Since I talked about the “Break into three” concept last time, what would fit perfectly here is a post on Blake Snyder’s Five-Step Finale. I wrote a post on that subject back in April, however, when I was plotting out my book Onyx Eyes, so I decided to recap the Five-Step Finale and talk a little about the Final Image (Denouement). Shannon talked more about denouement in her post on that subject. Click here to read that post.
The Five-Step Finale came from the brain of screenwriting instructor Blake Snyder. He talked about this in his book Save the Cat! Strikes Back! and wrote a blog post on the topic in December of 2007. Blake died in 2009, so I’m always excited when I stumble onto anything he wrote that I have yet to read. Click here to read Blake’s post on this subject.
And click here if you want to read the post I wrote about the Five-Step Finale this past April.
The Five-Step Finale
The Finale is what happens in Act Three of your story. Your character has learned so much through the course of the story, and now he is going to apply it and win! This must be done in a satisfying way, however, or your readers will not be very happy. If you’re stuck, Blake has a breakdown he called “Storming the Castle” that you might find useful. Keep in mind, a castle is a metaphor. It can be a literal castle like in The Princess Bride, or it can be something else, like the jaguar shrine in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the wedding in Wedding Crashers, or the Death Star from Star Wars. Below is a description of each of the five steps.
I. Gathering the team: Before your hero can storm the castle, he must rally his supporters and pull together his team. This might involve gathering weapons, making a plan of attack, or the building of a trap. Your hero might need to mend a relationship or two before he can ask for support. He might also need to travel to the location of the final showdown. There is often also a “strapping on of the guns” scene, in which the team prepares for the showdown.
II. Executing the plan: This is the actual storming of the castle in which the heroes enact the plan. This plan should be scary big and almost a no-win scenario. Think: High Stakes. As the plan unfolds, we see some of how the hero, and maybe even some of the side characters, have grown. We are proud of them! Everything is going along well. Maybe a little too well as they head toward the “High Tower,” and then BAM!
III. The high tower surprise: The “High Tower” is metaphor for the bad guy’s lair or the place where the loved one is being held captive or the elixir is being kept. And when your hero and his team arrive, either the object or loved one isn’t there, it’s a trap, or one of the team has been captured. Sometimes there is even a traitor exposed. Bottom line: The hero was overly confident, and the bad guy knew he was coming. This is no good at all.
IV. Dig down deep: At this point, all is stripped away. The hero has nothing to work with. He’s all out of ideas. He must abandon all knowledge and reason and step out in faith, trusting what he’s learned through the course of the story.
V. Execution of a new plan: Armed with faith, the hero steps into the unknown and tries something new, something that is often recklessly brave. Luke uses the force in Star Wars and destroys the Death Star. William hears the crowd chanting his real name in A Knight’s Tale and is able to defeat his enemy in the joust. And Peter Quill (Star Lord) starts to sing and dance in Guardian’s of the Galaxy, distracting Ronan, then Drax and Rocket shoot, releasing the infinity stone, and Peter catches it with his bare hands, proving he isn’t human alone.
This leads us to victory and the Final Image.
Final Image (Denouement)
Again, Shannon talked about this in greater detail in her post here. This is basically a snapshot of where your character is now. This should be in opposition to the opening image where your story began. The reader wants to see how your hero has changed for the better. Be sure and show them!
If you’d like a present, click here to download Blake Snyder’s Beat Sheet, which I’ve adapted, page number-wise, for novels.
This is so interesting, but seems so complex haha. I admire plotters for that reason. It’s like you all know just what you’re doing. I don’t. I just feel it out and put it what seems right when the time seems right ;D My finale tends to be sad or devasting, and my ending bitter sweet (which goes with my Contemporary and Fairytale genres)
I know! Shannon Dittemore is with you, I think. But I honestly don’t know what I’m doing. I’m just trying to make a plan so that I don’t have to make so many changes later. Most of the time it works, but sometimes I have to make the changes anyway… You trust your gut and do what works for you, Keturah. You can’t go wrong in that.
This is really interesting, Jill. Elements 3 – 5 were new to me, and I’m looking forward to playing around with them. Thank you for the adapted beat sheet!
You’re welcome! I’ve been reading screenplay books again, so it’s all been fresh in my mind…
Oh my goodness, this is AMAZING! I’ve been hard at work at outlining the fourth draft of my current WIP (fourth time’s the charm, right??) and this is extremely helpful for figuring out my ending. My endings tend to be cliffhangers, but I really want to try and get this story wrapped up as tightly as I can this time around, even if I really would like to make it a duology. I’m definitely going to be referencing back to this!!
So glad you found it helpful, Kenzie!