We’re revisiting the Black Moment today, but instead of looking at the External Black Moment, driven by the Greatest Fears, we’re going to look at the internal Black Moment…driven by the lie.

I’m just going to say it, and I’m using my Mom tone.  The Black Moment is the POINT of your story.  Because without the Black Moment, there is no epiphany and no character change, and if you are writing a romance, it is Absolutely Required.

If you don’t have a black moment in your story, then you don’t have a story.  Sorry if that hurts…BUT, we’re going to fix it, right?

Last week, we talked about Steps 1-4 of the Lie Journey, or the inner journey of the Black Moment.

As a recap:

Step 1 – Spiritual Darkness –    The Lie they believe
Step 2 – Confirmation of the Lie – Proof
Step 3 –  The Voice of Truth
Step 4 –   The realization of the Lie and the testing of the truth
Step 5:  The Black Moment

In this step, the lie rears its ugly head, and the hero is caught in the darkness.  This is RIGHT BEFORE the epiphany, and in a great inspirational story, the emotional and plot black moment can be entwined with the spiritual black moment.  This is when, after the hero (or heroine) has tried to escape on his own, he realizes he can’t – that the lie is pulling him back in.  So, he drops to his knees and lets the lie cascade over him.

You know when this is in the Patriot – it’s set up wonderfully in a previous scene, right before Gabriel’s wife dies, when Martin finally tells his son what his fears are:

When I went to war, it changed me.
And I didn’t want that to happen to
you.

Gabriel says in essence, Don’t worry father, you taught me well.  But then his wife is killed, and what happens – -Gabriel turns into a man bent on revenge and ends up getting killed.  Martin is devastated, and he goes back to the belief that, although he’s tried to do things honorably, the sins of his past have caught up to him, in a sort of cosmic way. He has lost his children, his life – and if he can’t fight for revenge, then he’s lost his reason for fighting.
We’ve been looking at Eagle Eye and applying the Lie Journey – so in this moment, Step 5 /black moment is when Jerry reactivates the program that the Eagle Eye has initiated to kill the President.  He realizes that instead of being a hero, he will be a traitor.  The rest of the movie will be his character change/final battle sequence.

Again, the spiritual black moment is when the lie seems bigger than life, and inescapable.

Why do you need this?  Because this is when the TRUTH will come in and set them free.  (That’s the next step and we’ll get to that).

First, how do you use the LIE in the Black Moment?

Sometimes, I have the Black Moment Event and follow up with a reaction where they realize the impact of that Black Moment Event, and thus see the LIE, which is inescapable.

In a suspense, the lie can be inserted right before the Black Moment – where they see the lie and then the Black Moment confirms it (e.g. in the Patriot, the lie coming true occurs before the Black Moment event – Gabriel’s death).  Or, it could happen afterward, like in Eagle Eye, when he confirms his identity and unlocks the computer – and only then realizes what he’s done.

Likewise, the Lie might cause the black moment event.  E.g. – in True Grit, the heroien believes she will capture Tom Chaney.  She’s after all, got enough spit in her.  But her gun misfires and Tom Chaney takes her captive and is going to kill her.

If you are writing a romantic suspense, the lie can also serve to cause the breakup. For example, I might put the Lie in after the hero has hurt the heroine and they’ve “broken up” (and/or vice versa for the heroine).  Or, I might push it back to the moment when his greatest fears come true and he realizes he’s lost her for good.

Or, you could have the Black Moment Event, then the lie, then have the romantic black moment, as a result of all three.

How to decide when to use the Lie? Look at the rhythm of your story – does the lie cause the Black Moment, or does the Black Moment cause the Lie?  Taking it further and wrapping it into the romance – does the Black Moment cause the Breakup, which results in the Lie?  Or does the Lie cause the Breakup, and thus the Black Moment?

We’re going to stop for a moment and just think that through –

Let’s take a look at Return to Me:  The lie is that she stole her boyfriend’s wife’s heart and he can’t love her because of it.   Let’s look at the sequence of events:  She feels guilty about the heart (we see that in earlier scenes) so the lie is ever present.  She then sees her thank you letter on his desk.  The lie revives, she runs (her black moment), she confesses to him her pain and he walks away (the romantic black moment and confirmation of the lie) So, the lie leads to the black moment, which leads to the breakup, and the confirmation of the lie.

For him, he wonders if he can love again.  He loves her…until she leaves him and then he finds out about the heart.  It’s the romantic black moment because he wonders if he really loves Gracie, or if it is something else.  Black Moment Event leads to Lie…and the Romantic Black moment when he walks away.  Then, he realizes he misses her (the epiphany!) and has that moment where he says…I’ll always miss my wife, but I ache for Grace.  (ah!)

Going back to our subject, Suspense, let’s unwrap the ending of Eagle Eye.

The testing of the truth causes Jerry to believe that he is a hero…which leads him to activate the program…(Black Moment Event), which leads to the Lie (he will never be a hero like his brother).  Then, the heroine holds a gun on him (because the computer tells her to) and if it were a romance, this would be a great time for a breakup.  

All this Lying leads to:

Step 6 –   The Aha!  The truth that sets them free

At some point during the black moment, you need to interject some light. It’s wonderful if it is delivered in a metaphorical moment, but it’s also good via another voice of truth –

So, there’s Martin in the Patriot, after Gabriel’s death, and his fellow soldier – a friend, comes in and tries to console him.  He tells him that his losses matter to everyone, and that he has other children to fight for –

LEE says:
Nothing will replace your sons but
if you come with us you can justify
their sacrifice.

And then we have the poignant scene, where the militia and Continental army are leaving…and Martin looks like he’s turning back…and sees Gabriel’s mended flag.  And although it doesn’t have scripture at that moment, we understand that there are some causes worth fighting for, and that he can fight for honor rather than revenge.

Of course, in Eagle Eye, the hero realizes, in the words of the FBI agent tracking/helping him – “It’s up to you!”  Only Jerry can save the president…and that is just what he does at the end, risking his own life.  See, he can be a hero! (We knew it all along!)

Book Therapist Question:  What is the truth that will set YOUR hero free?

Tomorrow, I’m  going to talk about the LAST step in the journey, something I call Storming the Castle.  If you have any questions about the LIES (and the spiritual journey), hop over to Club Book Therapy Voices and join the discussion!