Chapter 48: The Confrontation

Why does the Confrontation need a chapter of its own? Because it’s simply a huge beat. It’s where all your planning comes together—where you pay off not just the Sleuth’s emotional story, but also the mystery that forced her to undertake it.

There are a lot of different ways to write the Confrontation. You might opt for a traditional drawing room scene, where your Sleuth gathers all of the characters together and lays out the facts one by one, eventually unmasking the Villain for everyone to see. Or, you might opt for something more sensational, where your Sleuth is forced to face down the Villain in a battle for life and death. You could even go for a lengthy sequence of scenes, in which the Sleuth must face down the Villain’s accomplice before taking out the Villain himself.

But whatever kind of Confrontation you choose, there are several things that need to happen during it. We need to:

• Learn the Villain’s identity

• Resolve your Sleuth’s Chronic Issue

• Hear the Villain’s confession

• Serve the Villain with justice

• Help the reader achieve shock, followed by synthesis

We spoke about the first two in the last chapter; now, let’s tackle the rest of the list—starting with the Villain’s confession.

The Confession

But wait, you may be thinking—should my Villain really confess? Isn’t his best bet to zip his lip? Sure. And if you are ever accused of murder, that’s exactly what I suggest you do.

But when your Villain is accused? I think it makes sense for you to allow him to confess. Remember the three questions mysteries address: Whodunnit?; Whydunnit?; and What are we going to do about it? We need to address all of them—and here, in your Villain’s confession, is your best opportunity to speak to why.

When your Villain confesses, he’s not just going to admit the fact that he did it—he’s going to talk about why, from his perspective, he had to do it. He’s going to let us inside the dark mystery of human nature, just for a moment. Perhaps we’ll find ourselves horrified at his cold, calculated evil—or perhaps we'll find ourselves nodding along in shocked understanding.

As with the Confrontation itself, there are a million ways you can write the Villain’s confession. He can snarl it out in a moment of rage, or give us a tearful blow-by-blow recounting of his actions. He could even die with his confession left unspoken, only for your Sleuth to find it in a suicide note she discovers during the Loose Ends beat. But no matter how you slice it, we should have an opportunity to understand this crime from the Villain’s point of view.

Justice

That’s two central questions in the bag. Lastly, we need to find an answer to What are we going to do about it?