All good stories are about a Character who changes in some way. The Character starts out believing a LIE. And through the course of the story, he tries hard to hold onto that LIE. This becomes more and more difficult as the story progresses and the Bad Guys Close In. The Character has been given glimpses of the truth, but so far he has been too afraid to believe it. He is holding on tightly to that LIE and doesn’t want to give it up because doing so would leave him vulnerable and alone.
But the story forces him to be vulnerable and alone. That’s what the All is Lost moment is all about. It should call back something you set up early on. A theme. A discussion or comment or even a thought in which the Character revealed a great fear, a hatred, or a vow never to be in such a position again.
What he fears most, however, is exactly what needs to happen. He must face that fear and prevail.
The All is Lost moment is when the Character hits rock bottom. When he is crushed. Hopeless. Defeated. He is beaten badly, and he knows it. This moment usually includes a death of some kind. It is often the death of a side character like a mentor, but it can also be the death of any relationship, a family, a friend, an animal, a job, a dream, a reputation, an identity. In many cases, your Character dies symbolically.
To get through this, the Character must travel through the Dark Night of the Soul. This is when the Character must grapple with all that has been lost. He must recall why he went on this quest in the first place, reflect on how he got here, and determine what went so terribly wrong. He must give up all control and confront his own frail humanity. And as he stares into the depths of his soul, that LIE he has been believing all this time, the one that kept him safe and gave him meaning… he comes to see if for what it is: a LIE. And he finally realizes the TRUTH.
Confronted with the TRUTH, the Character comes to realize something about himself. He finally understands where he’s been going wrong all along. This realization is like a sunrise that shines new light onto his predicament. He realizes he is not beaten after all. Now that he knows the TRUTH—now that he believes he really is capable of carrying on his mission to completion—he must decide what to do about it.
Some Tips for the All is Lost Moment and Dark Night of the Soul
- Make it worse. Ask yourself how can you make the All is Lost moment even more awful? Is there something else you can take away? What does your Character most fear? Do it. Rock bottom is supposed to be bad, so think about what else you can do to bring your Character to his knees.
- Make sure that your Character actually gives up. He has had it! The LIE wins! And only through losing everything and working his way through the Dark Night of the Soul does the Character decide he is willing to do anything it takes to get through this thing. Why? Because he has nothing left to lose.
This is a great post, Jill. I love the way you summarize story in the cloud graphic! It looks so easy when it’s like that 😉
When I was a beginning writer, this was the part of story that I never quite understood: that for the victory at the end to feel strong and satisfying, it has to get really rough. I wish I could have read this 15 years ago!
It’s easier to explain how to do it than it is to do it, that’s for certain.
Thanks for this post! I was going “Oh. OH. Huh. OH! Of course!” in my head the whole time as I read. This is a wonderful, clear summary of some things I already sort of knew but hadn’t yet organized in my mind. I’ll definitely come back to these questions when I hit the All Is Lost Moment in my WIP!
Totally, I had the same thing.
So glad you guys found it helpful. 🙂
Ah, I love the Dark Night of the Soul. It is such a powerful part of a story. That moment that my protagonist finally, finally, finally realised that she believed a lie and fully embraced her truth, which made her capable of figthing the antagonists, I loved it and that was not very difficult. But to get her to that point, the All is Lost moment, that was something I struggled with for some time. It must be a very difficult, dark, soul-cruching moment, yet not over the top or melodramatic… I think I found it after a lot of brainstorming :).
So true, Marja. All this theory sounds so easy! But when you’re dealing with 80,000 words, it’s much trickier to get everything just so.
Wow! This actually explained this in an easy to understand way, which is surprisingly hard to come by! Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad. 🙂
Great post! That puts it so clearly and really helps me get a handle on what needs to happen with my heroes and heroines. Thanks so much!
This post is so perfect! Very helpful.
I’m writing a short story for English this year, and I will definitely have an All is Lost moment