10 BEST Tips for Writing a Climax

This video is sponsored by Milanote.

Let’s talk about how to write the climax of your novel! The climax is the apex of your story, the exciting moment where the conflict comes to a head. Thus, I’m dishing out my 10 best tips for writing the climax of your story, including how genre affects the climax of your story, why you should outline your book, the importance of writing a strong breaking point, and more. So if you want to know how to write the climax of a story, how to write a GOOD climax, or need to know what makes a great climax, this video’s got you covered. Make sure to stay ’til the end, because the last tip is so, so important for your story structure. 💯

–Straight from my cold, dark heart,

Your Cyborg Queen
#JennaMoreci #CyborgQueen #CyborgArmy

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CHANNEL PLAYLISTS:

[KraylebStudios]

The best thing about ADHD is that I can plan all my fight scenes in my head in great detail

[trinaq]

I've tried to write a few plot twists as the climax, but usually they come out of nowhere, or were excessively foreshadowed. Thank you for your beneficial tips, Jenna.

[ceejay]

I wasn't even thinking about this in a dirty way until you brought it up, now I'm laughing through the entire video like a 12 year old, well done.

[MichaelHaneline]

9:19 Topping is integral to a good climax, got it

[cathunter]

I'm starting to feel like I need you or someone like you to be my friend and remind about every good and best thing a book should have.

Watching these vids is just starting to stress me out.

[pachacutti]

Jenna must have had fun writing the script for a video centered around the climax.

[hughcaldwell]

I particularly agree with 3, 4 and 5. I've rarely read a book where it would actually make thematic or narrative sense for the MC to lose, and statistics are against that eventuality. So the climaxes I've enjoyed the most were the ones with particularly steep odds and ingenious resolutions that I didn't see coming.

[LexVanguard]

Y'know I was gonna leave a "I hope she's on about the ending of a book" joke, but you saw it coming a mile off, fair play lmao

[Huntress]

I'm writing the third book in my series and this video was super helpful as I'm finishing my book! Thank you :)

[eurghaaaa]

I've been struggling for weeks and literally this is the first time I've explicitly had my attention drawn to the almost failure and it completely saved my ending. It's the missing piece I've needed all along thank you thank you THANK YOU

[YazzyFairy]

I love that I predicted you'd mention orgasm jokes 😭thank you for the video, I thought I had my climax planned out but I'm starting to review my options and I might consider making a drastic change, so your tips will def help! ❤

[britt]

One of my favorite climactic scenes I've planned is in the first book of a series that's currently shelved for now(though I still think it's worth mentioning).
The protagonist is cursed but said curse is only hinted at until the climax. The resulting massacre makes it clear why his goal in the series is to get rid of his curse.

[natbatlightwood]

I thought i was a weirdo for planning my stories climax (i will shamelessly admit to giggling) first, like i've had so many people tell me i need to plan the beginning first and go from there but that has never made sense to me. So at least i know the starting point of my planning is correct.

[AndaraBledin]

I wrote something totally new for NaNoWriMo and I'm really pleased to see that nearly every pointer is something I've followed with my process and the story in general. :D

[theotherworlddream]

I know during the end Jenna briefly mentions believability but it should be a point on its own in my opinion. The entire reading experience can be ruined if the hero wins at the end of the story in an unbelievable way. Sure it's unpredictable, but so is a car suddenly turning into an airplane after careening off a cliff.

I recently read a book about vampires. One of the vampires was an antihero who we were supposed to be rooting for. In most lore vampires are highly susceptible to fire. Near the end the vampire hero catches fire, but the only reason he survives when every other vampire would immediately perish . . . Is through sheer willpower alone. It was The power of Love and the unpredictability of it sickened me to my core, because in real life love alone is never enough and certainly not enough for a vampire to survive an inferno. I would have been more agreeable to the story if it had ended in a Romeo and Juliet fashion, but the author wanted to leave it open for a sequel.

[oscarstainton]

This video really is just what I need for where my writing is right now.

[ulla]

This is definitely the topic I am struggling now. How to make impactful climax in a story that has had some fights but where the "win" for protagonist would better come from solving the situation without using violence or its threat as her tool.

[jennifercooper]

Your had me at climax. I laughed so hard. I know you were going to make this so funny!!!

[nosygamer]

Hi Jenna! I just had to say I’ve been watching your videos for about a year now and I love them! Your advice has always been super helpful. I pre-ordered Shut Up and Write the Book and can’t wait to use it to help me flesh out the story I want to write. I haven’t written anything since I was a kid, so I guess you could say I’m new at it. 😅 But thank you so much for sharing your experience!

[vanessammiller]

I really think this is your most helpful and best video to date. Well, most helpful for me. I've been writing almost every day since 2015 and have three novels (not yet published due to my perfectionism-yikes) and I realize now I've been leaving a few crucial climax pieces out. Now I know why I haven't published my books yet. They haven't felt right. I need the almost. Thank you from the bottom of my twisted heart down to the top of my purple feet. (I have EDS)