Why Your Bombshell Hits With a Whimper and Not a Bang

Authors, see if this scenario rings a bell: You’ve been building toward the big confrontation for six chapters. The hero’s best friend was killed. Then his wife left him, and his hometown burned to the ground.

Finally, he finds out that his mentor betrayed him.

And the next chapter picks up three days after the bombshell dropped.

And you’re surprised when beta readers tell you the big reveal blew over like a gentle breeze.

It’s understandable why many new authors get blindsided when their gut-punch scenes barely tickle. After all, the big twist and the whole sequence of events leading up to it had enormous effects on the story.

“How much bigger could it get?” they ask.

And they’re asking the wrong question. Because usually, the problem isn’t a matter of initial impact, but of aftershocks.

I know, because I help authors fix that issue all the time through my professional editing services.

Read the full post on Substack.