The most important moment in your story is the moment when your protagonist is faced with a decision.

Do this or do that? Stay or go? Speak or remain silent? Flee or fight?

In fact, your protagonist will face dozens of decisions throughout your novel. They’ll face at least one in every scene: moments where they experience a crisis, when whatever happens next hinges on the decision they make.

But how long should this moment take? Does your protagonist need to waffle between two options for several pages in every scene? Do they even need to know the full weight of what they’re deciding?

In this episode, I’m sharing the art and science of the perfect crisis. You’ll learn:

• When to write a very long crisis and make your character’s decision-making process very clear
• How to write a short and snappy crisis your reader might not even notice (but YOU know it’s there!)
• Why there MUST be consequences for your character’s choice
• How to include a crisis in every scene WITHOUT making your character annoyingly indecisive
• How to create far-reaching consequences of the crisis choice—even if your character can’t predict them in the moment
• And more!

Plus, I’ll break down the opening scenes of two novels with very different crises.

You’ll see how Natalie C. Parker writes a five-page-long crisis in Seafire—and why it works.

And you’ll see how Naomi Novik writes a crisis so short you could blink and you’d miss it in Spinning Silver. Yet the choice the protagonist makes sparks the conflict of the whole book.

A well-written crisis can be the absolute best moment in a scene. Find out how to master the crisis in this episode!

This episode was inspired by a listener question from David. Thanks, David!

Have an editing question you’d like answered? Send me an email at [email protected] with the subject line “Podcast Question,” and I’ll keep it in mind for future podcast episodes!

Links mentioned in the episode:

• SEAFIRE by Natalie C. Parker
• SPINNING SILVER by Naomi Novik
• Ep. 8: What Is a Scene? The Ultimate Guide to Write and Edit Amazing Scenes
• Ep. 11: How to Edit a Scene of a Novel, Part 1
• Download the Scene Analysis Worksheet: alicesudlow.com/sceneworksheet

Send me a Text Message!

Support the show

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Alice and Your Next Draft." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers through the mess—and joy—of the editing process. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap the stars to rate, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Loving the show? Show your support with a monthly contribution »