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How to Transform Your Story With a Moment of Truth

“How can I fix the saggy middle of my story?”

I  love it when writers ask me that.

Why? Because the answer is so incredibly juicy–and it all revolves around the Moment of Truth that needs to occur at every story’s Midpoint.

The Second Act—that longest of all the acts, spanning a full 50% from the 25% to the 75% marks—is largely misunderstood. The setup of the First Act and the Climax of the Third Act are pretty self-explanatory. But what’s supposed to happen in between? How can you come up with enough story to entertainingly fill up such a huge chunk of the book?

The short answer is: structure.

There are more important structural moments in the Second Act than anywhere else in the story. If you’re aware of how to use the First Plot Point, First Pinch Point, Midpoint, Second Pinch Point, and Third Plot Point, you’ll never lack for forward impetus in your story’s hard-working Second Act.

Today, we’re going to take a look at what is, arguably, the most important of these structural turning points—the Midpoint and its Moment of Truth. (Click here for more info on structure in general , here for more info on the Second Act in general , and here for more info on the pinch points .)

The #1 Reason  Thor  Works Despite Its Problems

Welcome to Part 4 of our ongoing series exploring what Marvel has done right (and sometimes wrong) in their cinematic universe. I debated whether or not to focus  Thor ‘s post on a “do” or a “don’t” of storytelling.

This is far from a perfect movie.

• The pacing is wonky: sometimes rushed, sometimes lagging.
• The antagonist—the ever-charismatic Loki—is relatively absent from the protagonist’s main conflict for most of the story, and he fails to provide solid pinch points.
• The parallel worlds of Asgard and Earth are never balanced well in the presentation of scenes.

Thor (2011), Paramount Pictures.

In a lot of ways, it feels like a “small” movie, despite its obviously epic and interstellar stakes. Some people complained that the romance between Thor and scientist Jane Foster was given too much emphasis. Personally, I  loved Natalie Portman in this role and thought she was a highlight of the entire movie— but I don’t disagree because, ultimately, the greatest problem with both this movie and its sequel  Dark World is that it has a muddy thematic focus. What these movies are  really about is family, and Jane, however adorable she may be, keeps getting in the way of that.

In short, we’d have to objectively say the script and its execution are pretty choppy. And yet I still really like this movie. For one thing, it was the movie where the whole cinematic vision of the  Avengers throughline really gelled for me and started getting exciting. I thought the Earthside humor was charming. And, of course, it gets full credit for introducing the single most loved and interesting villain in the entire series.

However, at the end of the day, the reason I like this movie—and the reason I decided to focus on its good qualities instead of its weaknesses—is because I love its  heart . I love its character arc (however rushed). I love the transformation of the protagonist from arrogant, self-centered war-monger to humbled, self-sacrificing, crown-worthy hero.

And most of all I love the Moment of Truth at the story’s center.

What Is the Moment of Truth?

The Midpoint is your story’s second major plot point. It occurs, as its name suggests, smack in the middle of the story. It divides both the Second Act and the entire book into two distinct halves. The first half of the book is all about the character’s reaction to the conflict ; the second half is all about his ability to  take action in light of a revelation he experienced.

That revelation is the single most important job of your story’s Midpoint. It is the Moment of Truth, and it is comprised of two different layers—one pertaining to the plot and the other pertaining to the character arc.

Layer #1: The Plot Revelation

Within the exterior conflict of your story’s plot, your protagonist is going to reach a game-changing revelation at the Midpoint. This revelation pertains directly to his exterior conflict with the antagonist. He desires a goal, and the antagonist has been throwing up obstacle after obstacle throughout the first half of the story. The antagonist has been squarely in control of the conflict, and the protagonist has had little choice but to remain in a reactive role.

Now, thanks to this Midpoint revelation, the protagonist suddenly sees the nature of the conflict much more clearly. He learns the true nature of both the conflict and the antagonistic force. He gains important info that will allow him to finally start taking control of the external conflict—thus allowing him to phase out of reaction and into action in the second half of the story. ( Captain America: The Winter Soldier offers a great plot-based Moment of Truth, which I talked about in this article .)

Layer #2: The Character Revelation

Even as your character has been navigating the story’s external conflict throughout the first half of the story, his internal conflict has been closely mirroring, affecting, and being affected  by the external plot. When he reaches the plot-centric Moment of Truth at the Midpoint (which grants him important new information about the nature of the external conflict), he also reaches an all-important personal Moment of Truth.

