To write a script that builds dramatically up to the climax, the writer works in a forward direction to create momentum, but also backwards, to provide that omniscience so that events can be orchestrated from the perspective of already knowing the ending.
Applying Story Pressure
In order to have an effective build up to the climax, there needs to be an increase of pressure. There should be a sense that the vice is tightening as the story progresses, until the hero loses everything dear to them.
The forces of antagonism have gotten stronger and more intense, and the protagonist has had to rise to the occasion, getting wiser and more powerful every step of the way. By the end, all doors are closed, and it seems as if the world around him or her has fallen apart.
At a certain point, the conflict becomes overwhelming, forcing the protagonist to change direction somehow, put everything on the line. They grow in some way and do something they would not have been able to do in the beginning of the story.
Back Engineer Your Story From the End
To write an ending that delivers a great emotional payoff, it helps to “back engineer” from the climax, reworking everything that comes before it so as to manipulate an element of surprise and ensure that the ending is both inevitable and unexpected.
Through careful examination of the whole script, the writer can ensure that everything that leads up to the climax sets up the climax, relates to the climax, or otherwise is somehow justified by the existence of the climax. Anything that doesn’t support the climax, enhance it or predicate it in someway has to be cut.
The interesting thing about storytelling is that once a writer has envisioned the perfect payoff, the story that builds up to it often needs tweaking and adjustments in order to form a tight puzzle around it. This reshaping helps make the rest of the story fit well with the climax, so that each act builds upon the previous one and everything feeds smoothly into the ending. In this way, the path determines the outcome, but at the same time, the outcome determines the path.
Outline the Story After it is Written
Usually, an outline is written before the actual draft of the script. But after the draft is written, a new outline can be very useful, to gain some perspective on the shape of the story. The writer may get some new ideas about how to make it more complex overall and how to create a more imaginative and original ending.
Avoid a Predictable Ending
Going through the script in outline form also gives the writer a chance to eradicate predictability. Then the writer can comb through the scenes and revise them to be sure they don’t give too much away. Obvious clues are removed and replaced with subtle signposts and foreshadowing.
Once the writer has an idea of the climactic scene in mind, or once they’ve actually written it, they can carefully go back through the script and look at everything building up to it, crafting the scenes so that these build in intensity and support the inevitability of what will be delivered in the final payoff. Starting with the ending can enhance the dramatic build up to Act III for a truly grand finale.
For more guidance on screenplay endings, see the articles Script Endings that Surprise and Satisfy and Writing Great Endings – The Climax.
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