Here’s something that confused me about story structure back when I wrote contemporary young adult fiction: Any teaching on the hero’s journey/three act structure tends to focus on stories with traditional villains. And in the third act when teachers talk about a final battle, most examples given are literal battles. Lightsabers, wands, poisonous berries, and so forth are all coming out to defeat the very evil villain.

But maybe that’s not what you write.  Maybe you prefer to write stories about ordinary girls in modern day America fighting enemies like consumerism, entitlement, or bullying. Or maybe you’re writing about a boy with a disease, and he’s just trying to find true friends, belonging, or hope.

Here’s what I learned back when I wrote the Ellie Sweet books: When you’re writing a story that doesn’t have a traditional villain, think of your “final battle” or your climactic moment as your main character facing his or her greatest fear.

If you’ve set up your story right, it’s likely you’ve been poking your main character with their greatest fear for the entire book. The climax of your book is when your main character is forced to deal with that great fear. In a heroic story, they conquer the fear in some way. In a tragedy, they’re defeated by it.

Let’s look at a few examples:

(I’m going to do my best to just set up the climax and not how it concludes, but there will be some spoilers!)

The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet

The “facing of the greatest fear” moment in the first Ellie Sweet book is when Ellie’s old friends find out about her story, and they throw her laptop into the creek that runs through the school property. Ellie’s greatest fear is being seen as she truly is, and all eyes are on her as she sloshes into the creek to recover her prized possession.

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

There are physical bullies in the climax of Wonder, but they’re anonymous and faceless. We’re not so much scared of them as we are that Jack might abandon August again. August’s greatest desire is for acceptance, so to be put in another situation where his best friend could choose to abandon him forces him to face his greatest fear.

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Remy’s greatest fear is the power someone else has over you when you truly love them. She’s quick to believe the worst about Dexter because pushing him away keeps her safer. When her friends point out how her thinking is flawed, she has a decision to make about staying safe or being in love.

Even if your book does have the kind of evil villain that makes your reader shudder and a literal battle at the story’s climax, making sure you bring the main character’s greatest internal fear into that scene will strengthen your story and make it even more memorable.

What’s your main character’s great fear? Does it show up in the climax of your story, or do you have plans for it to?

p.s. This will be the only post this week since Jill, Shan, and I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with our families. We’re so thankful for all of you!! See you back here next Monday!