Finally, after three years of writing it, I finished my first novel! Your videos have helped me improve my story and my characters. Now to rewatch all of your videos about indie publishing while my editor does her thing.
it's especially infuriating because the classics have those character moments (albeit in a simpler form) and it's all focused on "girl bosses" and " you can do anything you dream to". Now these things aren't bad thing in and of themselves but the writers don't have the foundation they need.
The best dark moment for me is in 2 separate video games (whose names I'm not gonna say not to spoil), where you finally succeed rescuing your treasured person and saving the world, only to realize that doing so will bring doom to the world. You play the entire game sank in your misbelief, and there's not even an aha moment because the dark moment is the apex, the cherry on top, and the end of the game.
@@Greenpizzacomics It's not possible to paste urls here. Just sent you an email via that contact us form on the webpage (got into your profile to try find somewhere to send and I don't have Ig, so I did that)
One of my favourite dark moments has to be in the third Hunger Games novel, Mockingjay. Katniss' motivation for volunteering as tribute in the first Hunger Games novel was to save her sister Prim. In Mockingjay, she agrees to act as the rebellion's symbol in order to topple Snow's regime and bring down the Capitol, and even insists that she be allowed to kill Snow herself if the rebels win. On some level, she believes that taking down Snow will give her the revenge and closure she needs and keep her loved ones safe. The rebellion does bring Snow down, but Prim dies in the process, leaving Katniss depressed and utterly broken. Her subsequent aha moment begins to come about when Snow tells her that the rebel forces were the cause of her sister's death, not his own, and is further reinforced when Coin, the rebel leader, proposes a final Hunger Games with children from the Capitol. Ultimately, Katniss chooses to forgo her chance to kill Snow, which is what she thought she wanted, and instead takes out Coin in order to ensure a better and safer world for all in which no children are forced into arenas.
If I may add some advice? If you need help delving into the dark moment, don't be afraid to delve into your own emotions as well when you faced your own "dark moment". In my case, I used both the wish I had to have taken my love's place in the car accident that killed him and how I hoped he would feel when he learned how far I would go for him.
Some of my favorite dark moments are from my favorite films. 1.) 'Revenge of the Sith' - When Anakin realizes at the end of the movie that all that he'd done to prevent Padme's death, all he'd sacrificed, all he'd accepted that was against his training and his good nature and betraying his own soul had ultimately led to her dying anyway. Just prior to that, he'd been given Darth Vader's 'costume', but he wasn't Vader. It was at THIS moment, when he learned that Padme was dead, that he truly broke and became Darth Vader. 2.) 'Return of the King' - Towards the very end, it's a quiet dark moment that Frodo has. He realizes that all he'd gone through to save the Shire and the world has left him forever changed and damaged and he'd never be able to go on in peace as he once had. It's a beautiful soliloquy that he has. "How do you pick up the pages of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to understand...there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep, that have taken hold." Probably one of my all-time favorite quotes. 3.) 'The Crucible' 1997 with Daniel Day-Lewis - My favorite movie and my favorite performance of John Proctor. Amazing film! But I think the 'dark moment' for John Putnam is towards the end when Elizabeth Warren recants her truthful testimony and goes back to Abigail Williams. He bows his head and closes his eyes and realizes that he's lost his one chance to turn things around. In abject frustration, he lifts his hands to the sky and shouts, 'I say God is dead!!'
I prefer Darth Vader's other moment that caused Luke to have a painful "Aha" moment. "The Empire Strikes Back" when Vader says "No... I am your father!" and Luke is crushed and changed forever, giving Luke a new goal to not beat Vader, but redeem his father from the dark side of the force.
The detective dark moment could also be one where their actions unwittingly end up hurting a loved one, but then their aha moment is when they realize that they cannot blame themselves for everything that happens to their loved ones
"Obi Wan never told you about your father." "He told me you killed him!" "No... I AM YOUR FATHER!" "But... that's impossible?!" "Search your feelings Luke, you know it to be true!" "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" I was at this moment... Luke knew he ******ed up.
Dear Abbie Emmons, (and anyone can give me thoughts on my novel excerpt) Hey, I’m Jennifer Beckwith, and first off, I gotta say-you are incredible. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever read stories that hit me quite like yours do. I mean, I tore through 100 Days of Sunlight in just a few hours. It was late, I was tired, but did that stop me? No way. I was up till 2:00 in the morning because I just had to know what happened with Tessa and Weston. And let me tell ya-I totally fell in love with both of them. Which brings me to this. I’ve been writing for about eight years now-pretty wild, right? I’ll be 15 in February, and I’ve been following your channel for a couple of years. And when I say this, I mean it-you are the reason I finished my novel. Like, no joke. I haven’t published it just yet, but I’m so close. I’m using KDP, and I literally just ordered two proof copies off Amazon-one for me, one for my dad. And honestly, none of this would have happened without you. The book’s called "Dupree to Be: Love’s a Mess. Family’s Messier". It’s a romantic dramedy, and writing it was an absolute blast. Once it’s out-which should be in the next month or two-I’d love for you to check it out! Oh, and I put you in the acknowledgments, because, well, obviously. But seriously-oh my goodness-I can’t believe I’m actually gonna hold my own book. And I couldn’t have done it without you. Here’s a little excerpt-I’d love to hear what you think! Chapter 1: Derek Daley Central Park was practically glowing, the afternoon light slicing through the amber leaves and bathing everything in cinematic brilliance. If my life were a rom-com-and let’s face it, it’s been more “rom” than “com” lately-this would be the part where the protagonist finally gets his act together. Except, of course, I’m not the protagonist. I’m the ex. Teri Burnes walks beside me, effortlessly radiant. She’s not just beautiful-she’s the kind of gorgeous that should come with a warning label. Like, “Caution: May cause spontaneous poetry or the inability to form coherent sentences.” Today, her blonde hair, which she usually ties up like some kind of corporate goddess, is loose, cascading down her back in soft waves that shimmer in the October sun. Her olive-green sweater hugs her perfectly, paired with jeans that look like they’ve been through a thousand wash cycles and still manage to outshine anything in my closet. And then there’s the ring. Silver. Dainty. Just flashy enough to scream, “Taken.” It’s on that finger, and every time it catches the light, it feels like it’s mocking me. I can almost hear it whisper, Not yours, Derek. Not yours. I was strolling through this very same park the day I met her about a year ago, except I had my Labrador, Waffles, with me that day. He was at my side, sniffing the wet leaves and yanking me off the trail multiple times. But he is loyal and loves me to the point it gets annoying when he demands me to pet him when I’m barely awake and still sipping coffee strong enough to jumpstart a tractor. I had the custom-made leather leash in my hand, and my dark hair was tousled by the chilly breeze before I caught sight of Teri just off the side of the trail, a canvas set up on a tripod. On that canvas was a beautiful painting of the cherry tree in front of her, the vibrant colors contrasting the present winter grey that had turned everything dull-and as any single thirty-year-old guy would think, could you ask for a better ice-breaker? I remember everything from that fateful day in December. My stomach was in knots, but I knew if I went home without talking to this angel of a woman, it would be on my list of Major Life Regrets. “Wow. I’ve never seen something more incredibly beautiful,” was my first sentence to her as I struggled to keep Waffles from barreling towards her and laying her flat. And when she looked up at me, her long eyelashes fluttered, and I could tell her stomach jumped into her mouth when she saw me. I never thought I was much to look at, but she liked me anyway. She turned towards me slightly, eyes darting between me and the painting. “Yeah, thanks. I’ve worked pretty hard on it,” she breathed before dipping the brush in the blue paint. She swiped the brush across the top of the canvas a few times-and it appeared like magic. Sky. I grinned, yanking Waffles back towards me, but my eyes never left her beautiful face. Oh no. I’m staring, I thought. “I was talking about you, I mean,” I told her, finally gesturing to her beautiful face. What followed was three months of something close to magic. We clicked instantly-her dry wit balancing out my tendency to overthink everything. She worked as