Over the past 3 months, we’ve been talking about the elements of a suspense, laying out the components of each Act. Just as a review:

Act 1 is the set up of the GAME. It contains the Players, the Threat of the Big Event, the Inciting Incident and the rules (or the set up of the story).

Act 2 is the GUTS of the story, where all the good stuff happens.  It contains the Romance of the hero/heroine,
the unexpected twists and turns, the droplets of truth and the uncovering of
secrets.
All of this leads to Act 3, which contains the Black moment, the epiphany, the Climax (or Final Battle) and finally..the Happily Ever After.

I like to call this section the GLORY.  These are all elements we’ve covered in MBT so feel free to search the archives. But I’ll break it down here, too.

G = Greatest Fear comes true. Tomorrow we’re going to dissect the Black Moment a bit more – that climatic event that causes your character to take a serious look at himself and what he believes in.  The only event that can cause such an
introspection is his Greatest Fear, or a element of it, coming true. The entire book he’s been trying to make sure this doesn’t happen…so when it does, it  requires him to look at himself and say…why? And, what should I do now?
Which leads us to the second part of the Black Moment…the inner journey element.
L = the Lie feels true. Every character has a lie they believe, based on something that happened in their
past.  This lie has determined their behavior and choices until the start of their journey. However, this journey is about breaking that lie and helping your character become a better person, or at least examining the person they are, the things they believe in.  They attempt to break free of this in Act 2, but in Act 3, the Black Moment convinces them that the Lie is true, and they
will never break free.

Unless they have a…

O= Overhaul/Epiphany. The journey your character is on is to teach him something, and to bring him to some sort
of wholeness.  However, he can’t change unless he sees some sort of “truth.”  Every book has this – even ABA books.
Maybe the hero realizes it’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.  Maybe he realizes
the world isn’t against him, or that some things are worth fighting for (this is often also called the Moral Premise).
Wahtever it is…it’s after the Greatest Fear and Lie come true that he realizes he’s trapped…and it’s this truth that sets him free.  This is the point of his journey.  And when he accepts this truth, he is suddenly overhauled…a new person, the hero he was meant to be.  A hero ready for the final battle.
But first…he might have to tell the girl he loves her.

R = Romantic Thread tied up. You may decide to do this AFTER the Final Battle, or before it – whatever feels
like the right flow of the story. But you must tie up that romantic thread with some sort of HEA ending (even they don’t get married, or even if the hero/heroine dies, there can still be a HEA ending. Consider Cold Mountain, which was more about the power of love than a romance.  Despite the ending, however, there was still an element of happiness).  Tie up that
romantic thread.
Finally, end with…
Y = You can do it! (Final Battle). This is the element that often gets dropped from stories, but it’s essential for a great story. A final battle cements the idea that a hero has embraced the truth, changed and become the hero he was intended to be all along.   We often approach the Final Battle by asking the question:  What can your character do
at the end that he can’t at the beginning? Have him do this to show he’s changed!

This might help: looking at your favorite suspense book and movie, can you identify the three main parts of the story?  Can you find each element of every Act?  Dissecting movies and books is a great way to see the rhythm of a story.
That sums up the three ACTs of a suspense!  Questions about writing?  Head over to www.mybooktherapy.ning.com and join The Voices – the Craft and Coaching Community for novelists. It’s free!
Susie May