Remember, character arcs are founded on the protagonist’s inner battle between the story’s Lie and Truth . Throughout the first half of the story, he has been learning to see, more and more clearly, the nature of his Lie and that, indeed, it  is a Lie.

The Midpoint is where he finally sees the Truth. He still has a long way to go until he’ll be able to fully claim that Truth by surrendering to it and acting upon it. But the Midpoint is where something happens to him that’s so dramatic, it prompts a shift in his personal allegiance—away from the Lie and toward the Truth.

How a Good Moment of Truth Transforms Your Story

Some stories will require a different Moment of Truth for both aspects of the Midpoint mentioned above. Often, one aspect’s revelation will lead right into the other. Other stories, however, will be able to harmonize plot and character into a single Moment of Truth.

Thor is such a story.

Thor’s Lie is that he is a worthy leader simply by right of birth and personal power.

His story is that of growing into an awareness that true worthiness is instead based on personal merit—humility, foresight, love, and self-sacrifice. Worthiness is something that must be earned. Despite getting boxed around by his Lie (in essence, “punished” for believing in it) throughout the first half of the story, he does not come face to face with that Truth until the Midpoint.

After using his old Lie-based methods to batter his way through SHIELD’s defenses on his way to reclaim his hammer Mjolnir and his Asgardian powers, he discovers he can’t so much as much lift his own hammer. He doesn’t know his father enchanted the hammer so that only “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.”

Thor is  not worthy. That realization changes everything. It rocks his world. It undermines everything he has believed about himself, about others, and indeed about the universe. It forces him to reconsider his old belief—the Lie—in exchange for a new paradigm. As Dr. Selvig tells him after rescuing him from SHIELD, “It’s not a bad thing finding out that you don’t have all the answers. You start asking the right questions.”

Boom. Moment of Truth. Right between da eyes.

3 Questions for Planning Your Story’s Moment of Truth

What should your story’s Moment of Truth be? The answer depends on three factors:

1. What’s Your Protagonist’s Truth?

Can’t have a Moment of Truth without first knowing what that Truth is, right?

Naturally, the Moment of Truth  cannot live in isolation. It is a product of everything that has come before it in the first half of the story, just as it is the catalyst for everything to follow. You can’t just shoehorn in any ol’ Truth. It has to be  the Truth your protagonist requires in order to overcome  the Lie he’s been carrying around since Page 1.

So take a look at Page 1. What’s the Lie Your Character Believes ? What Truth will he need to overcome that Lie?

2. What Is the Key to Overcoming the Antagonist?

Now consider the plot. What is the one bit of information the protagonist requires in order to transform his understanding of the external conflict and allow him to shift from  reacting to the antagonist into  taking action ?

(Note that Thor’s external conflict is not  defeating Loki , but rather  returning home . In reaching his Moment of Truth he  becomes worthy of the hammer—and thus his ride back to Asgard—even though he doesn’t yet realize it.)

Ideally, both the plot and character revelations should be the same or at least lead organically one into the other. If they’re too disparate from one another, then you need to consider whether or not your plot and theme may be too different from one another to belong in the same story.

3. What Is the Best Visual Representation of Plot and Theme?

Once you understand the Truths your character will come to understand at your Midpoint, you must then create a scene to represent them. Your Midpoint will usually be one of your story’s biggest scenes (in Thor , the fight in SHIELD’s compound is one of the the biggest action setpieces in the movie).

Even though the Moment of Truth will probably be a quiet moment of personal introspection, it should be featured within a huge plot catalyst—one that visually and symbolically represents the Lie and the Truth.

James Scott Bell talks about a “mirror moment,” in which the character must metaphorically look at his own reflection and confront what he sees. In some stories, you can portray this outright, either by having the character literally look at himself in a mirror (e.g., Thor sees his battered appearance in a reflective door after he’s imprisoned by SHIELD), or by providing some other visual reflection of his inner battle (e.g., in Iron Man II , a drunken Tony who is using his suit for dangerous party tricks is confronted by his best friend Rhodey , also in a suit, telling him he’s a disgrace).

Note: this visualization of the “mirror moment” isn’t a must; don’t shoehorn it in. But it can present a nice symbolism if handled well.

Once you understand your story’s Moment of Truth at the Midpoint, you already have your single most powerful tool for crafting, not just an interesting Second Act, but a powerful and resonant character arc, story structure, and theme. Think you’re worthy?