a waitress at Manhatta, a fancy restaurant with skyline views, and I started showing up every day at 4 p.m., pretending I wasn’t there just to see her. She’d argue when I tipped her $100, her eyes narrowing in that cute, indignant way of hers. “Derek, this is ridiculous.” And I’d shrug. “What? I’m trying to make sure you don’t starve.” Things were good. Until they weren’t. By month three, I could feel her pulling away. The texts got shorter, the phone calls less frequent. Then one night, over what was supposed to be a romantic dinner, she told me she loved me. But not the way I loved her. “I just don’t think it’s fair to either of us,” she’d said, her voice breaking. “You deserve someone who... loves you the way you love them.” “So,” Teri says, snapping me out of my thoughts, her eyes glinting with mischief, “how are the birds today?” She’s teasing, of course. She thinks my recent hobby of bird watching is adorable-a word no man in his thirties ever wants to hear. I glance down at my shoes, watching the leaves crunch beneath them. “Oh, you know. They’re... out there. Doing bird things.” Just then the unmistakable, sorrowful call of a mourning dove echoes through the trees. I quickly lift my binoculars to my eyes and look toward the treetops, sweeping back and forth before finding the dove that sits alone on the branch of a red oak. It bobs its head a few times before making the call again. “That’s a mourning dove.” She lifts her chin, eyes squinting at the trees. “Where?” I step behind her and for a moment, picture myself wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close. Instead I reach around and hold the binoculars in front of her face. “Here, grab these. Look up to that red oak right there. It’s sitting on the branch second from the highest.” I know she tenses slightly when I step behind her. There is no mistake-she knows a part of me will never let her go. She loosely wraps her hands around the binoculars, holding them tighter to her eyes as I stand behind her, hands lightly lingering on her wrists. I lift them up just a little to the branch. Her smile is ear to ear. “I see it-the grey pigeon?” “Yeah. Mourning doves. They’re my favorite bird.” She lowers the binoculars, looking over her shoulder at me with a furrowed brow. “What do you mean? They’re grey,” she laughs. “Why not, like, cardinals or blue birds?” I don’t know how to answer that, so I just say, “I don’t know.” The truth is, they are my favorite because they are like me. She brings the binoculars back to her eyes and watches the dove. “Are they called morning doves because they hoot in the morning?” I suck in a deep breath of the crisp air. “Nope. It’s mourning. Grieving. I like to think they’re grieving a lost true love. A Lonesome Dove.” She slowly lowers the binoculars before turning towards me-something deeper in her eyes. “They’re-beautiful.” I nod, taking the binoculars back. “I thought you said they were ugly.” “I never said that. I just said they were grey.” I smile. “Grey’s pretty boring, huh?” That sweet smile spreads on her face again, her eyes lighting up but before she can say anything, I ask, “What’s your favorite bird?” She thinks about it for a second and then shakes her head. “I don’t know. I guess a cardinal. They say every time you see one, it means a lost loved one is watching you.” I nod before pursing my lips and calling a cardinal. She smiles as I do it, probably thinking I am ridiculous. But sure enough, a fat red cardinal lands on the wrought-iron bench to our left, repeating the call back to me. “Look,” I say, turning and pointing at it. “A loved one is visiting you.” She looks at it for a moment. “So you know how to call birds too? Are you The Bird Whisperer?” I chuckle softly, gesturing to the cardinal. “I’ll let the birds answer that one.” Teri shakes her head, laughing again. It’s moments like this that make it hard to remember we’re not together anymore. 10 months ago, we’d have been holding hands right now. Ten months ago, I wouldn’t have hesitated to kiss her under the autumn leaves. But ten months ago, there was no Dupree.
Impressive writing for someone so young! Congratulations on finishing a novel. Have you had an editor go over it already? If not, might be worthwhile to tighten up a few of the lines. There is a lovely flow to this opening and a good rhythm to the dialog.
I won't go into your style of writing, as I skimmed it and therefore can't comment. (I love that you wanted to share, but it's bad etiquette to thrust a long passage at the audience. Sounds like you've got fans, though!) I notice you intro much of the dialogue instead of putting the dialogue first in a paragraph. 98% of the time, that's how it's done. It's counterintuitive when the action technically comes before the dialogue, but readers parse that out in their heads in a split second. Moving the dialogue to the front of a paragraph (and having it stand alone) increases readability by a mile. Also, you used the word "smile" a lot. Try writing dialogue and action beats that *show* the smile. Good luck on your journey, young lady. I think you have a bright future ahead!
You know you're growing as a writer when Abbie says you need something you already have. Watching you these last few months has made me a 100 times a better author. Love you 🥰
I realized in watching this that I have this already in my book, in that he refers to her only as his secretary, while she refers to herself as his partner. He eventually gives in and accepts that she is a partner in every way. Now I need to expand on the false belief and dark moment! Thanks Abbie!
Every piece of advice of yours has helped me a lot delving deeper into my characters and story. I'm thankful for that! In my current work progress containing the supernatural genre, my character's misbelief is about, relying on others makes a person weak, the dark moment for that would be, in certain situations where she feels emptiness and exhaustion inside, of not relying, seeking resources of her given psychic supernatural ability to train ever better, which makes her everytime question her strengths. (I still have a lot to process 😄). All the very best to all the writers here!!
Throughout the video for some reason that song "From Now On" from the greatest showman kept on going through my head. I guess that's the idea. Tragedy strikes and the MC finally realizes and adapts
For my characters, their dark moment is when they collectively realize their own dad (who I wrote as a very physical and materially powerful man,) wants them dead, which takes a huge toll on them since they were always told that their dad in question was an amazing, selfless man, but they come to the decision that their dad is the "hero", only because it favors him. They also conclude they're mother saving them was just her lengthening their fate, which was death by their own father's hands. The aha moment however, though it takes a while, is when they realize that their dad is like every other monster they've defeated (my book is realistic fiction) and they just need to get rid of him like they've done countless times before, or fall victim to fate. Except it takes a lot of emotional willpower to actually do the killing part. Leading to deeper character development. If you actually read all this, what do you think?
That's a very interesting story, but also, realistic fiction means it's fake, but could happen in real life (or might have happened but no one knows) so if your monsters are fictional, I think your story may be just fiction.
@@vickyokolie-e5h Sorry, and thanks for the feedback. The monsters aren't exactly "monsters" their demons based on the 7 deadly sins. (Lust, gluttony, envy, E.T.C) But your right, fiction.
Hi Abbie, could you make a video about writing the aha moment? I know *how* to, hypothetically, but I cannot write an aha moment without making it really cringe. By the way, love this video ❤️
Seems like I'm doing everything well! The dark moment is actually the first thing I actually wrote for my book! I had been slowly outlining for a few months but wasn't sure if I actually wanted to commit to the idea. Then, I thought of something that would really elevate the themes and internal conflict through the roof, wrote part of the scene on my phone and literally moved myself to tears haha-now I'm about 8000 words into the story :)
In my first book, Goblin Princess, my main character lost everything when a renegade band of the people she was trying to help attacked and destroyed everything she was building. In her despair she lashed out at her friends so fiercely that she had no way forward other than to leave and never return. My question for the Dark Moment is, "What stupid thing does my MC do that ruins everything?"
Wow, thanks Abbie… This came just at the right moment - I realized that the dark moment I had was very weak, but thanks to you I have identified it and can see a great way to fix it 🙏😘
Hey so In my story my character is a puppet and she has been control in to doing gruesome and horrible things, then she see's this boy and he if from a different world (earth) then she has to pretend to be someone else and I still can't find a misbelief I have watched all and I mean ALL your videos on this topic and one on similar topics. what could I do with what I have.
Hi Abbie! I've recently read this book called Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I was wondering if you could dive into it and answer my question: What are the secret ingredients and why is this book so interesting? Thank you, Abbie. Keep writing!
