Climax in Romance (No, Not That Kind): The End of the Beginning
No matter which structural framework you choose, the inciting incident sets the stage for the journey your queer romance characters are about to take. At the same time, a character arc represents the internal transformation they experience over the course of those external events. Naturally, then, your climax is where that inner journey intersects and interconnects with the external plot events.
This moment changes everything for your protagonists. By that I mean they face their final—and biggest—challenge. It’s also the most tension- and suspense-filled section of the story. Without a climax, your romance would just be an episodic tale with a flat ending.
As stated on the StoryFlint blog,
The climax gives the story direction and meaning. It’s the resolution of the central conflict, the huge battle, the final showdown, and the ending of the story’s plot. [. . .] This is when the reader is on the edge of their seat, waiting to see what will happen to the protagonist and what decision they will make.
Certain conventions and tropes work especially well for queer romance, regardless of relationship makeup. Between structure, conventions and tropes, and your imagination, the climactic moment must be absolutely pivotal in steering the direction of the protagonists’ relationship.
Once you understand what a climax is in relation to your queer romance, you can effectively and efficiently plan for it. After your plans are in place, it’s time to send those fireworks sky high.
Understand the Climax
The handy-dandy Merriam-Webster defines climax as “the point of highest dramatic tension or a major turning point in the action (as of a play).” (Emphasis added.)
In other words, tension and suspense are at their peak during this section. Your protagonists and their relationship have been put through the wringer. Readers expect said characters to come out of that wringer with an ending that makes those travails worth it.
K.M. Weiland stresses, “Whatever happens in a story’s Climactic Moment ‘proves’ what a story is about. A romance is, of course, about the romance.”
To put it another way, your queer romance’s beginning draws the reader in. They settle in with a drink, kick their feet up, and succumb to the story you’ve prepared for them. They wait with bated breath to see how characters will overcome their inner hangups. After all, it’s those hangups keeping your characters from their Happily Ever After or Happy For Now.
Your climax resolves the storyline. It’s that section of the book that has readers moving your book closer to their face the closer they get to the end. They’re afraid to blink, lest they miss something.
And like every piece of the story, your climax must have its own arc of causal events. No matter your queer romance subgenre, readers expect realistic and logical character decisions on every page. It’s those decisions that build the framework of their relationship’s housing.
Plan the Climax
Let me remind you that, in most romance stories, the antagonistic force your protagonist has to confront? It’s usually that character themself. When you look at most story structures, that confrontation is the Dark Night of the Soul. It’s when they have no choice but to finally look inside and banish the demons they’ve kept locked up.
I had an epiphany a couple nights ago, after blogging about acting out my characters’ Dark Night of the Soul. Dialogue details emerged, followed by a setting change to accommodate that dialogue and my main protagonist’s mindset. I researched the location for that scene, which led me to brainstorming what would need to happen to get him there and what would happen once he arrived.
In queer romance especially, without that Black Moment and resulting Dark Night, there can be no new day. Overcoming their inner wounds gives your protagonist’s Grand Gesture authenticity and meaning. Your story’s characters require a similar epiphany leading up to the story’s climax. It’s what drives their actions leading into that ending.
So, how do you come up with realistic endings? James Scott Bell recommends brainstorming, creating lists of ideas based on your character’s prior decisions and actions. I have a page in Scrivener for each quarter of my WIP. Each one contains scene ideas based on that quarter’s purpose. Here’s three questions you can ask to form your own list.
Does your protagonist learn an important lesson?
The lesson is the entire point of the character arc. Starting with the Lie they believe about themselves, prior to that final moment with the other love interest(s), the character must face their inner fears. Doing so costs them something, and that fare has been too expensive to pay until now.
Is the climax a final monumental struggle?
Readers expect to be blown away. They’ve spent 300 or more pages following these two (or three or four, whatever) idiots in love fighting their feelings, for themselves and each other. Give them the most exciting closer you can.
Is the story ending logical?
All that goes before the climax should point toward that peak moment. Your denouement follows, and it’s where you tie up any remaining loose ends. The clues might have been artfully concealed or hinted at through subtext. Still, everything that flows from the climax should be just as reasonable.
Ignite the Fireworks: The Grand Gesture
The climax is what gives your protagonist something to strive for. Gwen Hayes calls this moment the “Grand Gesture.” In romance, it’s that scene when the main protagonist puts it all on the line emotionally. It’s their chance to prove that they’re all in on this relationship, come what may.
After they’ve had their awakening, the next logical step is to share the new version of themselves with the other protagonist(s). It’s where readers really sit up and take notice of these people. They hold their breath, heart pounding in their chests, hands sweaty. They should be as nervous about what your main protagonist will do just as much as that protagonist is worried.
Weiland adds, “The climax must be focused on the romantic conclusion. [. . .] If the Climactic Moment fails to back that up, the whole story will feel off and unsatisfying.”
Your “Climactic Moment” is more than just a moment, though. This portion of your story includes four components.
Run-Up and Pre-Climax Jitters
Your character does some last-minute maneuvering, getting everything and everyone in place to pull off their Grand Gesture. Still, doubts persist, most often centering on whether they’re too late to recover their relationship.
Moment of Truth and Transformative Lesson
The character’s inner journey reaches that point the whole story has been heading toward. They accept or confront their Lie and uncover the Truth that sets them free emotionally.
Climactic Moment and Victory
Your protagonist directly affects the outcome here. They lay it all out there to their love interest(s). In a romance, through these actions, they succeed and get their happy ending.
Final Reaction and Aftermath
Humanize your characters. Show how they react not just to the Grand Gesture, but to the events of the story as a whole. Readers want a sneak peek into how these love interests will continue their journey into the future. Leave them with enough of a tease that that future is as happy as the reader hopes it will be.
Photo by Ankhesenamun on Unsplash
To Sum It All Up
Even with the foreknowledge of how a romance ends, readers still need that feeling of euphoria if you want to leave a lasting impression on them. Give them that moment that makes them sigh dreamily, clutch their chest, and say, “OMG, I literally cannot with these people!”
Anne Gracie reiterates this when she says,
The best kind of happy ending is where the reader feels both protagonists really deserve each other and are convinced that their love will last and grow for the future of the characters.
When you understand how queer romance conventions and tropes work, you have an easier time getting characters where they need to be for an impactful, satisfying story ending. You leave your readers wishing they could meet these characters in our reality. Indeed, your climax is both the payoff and the reward for reading the book.
If you’ve really put your protagonists through it? You’ve given them the highest highs and the lowest lows over and over as you move them toward that final climax?
Your readers will be blown away with the height and depths you traverse over the course of your story. Because the bleaker the ending looks, the more you engage the protagonist in the stakes built around it. Janice Hardy adds, “A great climax is the full-on fireworks and fanfare finale of the novel, and readers expect it to be good.”
Neglect your ending at your own peril. A climax that is, in Shane Millar’s words, “too easy, too short, or too predictable” will leave readers frustrated, often believing they’ve wasted their time. That’s the last thing you want as a queer romance author.
Reflecting On Your Story One Word At A Time!