Stay Tuned: Next week, we’ll talk about one of my all-time favorite examples of subtext-rich dialogue from  Captain America: The First Avenger .

Previous Posts in This Series:

• Iron Man :  Grab Readers With a Multi-Faceted Characteristic Moment
• The Incredible Hulk :  How (Not) to Write Satisfying Action Scenes
• Iron Man II :  Use Minor Characters to Flesh Out Your Protagonist

Wordplayers, tell me your opinion! What’s your protagonist’s Moment of Truth at the Midpoint? Tell me in the comments!

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K.M. Weiland is the award-winning and internationally-published author of the acclaimed writing guides Outlining Your Novel , Structuring Your Novel , and Creating Character Arcs . A native of western Nebraska, she writes historical and fantasy novels and mentors authors on her award-winning website Helping Writers Become Authors.

This is an awesome article (and series! I’m enjoying them all!). I was thinking about my WIP while reading through this, and at first, I didn’t think I had a lie/truth to tell, but my MC definitely does. This just made it clear. Thank you!

If the character is experiencing any kind of change, then you can bet there’s a Lie/Truth at the heart of it. Identifying them and boosting them can really bring the theme to life.

YES. I love this. And it’s so applicable right now. I’m ironing out the plot-points in my WIP as I go through editing, and this really confirmed the order I set them in to impact the theme. Thanks so much for an awesome article.

Good for you! Getting the order of the plot points right is so important. I’m reading a book right now that placed what should have been its Third Plot Point way too early, and the subsequent story really suffers as a result.

Another fantastico and fun article to read! I’m just getting started (for the last year, eh- hem) writing my own story, and, yes, one can apply this at any point in the process as other readers comment, and in my case, I’m just getting my protagonist and antagonist to begin to think!

Truth! It’s never too late in the revisions to wrangle plot structure and boost theme.

A spectacularly great post! This has truly helped me ‘see’ my WIP character’s Lies and Moments of Truth more clearly. To the point where I believe I’m realizing my MC is NOT the one I thought I was writing as the main protagonist (gasp!).

I may or may not go with this flow and see what happens with this MC change. Or continue to fight it…this post has de-fogged several areas I was apparently having this struggle with, now that I’m seeing the storyline unfold more clearly at the Midpoint with your help.

A true ‘AHA’ moment! Thank you for this, Katie!

One thought: It’s totally possible that the character you originally intended to be the protagonist *is* the protagonist, even if he’s not following a strong change arc and undergoing a strong Moment of Truth at the Midpoint. Rather, it’s possible he’s a flat-arc character –already in possession of the Truth and “offering” it to the other character, who is undergoing a change arc. Just something to consider.

You really make us think these things out, huh?

I’ve mentioned here earlier about how the MC starts out believing he’ll never find a girl, and later it’s that this is the only girl – but there’s a more pwerful theme as well.

Susie defends casual hook-ups with “I don’t have to be in love with someone to have a good time with them. It’s just…sx.”

The MC counters with, “I was waiting for the right person, someone who wanted me as much as I wanted her, so that it would be something special we’d remember the rest of our lives.”

But there’s something I deliberately left out for later. Romance and marriage shouldn’t be about finding the person who makes us the most happy, because true love is putting the other person above yourself. It’s about giving, not getting. Physical intimacy without relationships are all about self gratification.

The song lyrics I put at the very beginning tease that the MC has a very deep wound such that “my apology pales.” My moment of truth will come somewhat after the 50% mark, leading into the climax. It’s then that reality will slap him in the face, realizing the damage his actions have done to her – that it never should have been about him.

There are similarities to “Men, Women and Children.” (I swear, I started my story more than a year before I ever heard of it.) I saw the movie, then read the book (which I thought was very poorly written.) The movie is pretty faithful to the book. Anyway, in one of the multiple story lines Jennifer Garner is a way over protective mother of her daughter Kaitlyn Dever, and won’t let her engage in normal teenage relationships. She finally realizes how badly she messed up when her daughter’s boyfriend tries to kill himself. It was the part of the movie that strayed the furthest from the book, and probably the part I enjoyed the most.