First off, this is a high fantasy with a lot of Western elements. The protagonists are all gunmages, so a mixture of gunslinger and wizard. My character's misbelief is basically that he's a terrible father. He's a bounty hunter, and so are his 3 sons, and he gets involved with a serious case. There's a lot of hush hush, a lot of people who are really scared of a secret individual running things from behind the scenes. He's worried because he asked his sons to help him; now he doesn't want them anywhere near this because he's put them in more danger than he realized. His misbelief is that he's terrible for putting them in danger, rather than great for raising them to willingly put themselves in danger to do what is right. The dark moment comes just before the final showdown when one of his sons gets shot in the head. (He survives, but it's complicated. Death is a major character in the story, and he's awesome. This is the moment where Death goes through a character arc too, and realizes he can influence the outcome of events in the world of the living.)
My favorite dark moment is when characters in Star Trek has to settle for the solution they initially had discarded for some good reason. Like in Minefield were captain archer cannot save lieutenant Reed and the ship and instead risk his own life to save the ship. This is something that I aspire to live up to in my WIP. The dark moment that I like the least is one that is just a misunderstanding or misguided behaviour that I have seen in the romance novels that I have read. A dark moment should be real and the characters should have something to work through. In my WIP there is a romantic subplot were my lovers have too work through their attachment issues to salvage their relationship. In another romantic subplot my MC have to do a lot to regain his beloved's trust after that the villain manipulated him against her family.
Omg I was just writing the dark moment of my book and you posted this video, THE TIMING🔥 Thank you, I was kinda struggling with it, you just made it easier ✨❤
I have to include a moment where I have to show a woman abandoning her little boy (He’ll be fine,my main character adopts him) I haven’t written it yet but I know it’s gonna break my heart. But if I don’t, my MC won’t progress in his arc.
What if the abominable aspect of truth were no misbelief ? What if a character truly has failed and redemption is an illusion ? What if hope for atonement were a harsh, relentless prison to keep the character away from facing a light that is not gracious and benevolent but rather cruel as well as blinding ? In the style of an ancient Greek tragedy, where endings are never happy and catharsis and resolution comes at a grave cost ? Would that not be more compelling and dramatically climactic ?
I want the MC to be extremely vulnerable when this "dark moment" happens in a way that the villain easily manipulates him to his side. It's hard actually.
I love this video… Really insightful and really informative on how to include a dark and sad moment to your story and characters… Another story that does this so well is a manga by Eiichiro Odo, called One Piece. It’s character driven with dark moments that allows his readers to explore his character’s vulnerabilities and struggles but then uses theses dark moments to develop their growth and find freedom in their dark past. Oda is a writer that does the “sad and tragic backstory” right. I believe he uses all of those three points you mentioned because as a fan of his work I loved his characters… it’s a reason why people love reading it. Their sad backstory isn’t just there to make his audience cry but it elevates his characters to overcome their fears and struggles. That they are not their past. I really hope you keep up the good work and inspire more writers ❤️
Hi Abbie thank you for everything you do, my story has a dark moment that actually starts the inciting incident within the first 10-12 minutes of the story
I have a fantasy character that dreams of greatness. He wants to be a great hero that songs are written about. In a round about way he gets his dream of knighthood and thinks he's finally achieved everything he ever wanted in life. Only the high comes to a scrratching hault when the princess falsely accuses him of forcing himself on her. While the accusation comes completely unraveled, it leaves him feeling jaded. Turns out greatness isn't what he thought it was cracked upto be. He's forced to find what truly makes him happy and reevaluate what he truly wants in life. While on a quest for a blessed sword, or holy sword, he falls in love with his wife all over again. While being tested to see if he is worthy of this sword he will come to realize that he would rather be found unworthy of this sword and live his days out with his wife than have everything he could ever want with this sword. He realizes that through her he feels what he always thought greatness would bring him. Its still a work in progress, but I hope to solidify it soon. I started writing this 2 years ago and hit a massive writers block and just put it on the back burner and forgot about it. Until I came across your channel. I just about have ine story perfected now i need to blow the proverbial dust off this one and start cementing things down.
Most very smart people: 1. seldom truly care about others' opinions. They may *appear* very "sociable," but ultimately they quite consciously separate this interaction out into the "meaningless but fun" category; 2. make references that a select few may understand. They do this naturally, although they may lean into it when they catch on to what they've done, sometimes for the fun of confounding the other person; 3. spend a lot of time alone. They are quite content to be alone at any given moment and often find interruptions extremely annoying. This is because they are usually deep in thought, solving a problem; 4. make high-level jokes and puns. In other words, if the category existed in high school, they'd have been unanimously voted "Least Likely to Make a Fart Joke;" 5. spend their free time challenging themselves. They may train themselves to become a chef, become fluent in several languages, master the game of chess, etc. simply because they're bored or they got curious about a minute detail and wanted to expand on their knowledge; 6. despite all of the above, they're not necessarily pretentious about the knowledge they possess, but instead may be baffled as to why the simplest fact in, say, quantum theory could be misunderstood by anyone; 7. usually devote some of their talents in helping others, whether it's a donation or volunteering in their community. Signed, the daughter of an aerospace engjneer who spoke 8 languages, had a black belt in karate *and* kung fu...among many other things that you wouldn't expect a pocket-protected nerd to even be interested in. Phew! Hope some or all of this helps--and best of luck on your novel!
I have a character that has a mindset that I can’t make him hit rock bottom to the point that he has to change. The reason I say so is because this mindset is a mindset I have and I can’t fathom making my character not have this compulsive mindset that I have; a mindset I developed back when I was 13 all the way up to now at 30. The mindset that my character has is a mindset that people would expect to be a mindset developed in the character’s conclusion or climax but it’s not. What is the mindset I’m talking about? Thinking about the possibilities of every single situation.
Imagine Dr. Strange looking through 14,000,000 possible futures, and not a damn one of them actually happens. That would be my rock bottom from that character; something NO ONE could have imagined destroying the point of doing that at all.
@ no. The character has this compulsive need to think of every possible scenario in order to ensure a positive outcome; cannot bring himself to take things at face value and jump to conclusions
I honestly thought the dark moment was: The point in your story where it seems like the protagonist has lost and can't do anything about it, until an unexpected miracle happens. Could you do a video on that? Edit: TV Tropes calls this the Near-Villain Victory, btw
I'm currently writing a series and i need a professional review on it. I'm not done yet but I would like to know if there's any way I can get a your review of it.
This describes the Dark Moment well for a story with a happy ending: "It is the rock bottom moment that your character finds themself in when there is no way out but up." But what about the Dark Moment for a tragedy? When there is no way out but down? Can you make a video about that? Not every story ends happily.
Hi! I’m a young writer i’ve been working on brainstorming a kingdom fantasy story for a while but the problem is it started with my characters and world, originally I made them just for fun to draw and stuff but I fell in love with the characters and wanted to see them in action so I decided to make a story. I have specific character arcs and they are really developed and I want to write a story to see these characters in action because I love them sm, but I’m struggling to develop a plot. I have a lot of random ideas but no cohesive plot and main message. If I knew I was getting into writing I wished I would have picked one plot idea like most people and built from there but instead I created a world and characters and just decided to write about them so I don’t really have a plot. I really want a plot that is high stakes enough to be exciting and allows for my character arcs I want to happen. Do you get what I’m going through and do you have any tips? I feel like I’m writing this story the wrong way, it’s kinda more of a passion project than a good idea :/
Hi! I’m in the same boat as you. I created an elaborate world and a bunch of characters and decided I wanted to formulate a story. It took me a long time (over 3 years 💀) but I’m a fee chapters from completing the first book. If it helps, I can share what worked for me and maybe it can assist you. The first thing I had to come to terms with is that the character I WANTED to be the main character wasn’t the BEST main character. Play around with who you’d want to be your main character(s) since that alone can open your eyes to many plot ideas. Consider their backgrounds and how that affects their thoughts and actions, then use it to determine their story. Another thing, I know that it might seem a little daunting that you created your world before your plot, but use it to your advantage! You’ve already established limitations within your world even if you don’t realize it, and those limitations will translate into conflict. Just keep playing around and look at things from different perspectives until you find the one you like the most. Good luck on your writing journey :)
@Crieth_199 Thank you so so so much for your reply this is very encouraging to know there’s someone else who had the same situation and it ended up fine! Those are great ideas I will consider them tysm!!!!!! 😊
Thanks Abbie for another great video. 😊 I have a situation where the main character remembers a ruthless faction who destroyed the outpost. The side character says that it was a meteor that destroyed it causing her to doubt her memory 😮
Actually, my protagonist's aha moment comes a little early. Although the characters are quite fantastical and over the top, I wanted to put forward my characters determination in the struggle of hiding or bringing her light while also adding a subtle touch of realism of not having the whole universe fix itself and actually have to interact with other characters to discover it. 😅Aha! 💀Hahaha, your light is a heavy burden! I will not let you turn into another Mary Sue!!! 😓Thanks, I guess ...
