The Place For My Writers Notes

Chapter 19 Epiphany Scenes

Working our way through Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld. In the depths of part three, scene types, having looked at first scenes, suspense scenes, dramatic scenes, contemplative scenes, dialogue scenes, action scenes, and flashback scenes, it's now time for an epiphany.

"An epiphany is a moment when awareness or a sharp insight dawns suddenly on your protagonist as a result of events and interactions that have driven him to this moment."

I think of this as the realization. The character suddenly realizes something. This may have a cost to it -- sudden change hurts. They can also be positive turning points, though, when in the midst of despair and darkness, the character sees a ray of hope. Epiphanies are great opportunities for characters to transform themselves.

The epiphany:

• has a cost or renews the character or both
• epiphanies should be driven by plot events and information, not completely unexpected
• the protagonist should gain surprising new insight or break through their own resistance and denial
• epiphanies usually force the protagonist to make choices or changes

Drama, suspense, and sometimes contemplative scenes often lead to epiphanies. Don't overdo them -- people don't have insights every time they turn around.

Rosenfeld suggests the following types of epiphanies. For each one you need to know and show your readers who the character is before the epiphany, what leads them to the change, and what kind of a change happens.

• Removing the Blinders: a character decides to learn what the truth is.
• Realizing a Suppressed Desire: a character makes a major change in their life.
• Accepting Limitations of Oneself or Another: realizing that some things can't be changed
• Claiming Identity: accepting something essential about oneself
• Rude Awakenings: circumstances or people force a character to change the

Opening the epiphany. The key to opening an epiphany is to quickly show the character in conflict, under pressure, unstable. The reader should know as quickly as possible and that change is coming. Epiphany openings often show:

• the protagonist afraid or anxious about the future
• the protagonist under pressure or stress
• the protagonist taking unusual actions or behaving oddly
• the protagonist expressing feelings of conflict about a given event or relationship
• symbolic details of setting or images that hint at an epiphany to come

Pushing the character into epiphany. Once you start the scene, you need to raise the stakes so that the character realizes that important point. Stress, pressure, tension -- you need to push the character into realization. Some common methods of leverage include:

• threat of loss: motivation for awareness -- open your eyes before it's too late
• incontrovertible evidence: hard evidence can sometimes make people pay attention
• injury to a loved one: I did that?
• danger: death or bodily harm can make people face the truth

The moment of epiphany normally belongs right near the end of the scene. Let the character and the reader have a moment to think about what just happened. There are going to be emotional consequences, choices to be made, and debts to pay -- but you can do that in the next scene or scenes. You don't have to do it immediately, and there are advantages to pausing.

Rosenfeld's checklist for epiphany scenes:

1. does the epiphany cause the protagonist to change?
2. does the scene start with the character anxious about the future or under stress?
3. does the scene put pressure and up the ante for the protagonist to make the realization?
4. does the scene end soon after the epiphany, leaving the readers enough to chew on?
5. does the epiphany change the protagonist's outlook and direction in ways that are demonstrated in future scenes?

Two more kinds of scenes ahead, climactic scenes and the final scene. And then there are a few other scene considerations.

So that's Rosenfeld talking about scenes where the character has a major realization -- an epiphany.

An assignment? I think perhaps the first part is to take a novel or story that you like and look for a scene with an epiphany. These are often the turning point scenes, where a character understands just what they have been doing to themselves and others. It is easy to let these scenes slip into melodramatic interior monologues, drenched in pathos. But you want to find a good epiphany scene, one that you like, and then take it apart. How did the writer lay the foundations at the beginning of the scene? How did they put the pressure on the character in the scene that leads up to them finally understanding? How do they portray that moment of insight, that realization that the only person responsible for all of their problems is themselves? And what happens to close out the scene?

The second part is to put together an epiphany scene for your own writing. What does the character need to learn? How will the character break through their own lack of understanding and resistance and take that look? Now, structure the whole scene, from the initial moments of uneasiness through the growing pressures to the moment of understanding, when the world suddenly becomes clear.

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write!