It’s possible the moment of truth you’re referencing here is actually your Third Plot Point , which is the big “showdown,” so to speak, between the protagonist’s Lie and Truth–where he has to definitively pick one or the other. The Moment of Truth at the Midpoint is his big revelation of the Truth , but he doesn’t yet reject the Lie at this point. He spends the rest of the Second Act trying to juggle both, until he reaches the low moment at the Third Plot Point, which forces him to make a tremendously painful choice between the two. This then leads in the final climactic confrontation against the outer antagonistic force.

More to read up on.

Just don’t let the dog eat your homework. 😉

Oh Katie, what if I tell youe that Loki is the protagonist of the avengers? In the end he’s the one moving towards a goal and the superheroes are getting in his way

Ah, but that’s exactly what the antagonist is supposed to do. 😉 The antag and his goals control the conflict, as per this recent post .

My best writing friend and I were just talking about how hard Midpoints are. She said, “For the character arc, I need my MC to be hiding, but for my story, I need her to discover the dead bodies.” I said, “Hiding among dead bodies sounds pretty epic to me.” And voila! She got a great Midpoint and we learned how hard (but rewarding) it is to get both character arc and story arc to align at the Midpoint.

Thanks for this blog. 🙂

That actually does sound pretty epic!

I found your article very helpful. I’ve been on a writing hiatus for little over year as a I contemplated switching genres. I’ve gone from fantasy to women’s fiction. Quite a jump!

So, I struggle a bit with structure because there’s some deviation from formula for the book I just started. POT (Point of Telling) figures in strongly. But I love the food for thought here, and see how I can apply it to a less conventional storyline to make the character arc even stronger. I needed this structural reminder, so thanks for that!

My book opens with my main character finding her elderly mother dead in her bed in the middle of the night. She says she’s not grieving, which is a lie. She says she doesn’t care that her sister will think she’s responsible for their mother’s death. Another lie. I’m anxious for her to come to the realization of her truth, and now I have the tools to help her get there. Thank you!

Yes, the great thing about learning structure is that it provides such a strong base from which to jump into less formal and recognized storyforms. Have fun!

As always, your lessons point me in the right direction. Since my MC is his own pro- and antagonist, it’s a bit more difficult to flesh him and his problems out.

He’s his own greatest enemy after a horrific trauma and the only way he thinks he can cope with it (his lie! Thank you!) is for him to recreate and relive it whenever the stress of an undiagnosed PTSD becomes too much.

Now to word out how the female MC helps him see it’s not true – and for him to accept that. It will be difficult, but extremely satisfying, the clearer the way to the finish becomes.

Before I finished reading your comment, I was going to say that one of the best ways to un-complicate an arc is to figure out where you want the character to end up. But I see you’re already on that track!

So, K. M., you really liked Natalie as Jane? That’s the one thing I differ with you about in this insightful and prolific article. I feel like you are my personal guru (dating myself here) in assisting my evolution from writer to author. Now, I accept the challenge to wield the hammer Thor-like and forage through the bricks and mortar of my plot structure. I identified my MC’s LIE, but now I’m faced with the task of using a minor character and his “love” interest push the MC to step over and through the crumbled rumble to uncover his ultimate TRUTH. I can do it! Thanks for your help!

The Love Interest–in the archetypal sense–is extremely useful in character arcs, since they generally represent the Truth. The protag can’t have the Love Interest *until* he is transformed by the Truth. So the Love Interest alternately resists or supports the protagonist, depending on his alignment to that Truth in any given scene. Have fun!

I’ve been meaning to comment for a while, haha. I read about every blog post of yours when they come out, but I don’t believe I’ve ever commented.

I feel like such a weird writer. The middle is my strongpoint of the story. I tend to write weak beginnings and procrastinate on writing endings, but my middles tend to be packed with action and cascading conflicts.

I think my worry is that my story doesn’t really conform to the standard because what my protagonist discovers in the midpoint is only half of the truth. He basically coasts through battle after battle relying on his friends to win and doing the bare minimum to help them, until the midpoint where he faces the antagonist prematurely and gets his ass handed to him by a guy who should stand no chance. He’s dragged aside, and his strongest friend more or less addresses him as a damsel in distress, and then flies off to sacrifice himself to try and save everyone. The protagonist has a moment of realization where he accepts that he’s been lazy and useless, and his friends aren’t going to survive unless this changes. So he finally stands up to the antagonist, starts using his potential, turns the opinion of his allies completely around and shoots to the top of his antagonist’s threat list.

And they still lose. They’re forced to retreat again, and again somebody stronger takes up the fight to keep the antagonist from winning. Somebody still dies. The protagonist starts to doubt if what he learned was really the truth, or just another lie.