The most tragic thing my protagonist is about to go through is realizing the whole life he knew was a fabricated lie that is woven into the twist of my story.
Hi abbie! How are you doing? Amazing video! I wanted to ask you something, in my story, the characters have a slow burn romance, and are best friends, they love each other very deeply, but don't realise it until, as you say, the AHA moment. But, the main plot of my story is not romance, rather it is an element they I decided to add, just to make the story a bit more...cozy, considering all of that, my question is, how should I incorporate this element in my story, so it feels balanced...thank you for being an amazing mentor ❤ Cheers!
AskAbbie Hi abbie im writing this book where my MC 's love dies and he has to move on and fall in love with the actual love interest. But the problem is my mc is VeERY depressed after her death and i don't know how to make him refall into love without doubting himself. Also im not sure how the other girl is going to fall in love with him bc she knows that he had massive feelings for the previous love interest. They're also are enemies to lovers so that makes everything a whole more complicated. Please someone help😢
I’m just commenting on your latest video because I wanted to thank you for helping me develop my ideas for stories, let alone books. And how to make the readers care about the characters and storyline as much as I do. Can you tell me what you think about this idea? Basically my protagonist, Cassidy Bernard, doesn’t really know much about her biological father, as she has only met him twice. Her life seems to be going great, with her mum, step dad and step siblings but she always has questions in the back of her mind. Her inner conflict is being scared to open up to the people she loves because she is scared of conflict and losing people. She receives a letter from her paternal grandmother and drama unfolds. Keep on doing what your doing Abbie ❤
I was watching Jurassic Park last week, and I wonder what this moment would be there. Maybe the scene where Hammond and Ellie are talking while the ice-cream is melting, and she convinces Hammond that him playing god with the park is the same as his "flea circus" when he was younger. "It's all an illusion" she says. But not sure, since many also consider Alan Grant the main character, not Hammond.
Thank you so much Abbie, I'm in the third act - nearly the end of the story, specifically at the dark moment for my three protagonists - and am struggling to keep going because its been such a long journey to write my epic fantasy novel. I'm a planner so the outline is there, but it's awesome to properly sort out all three main characters face their specific disasters that match their inner conflict. Princess Allysarealle faces her dark moment when she's pregnant and cursed to die in childbirth, and watches her newly wedded king die after being slayed in battle - this was difficult to work out her inner conflict and lie but here goes - she believed she could cheat fate only to learn fate is not in her control, she learns to accept a divine power greater than her. When she surrenders control she finds peace. [whether she lives or dies is deliberately left open for the second book]. Lord Karrãnson [love interest/enemy of Allysarealle's people] believed the lie that he can't trust others as they will betray/kill him and realizes that he misjudged Allysarealle after she abandoned him because he didn't trust her. He wins battle, and his evil/untrustworthy father's favour [which was his goal], but loses the love of his life [which was his need]. Again, set up for the next book. Karrãnson finishes with loyalty/trust from/for his warriors which was hard won. Dalvel, from a magical people, learns he is competent with his [magical] gift, again hard won, and leads his people to safety through a portal into another dimension to escape an dark creature in league with a religion that is trying to wipe them out in Allysarealle's land. He saves the princess's life through the book and learns the truth [his gift] that she wields a magic stronger than his people's [unknown to her until the end of the book, but she doesn't find out what the magic is or why she and Karrãnson have it]. So, Allysarealle learns to accept fate, Karrãnson learns the importance to trust others who are worthy of it, and Dalvel learns he's magically competent. Their dark moments are Allysarealle faces the death of her king and pregnancy/uncertainty of her own life/Karrãnson faces betrayal in battle and the loss of Allysarealle/Dalvel faces failure of warning his people in time of the coming attack that will wipe them out. I apologize for that being so long winded, having three main characters arcs woven together that draws it out... but I think I have it! Thank you again for yours and Kate's wonderful support, both of you have been on my writing journey for a couple of years now are deeply appreciated. ❤
Oh, I'd love to be there for the training but I'll have to watch it the next day as I'm in Australia and it's 4am Monday at that time. But I'll definitely be watching the replay as always 🙂
I have played with this theme at least twice in my stories - a person´s belief collapsing once they discover that they have been spending their whole lives in complete darkness, trying to protect a lie. On one case, it´s Adam´s belief that he can reincarnate from one moment to the next without God interfering. One day, God does interfere - and does more than that. To force Adam to stop living this lie, he gives him 13 days to live, and then shoots him (the story is based on formal logic but there is largely no formal logic in it, only in the beginning). In another story, set in France, a woman gives birth to a tumour which starts to grow on her stomach, somehow manages to assume human form and looks so much like Adolf Hitler did when he was a small boy that everyone rejects its mother, who had all her life wished to have a baby. Once she realizes what is happening she becomes convinced her whole life was a lie based on her erroneous belief that just because its modern times, France has recovered from WWII. Excellent and on point analysis with very good writing advise!! Thank you for your video!!! Best wishes to you from Iceland.
I have to include a moment where I have to show a woman abandoning her little boy (He’ll be fine,my main character adopts him) I haven’t written it yet but I know it’s gonna break my heart. But if I don’t, my MC won’t progress in his arc.
SAVE YOUR SPOT AT THE LIVE TRAINING: www.patreon.com/posts/upcoming-live-to-120955518
Finally, after three years of writing it, I finished my first novel! Your videos have helped me improve my story and my characters.
Now to rewatch all of your videos about indie publishing while my editor does her thing.
Congrats!
Congratulations that’s a huge achievement!
Well done! May it be loved by others as much as you love it.
Congratulations! Way to go!! Woohoo!
You should write for Disney, they need a basic course on character moments.
They need help with their stories period
it's especially infuriating because the classics have those character moments (albeit in a simpler form) and it's all focused on "girl bosses" and " you can do anything you dream to". Now these things aren't bad thing in and of themselves but the writers don't have the foundation they need.
The best dark moment for me is in 2 separate video games (whose names I'm not gonna say not to spoil), where you finally succeed rescuing your treasured person and saving the world, only to realize that doing so will bring doom to the world. You play the entire game sank in your misbelief, and there's not even an aha moment because the dark moment is the apex, the cherry on top, and the end of the game.
I think I know one of the games you’re talking about. And I love that moment. It’s a really bold choice but I thought it elevated the story
If at least one of them is the one I'm thinking of, I'd say, yes, there _is_ an "Ah Ha" moment -- It's just a painful one.
