Reading Signposts: Aha! Moments
Greetings and salutations Scribblers!
Aha Moments (or epiphanies!) is another reading signposts discussed in the book Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading by Kylene Beers, and Robert E. Probst. This book is designed for classroom reading and ELA teachers, but the reading signposts they talk about are excellent for authors to be aware of as well. Not only are they elements of good storytelling, but if you’re hoping your novel ends up as part of a classroom curriculum, taking note of these six signposts could help convince educators to give it a try.
We’ve covered Words of the Wiser, Again and Again, and Memory Moments. Our fourth signpost is Aha Moments or Epiphanies.
The Aha Moment is when a character has a sudden realization or finally understands something they’ve been struggling with. This signpost helps readers to understand the conflict in a story or the theme. Or sometimes both!
It’s clueing the reader in to ask how will this change things?
The Aha Moment is something that isn’t going to happen often and many times it’s going to occur later in the story after the character has been through some trials and tribulations. This moment of epiphany for the character is usually after they’ve refused to realize or acknowledge this information several times throughout the story. Because it should be a turning point for the character.
You might have smaller turning points for the character along the way and this is a great element to play with as they move through their character arc. You can even have them think they’ve made a change to what they’re doing or their understanding of something, but really they haven’t truly changed. Which has the potential to lead to an even more dramatic aha moment at the end when they truly realize the error of their ways.
As a writer, it’s important to keep that question I mentioned earlier in mind. “How will this change things?” Because if your character has an epiphany, you do need to change their way of thinking or acting post-epiphany. This doesn’t mean they’re fully reformed, this would be hard to believe as a reader, but we do want to see that they are actively working to be better and incorporate that new understanding into their life and world view. As the writer, we need to be cognizant of that as we continue to write the character.
As always, your mileage may vary! Take what helps and leave what doesn't! What are your favorite Aha Moments from a novel or your own writing?
