How to Set Your Story Up for an Amazing Ending (Writing Emotion: Insight)

The Writing Emotion series observes one emotion at a time in a story that does it well. This is so that we can understand better how to do our most important job as storytellers (no matter the genre): make readers feel.

The objective of these posts is less about learning to convey a specific emotion (joy, sorrow, anxiousness, etc.) and more about studying what is going on underneath a scene that makes the emotionality of it more compelling for the characters and the reader alike—

It’s about learning to write emotion.

Emotion: Insight
Story: Ghost Town

Insight: a new accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person or thing.

Scene from the story (this scene contains an expletive):

Lesson 1: Cast off the Lie

I’ve been discussing tension-relieving emotions a lot recently. And the emotion of insight (like joy and connection) is a great example.

I have a mentor who says something along the lines of, “Harmful thoughts are like when your face is hurting because you keep slapping yourself over and over. You keep trying to solve the pain through ointments or band-aids, but if you just stop slapping yourself, the pain will stop.”

It’s a silly example, but actually very relevant for day-to-day life. Even more, it’s especially relevant to story.

A protagonist’s Lie (the harmful worldview they begin the story with) is painful. But they’re living their life without realizing that they’re actually causing themself the pain. They don’t realize that holding onto their Lie is like slapping themself in the face over and over.

If they can just cast off their Lie in favor of a healthier Truth, the pain will end.

In other words, insight can be the realization that you are the one causing yourself pain. Of course, this isn’t the only way we experience insight. We might have insight into the way something in the world works or into why someone in our life behaves the way they do.

But often the most impactful insights we experience are about ourselves.

The same is true for your protagonist.

In stories, we call this moment of insight the a-ha moment. It’s that point in the story when the protagonist finally recognizes that their pain comes from their Lie, and if they just let go of it (stop slapping themself in the face) and finally embrace their Truth (new, better worldview), the pain will stop.

Dr. Pincus has been, metaphorically, slapping himself in the face over and over and over again. That’s the result of his selfishness (Lie). But once he realizes where his pain is actually coming from, he can stop being so selfish and, as a result, stop the pain. The emotion is heightened in this moment because it’s so impactful for Dr. Pincus.

What is your character’s big insight/a-ha moment? How does it relate to their Lie and their new Truth? Even if you have a scene with an emotional insight that doesn’t come during the a-ha moment toward the end of the story, any moment will land more powerfully if it circles back to the character’s Lie/Truth in one way or another.

Lesson 2: Supporting characters expanding theme

Your story’s supporting characters are just waiting to be cracked open.

One perfect area to expand your supporting characters is with your story’s theme.

I like to think of my story’s overarching theme as the new worldview (Truth) that my protagonist is working to embrace.

Dr. Pincus’s Truth is that helping others will bring him more happiness and fulfillment than helping himself. In the last line of the movie, he says, “I can fix that for you.” (Another amazing scene. I don’t understand why this movie didn’t get more love.)

Dr. Prashar, as a supporting character, represents this theme because he has already learned this Truth. He’s a mirror of what Dr. Pincus could be if he chose to cast off his harmful Lie and embrace this new Truth.

Other characters represent other aspects of Dr. Pincus’s character transformation.

For example, Frank, the annoying ghost that haunts Dr. Pincus, is a representation of Dr. Pincus’s current way of living and what could happen if he continues along the path he’s on. As another example, the other ghosts in the story represent a bridge between where Dr. Pincus is and where he could be. They offer a way for him to move through his transformation.

This scene in particular gets its emotionality because we need that “push character” (Dr. Prashar) to help Dr. Pincus see the Truth. This moment where a supporting character helps the protagonist see the error of their ways happens at some point in most stories, at least if that story features a positive character arc where the protagonist transforms for the better.

If done well, this is an excellent moment for heightened emotion.

In this scene, we feel some of Dr. Pincus’s insight, but we’re also thrilled that someone is finally telling him off in a way that gets through to him. He’s been a massive jerk to Dr. Prashar and, as you’ll see in the lesson below, this makes Dr. Prashar the perfect supporting character to give Dr. Pincus the push he needs.

Who are your story’s supporting characters? How can they represent different aspects of your story’s theme? (Think of the way Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, and Snape all represent different aspects of Harry Potter’s themes of love and sacrifice.) What character is helping your protagonist gain much-needed insight before your story’s climactic moment? What makes them the perfect character for this role?

Lesson 3: Can’t keep their mouth shut any longer

In the previous two lessons, I touched on the protagonist’s Lie—the harmful worldview that has been causing chaos in their life and the lives of the people around them.

Before this scene, Dr. Pincus has been unbelievably rude to Dr. Prashar on more than one occasion. But Dr. Prashar keeps biting his tongue. He doesn’t say anything, letting Dr. Pincus’s behavior roll off his back.

Until now.

The tension has finally snapped (just before this moment, Dr. Pincus asked Dr. Prashar to prescribe him medication to help numb his feelings over losing a girl), and Dr. Prashar cannot keep quiet any longer.

The emotionality in a scene levels up if it features a cathartic moment from a supporting character.

Having a supporting character realize they can’t bite their tongue any longer, or that it will be in the best interest of the protagonist if they finally speak up, brings extra emotion.

Bonus points if this character is uniquely and perfectly suited as the best person to get through to the protagonist.

At the end of this exchange, a lightbulb goes off in the protagonist’s mind (and heart), and their rise from the ashes is set in motion.

Who is a character in your story that is uniquely qualified to help your protagonist finally “see the light?” How have they been biting their tongue throughout the story? How can they speak (or act) in a way that gets through to your protagonist?