@@DaveLH I like your name
What game is this? Can you give me a url so you don’t have to spoil it on here? Sorry I don’t play video games but I’m dying to know lol
@@Greenpizzacomics It's not possible to paste urls here. Just sent you an email via that contact us form on the webpage (got into your profile to try find somewhere to send and I don't have Ig, so I did that)
One of my favourite dark moments has to be in the third Hunger Games novel, Mockingjay. Katniss' motivation for volunteering as tribute in the first Hunger Games novel was to save her sister Prim. In Mockingjay, she agrees to act as the rebellion's symbol in order to topple Snow's regime and bring down the Capitol, and even insists that she be allowed to kill Snow herself if the rebels win. On some level, she believes that taking down Snow will give her the revenge and closure she needs and keep her loved ones safe. The rebellion does bring Snow down, but Prim dies in the process, leaving Katniss depressed and utterly broken. Her subsequent aha moment begins to come about when Snow tells her that the rebel forces were the cause of her sister's death, not his own, and is further reinforced when Coin, the rebel leader, proposes a final Hunger Games with children from the Capitol. Ultimately, Katniss chooses to forgo her chance to kill Snow, which is what she thought she wanted, and instead takes out Coin in order to ensure a better and safer world for all in which no children are forced into arenas.
If I may add some advice?
If you need help delving into the dark moment, don't be afraid to delve into your own emotions as well when you faced your own "dark moment".
In my case, I used both the wish I had to have taken my love's place in the car accident that killed him and how I hoped he would feel when he learned how far I would go for him.
Some of my favorite dark moments are from my favorite films.
1.) 'Revenge of the Sith' - When Anakin realizes at the end of the movie that all that he'd done to prevent Padme's death, all he'd sacrificed, all he'd accepted that was against his training and his good nature and betraying his own soul had ultimately led to her dying anyway. Just prior to that, he'd been given Darth Vader's 'costume', but he wasn't Vader. It was at THIS moment, when he learned that Padme was dead, that he truly broke and became Darth Vader.
2.) 'Return of the King' - Towards the very end, it's a quiet dark moment that Frodo has. He realizes that all he'd gone through to save the Shire and the world has left him forever changed and damaged and he'd never be able to go on in peace as he once had. It's a beautiful soliloquy that he has. "How do you pick up the pages of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to understand...there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep, that have taken hold." Probably one of my all-time favorite quotes.
3.) 'The Crucible' 1997 with Daniel Day-Lewis - My favorite movie and my favorite performance of John Proctor. Amazing film! But I think the 'dark moment' for John Putnam is towards the end when Elizabeth Warren recants her truthful testimony and goes back to Abigail Williams. He bows his head and closes his eyes and realizes that he's lost his one chance to turn things around. In abject frustration, he lifts his hands to the sky and shouts, 'I say God is dead!!'
I prefer Darth Vader's other moment that caused Luke to have a painful "Aha" moment. "The Empire Strikes Back" when Vader says "No... I am your father!" and Luke is crushed and changed forever, giving Luke a new goal to not beat Vader, but redeem his father from the dark side of the force.
The detective dark moment could also be one where their actions unwittingly end up hurting a loved one, but then their aha moment is when they realize that they cannot blame themselves for everything that happens to their loved ones
Dark moments are tough. But telling a great story helps us get through it. Abbie, thanks for what you do.
Stories are important.
"Obi Wan never told you about your father."
"He told me you killed him!"
"No... I AM YOUR FATHER!"
"But... that's impossible?!"
"Search your feelings Luke, you know it to be true!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
I was at this moment... Luke knew he ******ed up.
Dear Abbie Emmons, (and anyone can give me thoughts on my novel excerpt)
Hey, I’m Jennifer Beckwith, and first off, I gotta say-you are incredible. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever read stories that hit me quite like yours do. I mean, I tore through 100 Days of Sunlight in just a few hours. It was late, I was tired, but did that stop me? No way. I was up till 2:00 in the morning because I just had to know what happened with Tessa and Weston. And let me tell ya-I totally fell in love with both of them.
Which brings me to this. I’ve been writing for about eight years now-pretty wild, right? I’ll be 15 in February, and I’ve been following your channel for a couple of years. And when I say this, I mean it-you are the reason I finished my novel. Like, no joke. I haven’t published it just yet, but I’m so close. I’m using KDP, and I literally just ordered two proof copies off Amazon-one for me, one for my dad. And honestly, none of this would have happened without you.
The book’s called "Dupree to Be: Love’s a Mess. Family’s Messier". It’s a romantic dramedy, and writing it was an absolute blast. Once it’s out-which should be in the next month or two-I’d love for you to check it out! Oh, and I put you in the acknowledgments, because, well, obviously.
But seriously-oh my goodness-I can’t believe I’m actually gonna hold my own book. And I couldn’t have done it without you. Here’s a little excerpt-I’d love to hear what you think!
Chapter 1: Derek Daley
Central Park was practically glowing, the afternoon light slicing through the amber leaves and bathing everything in cinematic brilliance. If my life were a rom-com-and let’s face it, it’s been more “rom” than “com” lately-this would be the part where the protagonist finally gets his act together.
Except, of course, I’m not the protagonist. I’m the ex.
Teri Burnes walks beside me, effortlessly radiant. She’s not just beautiful-she’s the kind of gorgeous that should come with a warning label. Like, “Caution: May cause spontaneous poetry or the inability to form coherent sentences.” Today, her blonde hair, which she usually ties up like some kind of corporate goddess, is loose, cascading down her back in soft waves that shimmer in the October sun. Her olive-green sweater hugs her perfectly, paired with jeans that look like they’ve been through a thousand wash cycles and still manage to outshine anything in my closet.
And then there’s the ring.
Silver. Dainty. Just flashy enough to scream, “Taken.”
It’s on that finger, and every time it catches the light, it feels like it’s mocking me. I can almost hear it whisper, Not yours, Derek. Not yours.
I was strolling through this very same park the day I met her about a year ago, except I had my Labrador, Waffles, with me that day. He was at my side, sniffing the wet leaves and yanking me off the trail multiple times. But he is loyal and loves me to the point it gets annoying when he demands me to pet him when I’m barely awake and still sipping coffee strong enough to jumpstart a tractor. I had the custom-made leather leash in my hand, and my dark hair was tousled by the chilly breeze before I caught sight of Teri just off the side of the trail, a canvas set up on a tripod. On that canvas was a beautiful painting of the cherry tree in front of her, the vibrant colors contrasting the present winter grey that had turned everything dull-and as any single thirty-year-old guy would think, could you ask for a better ice-breaker?
I remember everything from that fateful day in December. My stomach was in knots, but I knew if I went home without talking to this angel of a woman, it would be on my list of Major Life Regrets.
“Wow. I’ve never seen something more incredibly beautiful,” was my first sentence to her as I struggled to keep Waffles from barreling towards her and laying her flat.
And when she looked up at me, her long eyelashes fluttered, and I could tell her stomach jumped into her mouth when she saw me. I never thought I was much to look at, but she liked me anyway. She turned towards me slightly, eyes darting between me and the painting.
“Yeah, thanks. I’ve worked pretty hard on it,” she breathed before dipping the brush in the blue paint. She swiped the brush across the top of the canvas a few times-and it appeared like magic. Sky.
I grinned, yanking Waffles back towards me, but my eyes never left her beautiful face.
Oh no. I’m staring, I thought.
“I was talking about you, I mean,” I told her, finally gesturing to her beautiful face.
What followed was three months of something close to magic. We clicked instantly-her dry wit balancing out my tendency to overthink everything. She worked as a waitress at Manhatta, a fancy restaurant with skyline views, and I started showing up every day at 4 p.m., pretending I wasn’t there just to see her.
She’d argue when I tipped her $100, her eyes narrowing in that cute, indignant way of hers. “Derek, this is ridiculous.”
And I’d shrug. “What? I’m trying to make sure you don’t starve.”
Things were good. Until they weren’t.
By month three, I could feel her pulling away. The texts got shorter, the phone calls less frequent. Then one night, over what was supposed to be a romantic dinner, she told me she loved me. But not the way I loved her.
“I just don’t think it’s fair to either of us,” she’d said, her voice breaking. “You deserve someone who... loves you the way you love them.”
