realistic and satisfying ending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The MC should not forget the mistakes they made, the characters who died, or other disasters that happened. But, with the Truth and their embracing of it, they can now look at those things in a new light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cBeyond the Mask,\u201d while the ending seems to be totally perfect at first glance, a hint of trouble seems to be looming in the distance. As the letter from Benjamin Franklin says, \u201cThe true battle is only just beginning, and we may have need for you again.\u201d This foreshadows the American Revolution, and Will\u2019s role in it. However, this is somewhat of a positive note for the viewers, since they already know the outcome of the American Revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cIn Time of Need,\u201d the narration during the Resolution hints at more troubles to come for Tad. However, it also shows that his belief in the Truth will ultimately carry him through those troubles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before we finish this post, I just want to take a quick look at some of the pitfalls that tend to happen in a Resolution:<\/p>\n\n\n\n After all of the exciting things that happened in the Climax, the new Normal World of the Resolution can seem a bit boring. So, the writer might try to get it over with as soon as possible. Or, they might want to pack in more information than is necessary for the Resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result of either of these things is an info dump. This is when the writer dumps a bunch of information onto the reader, either through dialogue or narration. An info dump can happen at any point in the story but is probably most often found at the Resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While I\u2019m not against a little bit of \u201ctelling\u201d during a story\u2014in fact, telling is quite necessary at times\u2014an info dump consists of entirely too much telling. So, instead of info-dumping, you can opt for a little bit of telling, along with two other techniques: showing and foreshadowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If it\u2019s so important that your readers know about your MC\u2019s new job, then add a scene showing this. If you really want the readers to know that those two minor characters got married, have the last scene take place at their wedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you have a lot of loose ends to tie up, you often can\u2019t show or tell them all. Of course, you\u2019ll end up showing or telling the most important ones. But for things like minor subplots or just unnecessary \u201cfiller\u201d scenes, foreshadowing works best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, there are going to be some things that you\u2019ll need to just cut altogether. Think about the information that your audience really needs to know\u2014not the information you want them to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In many, many movies and books (including some of my old stories), the last scene consists of a huge get-together where pretty much every single character gathers to celebrate or commemorate something. It could be simply the bad guy\u2019s end. It could be a holiday, such as Christmas or Thanksgiving. It could be a wedding or, yes, even a funeral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While I definitely think a \u201cparty scene\u201d can\u2014and should, at times\u2014be used during the Resolution, you have to use caution. Sure, go ahead and have that birthday party as your Resolution. But make sure you make it as good a scene as any of the others. Don\u2019t just use it as an excuse to info dump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make sure that you\u2019re using the correct amount of showing, telling, and foreshadowing during the scene, just as you would with any other Resolution scene. If you are using a \u201cparty scene,\u201d it must be realistic for the characters to be getting together\u2014don\u2019t just throw it in there to make your Resolution easier to write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is something that often accompanies the party scene\u2026 the MC (or some other character) will get up and make a speech about some thing or another. A lot of times, this is simply the writer\u2019s weak attempt to pull at your heartstrings one last time, and it also tends to breed more info dumps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019m not totally against an ending speech\u2014there are certainly times when they can be helpful. But beware against restating the Truth as though the readers haven\u2019t already read through the whole book. Yes, definitely state the Truth, but you don\u2019t have to go on for pages about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, be careful not to retell the entire story. Again, your readers have already been through everything\u2026 they don\u2019t need it all told to them again. You can definitely talk about certain scenes or events in the story but don\u2019t relate the entire thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So bring back symbolism spoken of earlier in the book, quote a Bible verse that helped the MC come to salvation\u2014go for all of those things. But please, please don\u2019t try to \u201cwin\u201d your readers over solely with that last scene. Hopefully, the rest of your book has already done that. Your job is to wrap everything up nicely and neatly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lastly, make sure your MC is making that speech for a reason, not just because you want the scene in there. Give him some sort of occasion where a speech is a normal occurrence\u2026 just like the \u201cparty scene,\u201d the speech needs to fit with the rest of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few more examples of Resolutions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that is all for our series on Positive Change Arcs\u2026 I hope you\u2019ve enjoyed it and learned something along the way. In a few weeks, we\u2019ll be starting a new series about Flat Arcs, so stay tuned for that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comment below your favorite book or movie\u2019s Resolution!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today, we\u2019re going to be talking about the Positive Change Arc Resolution. While this is the last plot point in a Positive Change Arc, it matters just as much as any of the others. Since the Resolution is the last thing your readers will see, they will remember if you messed it up. So stay tuned for some tips on writing a great Resolution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,21,4],"tags":[24,26,29,23,32,33,129,27],"class_list":["post-655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plots-and-character-arcs","category-positive-change-arcs","category-writing-tips","tag-character-arcs","tag-characters","tag-christian-writing","tag-plots","tag-positive-change-arcs","tag-protagonist","tag-resolution","tag-writing-tips"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=655"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":657,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655\/revisions\/657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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