The Dark Night of the Soul (DNofS) is likely one of the most important parts of your plot and deserves significant attention when you are developing your story. Let me try to define what it is, or at least how I use it.

Dark Night of the Soul: This is a scene in the middle of your story where it appears as if your hero is going to lose his battle against the villain, and there is no hope for him to succeed.

In my favorite movie, The Lego Movie, this is where the micromanagers, led by Good Cop/Bad Cop, attack Cloud Cuckoo Land. They capture all the master builders and cause the cloud to sink in the ocean. Making matters worse, Emmet and his friends try to escape in asubmarine, but it starts to sink and eventually explodes, making the reader think the story is over and the heroes are dead.

Of course, they aren’t, because this is just the middle of the movie, so with our brains, we know it isn’t over, but it feels as if it’s over in our hearts.

Another Example: in the movie Coco, my new fav, the Dark Night of the Soul is when Miguel is thrown into the huge cavern by Ernesto. It seems he is trapped there and won’t be able to escape the land of the dead by sunrise. It appears as if everything is lost; this is a great DNofS. I was convinced Miguel would be stuck in the Land of the Dead, and I was trying to figure out how the Pixar wizards were going to save this story.

The Recommitment: Now, the really important part of the Dark Night of the Soul is what happens next, and that’s called the Recommitment. At the end of the DNofS, something will happen with the protagonist. They will learn the valuable lesson that is ALWAYS related to their character arc, and they’ll apply that learning and grow.

In the Lego Movie, Emmet starts to believe in himself. He starts to realize that maybe he is a Special, and maybe he is a Master Builder. In Coco, Miguel is searching for his roots, so he can understand who he really is and how he fits into his family, and he finds that answer in that cavern. It’s truly a great moment in both movies.

The Dark Night of the Soul and the Recommitment are critical parts in your plot. They mark the change in your protagonist, from just responding to what the antagonist is doing, to attacking the bad guy. After the DNofS and the Recommitment, the hero starts going full speed after his goal and refuses to give up.

In my Gameknight999 novels, the Dark Night of the Soul typically involves Gameknight being trapped by the villain, usually Herobrine, and it appears as if his army will be wiped out. His Recommitment, which is ALWAYS linked to his character arc, might be that he faces his fears, or he asks for help, or he forgives someone, or . . . and this learning allows him to figure out how to defeat Herobrine, or Entity303 or ??? I can’t emphasize it enough, the Dark Night of the Soul and the Recommitment are super important, and they make the difference between a story fizzling out or exploding with excitement. 

Example Dark Night of the Soul and Recommitment

Here’s an example of a Dark Night of the Soul/Recommitment. This is from a book that might be called Demons in the Dark, which doesn’t exist yet and is far from ever being started. Some day, hopefully, it’ll be part of a group of books set in the Land of Phoenix.

In this story, Gideon WarGaze is trapped on a rickety old rope bridge with his older brother, named Jorris WarGaze and a wizard (I haven’t come up with a name for the wizard yet. I’m sure these names will change later, and likely the DNofS as well.) They’re trapped on the bridge with Shadow Warriors on both end and slowly closing in. It seems as if they’re doomed. There’s no way they can survive. Jorris wants to use his warhammer and take out as many of the enemy as possible before he’s killed, but suddenly, Gideon comes up with a plan.

Here we need to know something about Gideon’s character arc, for the DNofS and the Recommitment must be linked to the character arc. Gideon is an outcast with his friends, because he doesn’t care if he’s taller than the other kids, or stronger, or faster. All he cares about is reading and inventing. He likes to build gadgets, which is almost a crime in the giant community. This thirst for knowledge and invention has always made Gideon feel like a failure in his older brother’s eyes, something Jorris is fond of saying to him. Gideon desperately wants Jorris’ approval, but because he doesn’t act like a real giant, acceptance is never achieved.

Now back to the story. Gideon will see a cave below the cliff. He does the math, something giants don’t do, and realizes they could swing down to that cave. Figuring out where to stand on the bridge, Gideon tells his companions to hang on, then cuts the ropes with his sword. The bridge swings down, causing the shadow warriors to fall into the chasm, allowing the giants and wizard to climb into the cave. There Gideon realizes he doesn’t need his brother’s acceptance. Instead, he only wants his own. He realizes that he’s just as much a giant as anyone else, and that brings him courage. He does some creating and builds contraptions that allow them to face off against the Shadow Warriors, saving the day.

At the end of the story, the Gideon’s character arc will be complete when Jorris acknowledges Gideon’s skills and asks his little brother to teach him what’s in those books.

The Dark Night of the Soul: the giants are trapped on the bridge . . . it seems impossible.

The Recommitment: Gideon uses something from his character arc, accepting himself for his inventions, and saves the day.

I love the DNofS/Recommitment in my stories when I’m writing them. Usually, I usually struggle to write the story and get to the DNofS, which is typically at the midpoint, but after I write the DNofS, I can’t type fast enough to keep up with my ideas.

You should think about movies you like and identify the Dark Night of the Soul and the Recommitment. If you can’t identify them in movies or books you like, then you’ll have a hard time figuring them out in your own stories, so take some time and think about it.

In the comments below, tell me what the Dark Night of the Soul is in some of your favorite movies or books. I can’t wait to hear what you think.

 

Mark