“So,” Teri says, snapping me out of my thoughts, her eyes glinting with mischief, “how are the birds today?”
She’s teasing, of course. She thinks my recent hobby of bird watching is adorable-a word no man in his thirties ever wants to hear. I glance down at my shoes, watching the leaves crunch beneath them. “Oh, you know. They’re... out there. Doing bird things.”
Just then the unmistakable, sorrowful call of a mourning dove echoes through the trees. I quickly lift my binoculars to my eyes and look toward the treetops, sweeping back and forth before finding the dove that sits alone on the branch of a red oak. It bobs its head a few times before making the call again.
“That’s a mourning dove.”
She lifts her chin, eyes squinting at the trees. “Where?”
I step behind her and for a moment, picture myself wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close. Instead I reach around and hold the binoculars in front of her face. “Here, grab these. Look up to that red oak right there. It’s sitting on the branch second from the highest.”
I know she tenses slightly when I step behind her. There is no mistake-she knows a part of me will never let her go. She loosely wraps her hands around the binoculars, holding them tighter to her eyes as I stand behind her, hands lightly lingering on her wrists. I lift them up just a little to the branch.
Her smile is ear to ear. “I see it-the grey pigeon?”
“Yeah. Mourning doves. They’re my favorite bird.”
She lowers the binoculars, looking over her shoulder at me with a furrowed brow. “What do you mean? They’re grey,” she laughs. “Why not, like, cardinals or blue birds?”
I don’t know how to answer that, so I just say, “I don’t know.” The truth is, they are my favorite because they are like me.
She brings the binoculars back to her eyes and watches the dove. “Are they called morning doves because they hoot in the morning?”
I suck in a deep breath of the crisp air. “Nope. It’s mourning. Grieving. I like to think they’re grieving a lost true love. A Lonesome Dove.”
She slowly lowers the binoculars before turning towards me-something deeper in her eyes. “They’re-beautiful.”
I nod, taking the binoculars back. “I thought you said they were ugly.”
“I never said that. I just said they were grey.”
I smile. “Grey’s pretty boring, huh?”
That sweet smile spreads on her face again, her eyes lighting up but before she can say anything, I ask, “What’s your favorite bird?”
She thinks about it for a second and then shakes her head. “I don’t know. I guess a cardinal. They say every time you see one, it means a lost loved one is watching you.”
I nod before pursing my lips and calling a cardinal. She smiles as I do it, probably thinking I am ridiculous. But sure enough, a fat red cardinal lands on the wrought-iron bench to our left, repeating the call back to me.
“Look,” I say, turning and pointing at it. “A loved one is visiting you.”
She looks at it for a moment. “So you know how to call birds too? Are you The Bird Whisperer?”
I chuckle softly, gesturing to the cardinal. “I’ll let the birds answer that one.”
Teri shakes her head, laughing again. It’s moments like this that make it hard to remember we’re not together anymore. 10 months ago, we’d have been holding hands right now. Ten months ago, I wouldn’t have hesitated to kiss her under the autumn leaves.
But ten months ago, there was no Dupree.
Anybody want more? I'd love to hear thoughts!
Impressive writing for someone so young! Congratulations on finishing a novel. Have you had an editor go over it already? If not, might be worthwhile to tighten up a few of the lines. There is a lovely flow to this opening and a good rhythm to the dialog.
It is definitely something you should be proud of, you did a lovely job.
do you know any good writing groups? I'm also a young writer and would like to join some but am not experienced with them
I won't go into your style of writing, as I skimmed it and therefore can't comment. (I love that you wanted to share, but it's bad etiquette to thrust a long passage at the audience. Sounds like you've got fans, though!)
I notice you intro much of the dialogue instead of putting the dialogue first in a paragraph. 98% of the time, that's how it's done. It's counterintuitive when the action technically comes before the dialogue, but readers parse that out in their heads in a split second. Moving the dialogue to the front of a paragraph (and having it stand alone) increases readability by a mile.
Also, you used the word "smile" a lot. Try writing dialogue and action beats that *show* the smile.
Good luck on your journey, young lady. I think you have a bright future ahead!
the romance example is my biggest pet peeve, seen it 100 times too many
You know you're growing as a writer when Abbie says you need something you already have. Watching you these last few months has made me a 100 times a better author. Love you 🥰
I realized in watching this that I have this already in my book, in that he refers to her only as his secretary, while she refers to herself as his partner. He eventually gives in and accepts that she is a partner in every way. Now I need to expand on the false belief and dark moment! Thanks Abbie!
Eren Yeager touching Historia’s hand
Every piece of advice of yours has helped me a lot delving deeper into my characters and story. I'm thankful for that!
In my current work progress containing the supernatural genre, my character's misbelief is about, relying on others makes a person weak, the dark moment for that would be, in certain situations where she feels emptiness and exhaustion inside, of not relying, seeking resources of her given psychic supernatural ability to train ever better, which makes her everytime question her strengths. (I still have a lot to process 😄).
All the very best to all the writers here!!
Throughout the video for some reason that song "From Now On" from the greatest showman kept on going through my head. I guess that's the idea. Tragedy strikes and the MC finally realizes and adapts
A very important point and great video! I made a similar video not too long ago and go as far as saying this is THE MOST important part of a story!
this's really helpful! Ty!
For my characters, their dark moment is when they collectively realize their own dad (who I wrote as a very physical and materially powerful man,) wants them dead, which takes a huge toll on them since they were always told that their dad in question was an amazing, selfless man, but they come to the decision that their dad is the "hero", only because it favors him. They also conclude they're mother saving them was just her lengthening their fate, which was death by their own father's hands. The aha moment however, though it takes a while, is when they realize that their dad is like every other monster they've defeated (my book is realistic fiction) and they just need to get rid of him like they've done countless times before, or fall victim to fate. Except it takes a lot of emotional willpower to actually do the killing part. Leading to deeper character development.
If you actually read all this, what do you think?
That's a very interesting story, but also, realistic fiction means it's fake, but could happen in real life (or might have happened but no one knows) so if your monsters are fictional, I think your story may be just fiction.
@@vickyokolie-e5h Sorry, and thanks for the feedback. The monsters aren't exactly "monsters" their demons based on the 7 deadly sins. (Lust, gluttony, envy, E.T.C) But your right, fiction.
Dany kind of forgot about the Iron fleet.
😂😂
lol, more of a Dumb Moment than a Dark Moment, tbh
Thank you so much! ❤ lots of food for thought.
Hi Abbie, could you make a video about writing the aha moment? I know *how* to, hypothetically, but I cannot write an aha moment without making it really cringe.
By the way, love this video ❤️
Seems like I'm doing everything well! The dark moment is actually the first thing I actually wrote for my book! I had been slowly outlining for a few months but wasn't sure if I actually wanted to commit to the idea. Then, I thought of something that would really elevate the themes and internal conflict through the roof, wrote part of the scene on my phone and literally moved myself to tears haha-now I'm about 8000 words into the story :)
A perfect scene needed
In my first book, Goblin Princess, my main character lost everything when a renegade band of the people she was trying to help attacked and destroyed everything she was building.
In her despair she lashed out at her friends so fiercely that she had no way forward other than to leave and never return.
My question for the Dark Moment is, "What stupid thing does my MC do that ruins everything?"
You are a treat to my eyes and your every word is precious 💕. love you Abbie
Wow, thanks Abbie… This came just at the right moment - I realized that the dark moment I had was very weak, but thanks to you I have identified it and can see a great way to fix it 🙏😘
Hey so In my story my character is a puppet and she has been control in to doing gruesome and horrible things, then she see's this boy and he if from a different world (earth) then she has to pretend to be someone else and I still can't find a misbelief I have watched all and I mean ALL your videos on this topic and one on similar topics. what could I do with what I have.
Thank you Abbieeere
Hi Abbie! I've recently read this book called Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I was wondering if you could dive into it and answer my question: What are the secret ingredients and why is this book so interesting? Thank you, Abbie. Keep writing!
