My Conflict Doesn't End at the Climax. What can I do?
I am currently writing a short book. I've neared the end of the plot, but now I'm seeing a problem: my conflict isn't ending at the climax.
The climax should always be the point where all of the problems (inner and outer) come to a head and are then resolved. This is where novels should in theory end. You usually need a chapter or epilogue afterwards to wrap things up (they lived happily ever after), but that's it. Once the climax is done, so is the novel.
I currently have the problem that the main conflict is resolved, and then the protagonist spends an additional chapter resolving a side conflict. The side conflict is obvious and needs to be resolved, but it's still a side conflict.
Details: In my book, the main conflict is that the protagonist is trying to rescue X from an abandoned building full of... shall we say, 'less than savory characters.' He knows where X is, and finds her. That is the end of the main conflict, as believing that she was still alive was the main problem. The side conflict? They still have to get out of the abandoned building and past the unsavory characters.
You can see my problem. I can't very well just end the book when X is found and explain in an epilogue that they got out (Or can I?).
Question: How can I fix this? Is there some way I can resolve this problem without rewriting the entire last half of my short story?
2 answers
I thought of three things. From least to most appealing:
1. Letting it linger As you say, once person X is found, the story is complete. You can write an epilogue like you mentioned, but you can also just leave it blank-- either stylistically, or with a hint that there is a "part 2" yet forthcoming. This is common in fantasy and sci-fi series, but as a short story? Doesn't seem like your best option
2. Multiple orgasms Perhaps a two-chapter escape sequence will give you a chance to build a second climax over the first. However, I'd try to keep the melodrama of the first climax to a minimum. And the second better be pretty mind-blowing to make it work.
3. Build it up You can rewrite parts of the beginning to establish a definitive bad guy. Protagonist and person X proceed to eviscerate him after X is found which results in their escape. That way, her discovery also closes out the other subplots.
Let's see what others come up with ...
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/19888. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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When your givens are a problem, change your givens.
Your protagonist wants to get Ms. X out of the building alive. He may find her, but they both still have to get out alive. So:
- Is she wounded? Did the bad guys shoot her or cut her up? Is she having seizures or does she urgently need medication?
- Is the building full of the bad guys who are shooting at them and could kill either of them?
- Did the bad guys chase the protagonist into the building and are busy trying to kill them?
- Is the building rickety, old, or falling apart such that just exiting the building is a life-threatening exercise?
- Is the building on fire?
- Does it have to be a building? Could they be on a (sinking) boat, or a collapsing cave?
- Is Ms. X a dedicated cop or other LEO who is insisting on taking down the bad guys herself, and will stay in the building shooting the bad guys herself rather than escaping?
You see my point. Merely finding Ms. X alive is not, in fact, the end of the conflict. That only ends when the two of them are safe and free of the bad guys. I might even venture that the conflict only ends when the bad guys are arrested or dead, or otherwise stopped from pursuing the protagonist and Ms. X.
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