The climax is where the main story conflict comes to a final battle. It’s the do or die moment for the protagonist and it’s where the protagonist and antagonist will finally resolve the crisis. Everything the protagonist has done - all their battles, the pursuit of their goal, their small successes, and big failures lead to this moment, it is the culmination of their difficult journey.
The tension between the protagonist and antagonist is at an all-time high, and the protagonist is all in, especially after hitting their lowest point from Plot Point 2 – they have nowhere to go but up.
The climax is when the protagonist with will fight through the antagonist’s underlings. Once the protagonist has fought off the underlings, they’ll go after the treasure and/or save their friends, and then finally, the protagonist fights the antagonist.
Of course, there will be setbacks during the final battle, but the protagonist will be quicker on their feet when a setback occurs. The information, skills, and knowledge they gathered in Act 2 will be vital to defeating the antagonist. They have learned and grown through the story, they have conquered a fear, overcome a flaw, or reconciled a misbelief (discussed in my blog post: The Inciting Event – 1st Act Series).
The climax typically occurs over one scene and the battle is done.
The climax occurs near the end of Act 3.
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