I agree with this comment! I had that in mind as well and I hope Abbie will see this comment and talk about the secret ingredient in Red queen
First off, this is a high fantasy with a lot of Western elements. The protagonists are all gunmages, so a mixture of gunslinger and wizard.
My character's misbelief is basically that he's a terrible father. He's a bounty hunter, and so are his 3 sons, and he gets involved with a serious case. There's a lot of hush hush, a lot of people who are really scared of a secret individual running things from behind the scenes. He's worried because he asked his sons to help him; now he doesn't want them anywhere near this because he's put them in more danger than he realized. His misbelief is that he's terrible for putting them in danger, rather than great for raising them to willingly put themselves in danger to do what is right.
The dark moment comes just before the final showdown when one of his sons gets shot in the head. (He survives, but it's complicated. Death is a major character in the story, and he's awesome. This is the moment where Death goes through a character arc too, and realizes he can influence the outcome of events in the world of the living.)
My favorite dark moment is when characters in Star Trek has to settle for the solution they initially had discarded for some good reason. Like in Minefield were captain archer cannot save lieutenant Reed and the ship and instead risk his own life to save the ship. This is something that I aspire to live up to in my WIP.
The dark moment that I like the least is one that is just a misunderstanding or misguided behaviour that I have seen in the romance novels that I have read. A dark moment should be real and the characters should have something to work through. In my WIP there is a romantic subplot were my lovers have too work through their attachment issues to salvage their relationship. In another romantic subplot my MC have to do a lot to regain his beloved's trust after that the villain manipulated him against her family.
Omg I was just writing the dark moment of my book and you posted this video, THE TIMING🔥 Thank you, I was kinda struggling with it, you just made it easier ✨❤
Thatks for the video!
I Literally love such videos! Extremely helpful to build the storyline easier around such character key journeys👍
I normally think up the dark moment and build my story around it. As I'm an amateur, this may or may not be a good method.
Yeah, my work is already full of dark moments.
'Living a lie' Law with the Donquixote family
I have to include a moment where I have to show a woman abandoning her little boy (He’ll be fine,my main character adopts him) I haven’t written it yet but I know it’s gonna break my heart. But if I don’t, my MC won’t progress in his arc.
What if the abominable aspect of truth were no misbelief ? What if a character truly has failed and redemption is an illusion ? What if hope for atonement were a harsh, relentless prison to keep the character away from facing a light that is not gracious and benevolent but rather cruel as well as blinding ? In the style of an ancient Greek tragedy, where endings are never happy and catharsis and resolution comes at a grave cost ? Would that not be more compelling and dramatically climactic ?
Writing my false victory now
I want the MC to be extremely vulnerable when this "dark moment" happens in a way that the villain easily manipulates him to his side. It's hard actually.
My fav dark moment is found in 'The Warded Man' by Peter V. Brett, read it if you want to know.
I love this video…
Really insightful and really informative on how to include a dark and sad moment to your story and characters… Another story that does this so well is a manga by Eiichiro Odo, called One Piece. It’s character driven with dark moments that allows his readers to explore his character’s vulnerabilities and struggles but then uses theses dark moments to develop their growth and find freedom in their dark past.
Oda is a writer that does the “sad and tragic backstory” right. I believe he uses all of those three points you mentioned because as a fan of his work I loved his characters… it’s a reason why people love reading it. Their sad backstory isn’t just there to make his audience cry but it elevates his characters to overcome their fears and struggles. That they are not their past.
I really hope you keep up the good work and inspire more writers ❤️
Hi Abbie thank you for everything you do, my story has a dark moment that actually starts the inciting incident within the first 10-12 minutes of the story
I have a fantasy character that dreams of greatness. He wants to be a great hero that songs are written about. In a round about way he gets his dream of knighthood and thinks he's finally achieved everything he ever wanted in life. Only the high comes to a scrratching hault when the princess falsely accuses him of forcing himself on her. While the accusation comes completely unraveled, it leaves him feeling jaded. Turns out greatness isn't what he thought it was cracked upto be. He's forced to find what truly makes him happy and reevaluate what he truly wants in life. While on a quest for a blessed sword, or holy sword, he falls in love with his wife all over again. While being tested to see if he is worthy of this sword he will come to realize that he would rather be found unworthy of this sword and live his days out with his wife than have everything he could ever want with this sword. He realizes that through her he feels what he always thought greatness would bring him. Its still a work in progress, but I hope to solidify it soon. I started writing this 2 years ago and hit a massive writers block and just put it on the back burner and forgot about it. Until I came across your channel. I just about have ine story perfected now i need to blow the proverbial dust off this one and start cementing things down.
Heyyy I've a request could you please make a video on how to write characters smarter than you specially the protagonist!!
Most very smart people:
1. seldom truly care about others' opinions. They may *appear* very "sociable," but ultimately they quite consciously separate this interaction out into the "meaningless but fun" category;
2. make references that a select few may understand. They do this naturally, although they may lean into it when they catch on to what they've done, sometimes for the fun of confounding the other person;
3. spend a lot of time alone. They are quite content to be alone at any given moment and often find interruptions extremely annoying. This is because they are usually deep in thought, solving a problem;
4. make high-level jokes and puns. In other words, if the category existed in high school, they'd have been unanimously voted "Least Likely to Make a Fart Joke;"
5. spend their free time challenging themselves. They may train themselves to become a chef, become fluent in several languages, master the game of chess, etc. simply because they're bored or they got curious about a minute detail and wanted to expand on their knowledge;
6. despite all of the above, they're not necessarily pretentious about the knowledge they possess, but instead may be baffled as to why the simplest fact in, say, quantum theory could be misunderstood by anyone;
7. usually devote some of their talents in helping others, whether it's a donation or volunteering in their community.
Signed,
the daughter of an aerospace engjneer who spoke 8 languages, had a black belt in karate *and* kung fu...among many other things that you wouldn't expect a pocket-protected nerd to even be interested in.
Phew! Hope some or all of this helps--and best of luck on your novel!
@5Gburn Thank you! I'll try these for sure!
I have a character that has a mindset that I can’t make him hit rock bottom to the point that he has to change. The reason I say so is because this mindset is a mindset I have and I can’t fathom making my character not have this compulsive mindset that I have; a mindset I developed back when I was 13 all the way up to now at 30.
The mindset that my character has is a mindset that people would expect to be a mindset developed in the character’s conclusion or climax but it’s not. What is the mindset I’m talking about?
Thinking about the possibilities of every single situation.
Imagine Dr. Strange looking through 14,000,000 possible futures, and not a damn one of them actually happens. That would be my rock bottom from that character; something NO ONE could have imagined destroying the point of doing that at all.
@ what are you trying to say? What are you talking about?
@ I thought thinking of every possibility was the mindset your character was trying to overcome.
@ no. The character has this compulsive need to think of every possible scenario in order to ensure a positive outcome; cannot bring himself to take things at face value and jump to conclusions
@@francostevo9939 So something so cataclysmically unexpected could demonstrate that trying to think of every scenario is pointless, because you can't.
I honestly thought the dark moment was: The point in your story where it seems like the protagonist has lost and can't do anything about it, until an unexpected miracle happens. Could you do a video on that?
Edit: TV Tropes calls this the Near-Villain Victory, btw
I'm currently writing a series and i need a professional review on it. I'm not done yet but I would like to know if there's any way I can get a your review of it.
I also really want her to review my story, like I worked hard on it. But I don't know if my base storyline is that good.
This describes the Dark Moment well for a story with a happy ending:
"It is the rock bottom moment that your character finds themself in when there is no way out but up."
But what about the Dark Moment for a tragedy? When there is no way out but down? Can you make a video about that? Not every story ends happily.
iirc the opposite is the happy moment where it seems everything might work out in the end before it comes crashing down
Hi! I’m a young writer i’ve been working on brainstorming a kingdom fantasy story for a while but the problem is it started with my characters and world, originally I made them just for fun to draw and stuff but I fell in love with the characters and wanted to see them in action so I decided to make a story. I have specific character arcs and they are really developed and I want to write a story to see these characters in action because I love them sm, but I’m struggling to develop a plot. I have a lot of random ideas but no cohesive plot and main message. If I knew I was getting into writing I wished I would have picked one plot idea like most people and built from there but instead I created a world and characters and just decided to write about them so I don’t really have a plot. I really want a plot that is high stakes enough to be exciting and allows for my character arcs I want to happen. Do you get what I’m going through and do you have any tips? I feel like I’m writing this story the wrong way, it’s kinda more of a passion project than a good idea :/
Hi! I’m in the same boat as you. I created an elaborate world and a bunch of characters and decided I wanted to formulate a story. It took me a long time (over 3 years 💀) but I’m a fee chapters from completing the first book. If it helps, I can share what worked for me and maybe it can assist you. The first thing I had to come to terms with is that the character I WANTED to be the main character wasn’t the BEST main character. Play around with who you’d want to be your main character(s) since that alone can open your eyes to many plot ideas. Consider their backgrounds and how that affects their thoughts and actions, then use it to determine their story. Another thing, I know that it might seem a little daunting that you created your world before your plot, but use it to your advantage! You’ve already established limitations within your world even if you don’t realize it, and those limitations will translate into conflict. Just keep playing around and look at things from different perspectives until you find the one you like the most. Good luck on your writing journey :)
@Crieth_199 Thank you so so so much for your reply this is very encouraging to know there’s someone else who had the same situation and it ended up fine! Those are great ideas I will consider them tysm!!!!!! 😊
But my story already starts with the darkest moment.
Try doing the opposite then. Instead of giving your character their lowest moment later in the book, give them their highest moment.
does every story need to have a dark moment?
Thanks Abbie for another great video. 😊 I have a situation where the main character remembers a ruthless faction who destroyed the outpost. The side character says that it was a meteor that destroyed it causing her to doubt her memory 😮
Ok so I doubt she'll see this but I'm curious if she has any tips in writing in like a different decade like a story set in 90s or 80s
Actually, my protagonist's aha moment comes a little early. Although the characters are quite fantastical and over the top, I wanted to put forward my characters determination in the struggle of hiding or bringing her light while also adding a subtle touch of realism of not having the whole universe fix itself and actually have to interact with other characters to discover it.
😅Aha!
💀Hahaha, your light is a heavy burden! I will not let you turn into another Mary Sue!!!
😓Thanks, I guess ...
The most tragic thing my protagonist is about to go through is realizing the whole life he knew was a fabricated lie that is woven into the twist of my story.
Hi abbie! How are you doing? Amazing video! I wanted to ask you something, in my story, the characters have a slow burn romance, and are best friends, they love each other very deeply, but don't realise it until, as you say, the AHA moment. But, the main plot of my story is not romance, rather it is an element they I decided to add, just to make the story a bit more...cozy, considering all of that, my question is, how should I incorporate this element in my story, so it feels balanced...thank you for being an amazing mentor ❤
Cheers!
❤
AskAbbie Hi abbie im writing this book where my MC 's love dies and he has to move on and fall in love with the actual love interest. But the problem is my mc is VeERY depressed after her death and i don't know how to make him refall into love without doubting himself. Also im not sure how the other girl is going to fall in love with him bc she knows that he had massive feelings for the previous love interest. They're also are enemies to lovers so that makes everything a whole more complicated. Please someone help😢
Fantasy misbelief hit a little too close to home😭
Dang I thought I would be first! But some of y'all beat me.
I’m just commenting on your latest video because I wanted to thank you for helping me develop my ideas for stories, let alone books. And how to make the readers care about the characters and storyline as much as I do. Can you tell me what you think about this idea? Basically my protagonist, Cassidy Bernard, doesn’t really know much about her biological father, as she has only met him twice. Her life seems to be going great, with her mum, step dad and step siblings but she always has questions in the back of her mind. Her inner conflict is being scared to open up to the people she loves because she is scared of conflict and losing people. She receives a letter from her paternal grandmother and drama unfolds. Keep on doing what your doing Abbie ❤
❤😊
How can I be 7 minutes late?
I was watching Jurassic Park last week, and I wonder what this moment would be there. Maybe the scene where Hammond and Ellie are talking while the ice-cream is melting, and she convinces Hammond that him playing god with the park is the same as his "flea circus" when he was younger. "It's all an illusion" she says. But not sure, since many also consider Alan Grant the main character, not Hammond.
My book's dark moment os lifted straight from Star Wars Revenge of the Sith, when Anakin kills the Jedi younglings
Thank you so much Abbie, I'm in the third act - nearly the end of the story, specifically at the dark moment for my three protagonists - and am struggling to keep going because its been such a long journey to write my epic fantasy novel. I'm a planner so the outline is there, but it's awesome to properly sort out all three main characters face their specific disasters that match their inner conflict. Princess Allysarealle faces her dark moment when she's pregnant and cursed to die in childbirth, and watches her newly wedded king die after being slayed in battle - this was difficult to work out her inner conflict and lie but here goes - she believed she could cheat fate only to learn fate is not in her control, she learns to accept a divine power greater than her. When she surrenders control she finds peace. [whether she lives or dies is deliberately left open for the second book]. Lord Karrãnson [love interest/enemy of Allysarealle's people] believed the lie that he can't trust others as they will betray/kill him and realizes that he misjudged Allysarealle after she abandoned him because he didn't trust her. He wins battle, and his evil/untrustworthy father's favour [which was his goal], but loses the love of his life [which was his need]. Again, set up for the next book. Karrãnson finishes with loyalty/trust from/for his warriors which was hard won. Dalvel, from a magical people, learns he is competent with his [magical] gift, again hard won, and leads his people to safety through a portal into another dimension to escape an dark creature in league with a religion that is trying to wipe them out in Allysarealle's land. He saves the princess's life through the book and learns the truth [his gift] that she wields a magic stronger than his people's [unknown to her until the end of the book, but she doesn't find out what the magic is or why she and Karrãnson have it]. So, Allysarealle learns to accept fate, Karrãnson learns the importance to trust others who are worthy of it, and Dalvel learns he's magically competent. Their dark moments are Allysarealle faces the death of her king and pregnancy/uncertainty of her own life/Karrãnson faces betrayal in battle and the loss of Allysarealle/Dalvel faces failure of warning his people in time of the coming attack that will wipe them out. I apologize for that being so long winded, having three main characters arcs woven together that draws it out... but I think I have it! Thank you again for yours and Kate's wonderful support, both of you have been on my writing journey for a couple of years now are deeply appreciated. ❤
Oh, I'd love to be there for the training but I'll have to watch it the next day as I'm in Australia and it's 4am Monday at that time. But I'll definitely be watching the replay as always 🙂
I have played with this theme at least twice in my stories - a person´s belief collapsing once they discover that they have been spending their whole lives in complete darkness, trying to protect a lie. On one case, it´s Adam´s belief that he can reincarnate from one moment to the next without God interfering. One day, God does interfere - and does more than that. To force Adam to stop living this lie, he gives him 13 days to live, and then shoots him (the story is based on formal logic but there is largely no formal logic in it, only in the beginning). In another story, set in France, a woman gives birth to a tumour which starts to grow on her stomach, somehow manages to assume human form and looks so much like Adolf Hitler did when he was a small boy that everyone rejects its mother, who had all her life wished to have a baby. Once she realizes what is happening she becomes convinced her whole life was a lie based on her erroneous belief that just because its modern times, France has recovered from WWII. Excellent and on point analysis with very good writing advise!! Thank you for your video!!! Best wishes to you from Iceland.
I have to include a moment where I have to show a woman abandoning her little boy (He’ll be fine,my main character adopts him) I haven’t written it yet but I know it’s gonna break my heart. But if I don’t, my MC won’t progress in his arc.