He’s allowed a moment to think on it before he’s forced to go into battle against the antagonist again, and during the finale fight he notices that what he realized wasn’t a lie, but it was only half of the truth. It’s not enough just to work hard–he also has to work smart. It doesn’t matter that he’s willing to use his potential if he doesn’t know what his potential is. The antagonist isn’t winning because he’s stronger, because he isn’t stronger. He’s winning because he’s smarter. So he starts to pay closer attention, figure out how the antagonist fights, what his motives are, what his weaknesses are, and he finally overcomes him in the finale.

I’d like your opinion; does this sound alright? Any advice, if you have time? I really like it, but I kind of oscillate between full of myself about my book and insanely self-conscious about it, haha.

No, no, half the Truth is good! It’s good in the sense that the character’s arc is far from over at this point (the book’s only half over, after all). The character *recognizes* the Truth at the Midpoint. He doesn’t, however, yet fully recognize the darkness of the Lie, much less reject it. You get the full second half the story to finish developing that. So I’d say you’re on the right track.

Thanks, K. M. Your blog is the best writing reference in the cyberspace and I can say that 101% sure. Never let it drop offline, please!

Your post built a query in my mind. My protag (love that word, learned from U =D) lives in an Abstract Reality, which is a reflex of his needs and desires, and then forces from the Real World start to exert pressure on him.

In his Moment of True, the protag will finally comprehend that the Abstract Reality is just a shelter he created to hide himself from Real World problems.

Can I make him react to the Revelation in his own way but keep the Revelation itself to the very Climax? (I don’t want to spoiler that he lives in an Abstract World yet).

Maybe I could handle this with some foreshadowing or symbolism or mirrors or it doesn’t even matter anyway (the story is about exoplanetary exploration) =D

Thanks again for your blog. You are an infinite source of help.

In the vast majority of situations, it’s risky to keep readers in the dark when your protagonist knows something. It feels like a cheat. Readers need to be right there with the protag, discovering what he discovers along the way. There are exceptions, of course, but you have to be aware of the end effect you’re creating in forcing a separation between reader and character.

Great to hear you’re enjoying the site!

Always seems like your articles pertain to exactly where I’m at in my WIP. Do you have telepathic powers?

My anti-hero protagonist is a serial killer who is discovered by my extortionist antagonist and he is blackmailed by her to kill. At midpoint in the story, my protagonist discovers the truth that his split personality serial killer self and he are one in the same and his belief that he is condemed to hell may not be true as he has the opportunity to save the target/victim and defeat the antagonist. He believes that by doing this one good deed at the cost of “losing everything”, some level of forgiveness is possible.

The initial draft sort of just glossed over these “truths” and now I realize that if I flesh this out I can add yet another layer to this story which will up the ante to the plot twist that follows. That’s awesome, yay!

Thanks, K. M.!

PS. I miss your video episodes!

Sounds excellent! Split personality stories are always fun and have the ability to say interesting things about humanity’s dual nature. And, yes, I’ve taken a break from the vids for the being–but all the same info is still showing up here on the blog every Friday!

To answer your question, she’s definitely telepathic. Could be part of some government project. Area 51 maybe?

Why do you think I like superhero stories so much? 😉

Holy batmobile Batman, we’ve just discovered the secret.

Everything hangs on the moment of truth in the middle of the second act. This is great structurally speaking to realize this. Although, I haven’t fully realized it for my protagonist yet. But *this* is the missing piece of the puzzle after which all other dominoes will fall into place.

One word that kept sticking out was *learn*. The protagonist is learning to see clearly the nature of the lie from the first page until he reaches the moment of truth. This is also where he learns the true nature of conflict, the antagonistic force and the info necessary to start taking control in the action-phase.

So does the internal and exterior conflict lead to the plot and character revelation at the midpoint? It would certainly seem so. Well, at least in my limited understanding. It seems that both conflicts work in tandem on the character until he reaches a breaking point. I would think the exterior conflict would force him to begin learning and dealing with the lie leading to the mirror moment. Wow that great! The conflict from the antagonist and anyone in the story would be a catalyst for change then.

Your understanding is exactly right. The external plot is about the character pursuing the Thing He Wants via his Lie, while the internal development is about him learning to use the Truth to gain the Thing He Needs. He often won’t see the connection between these two conflicts until he slams into the Midpoint, where the Moment of Truth makes his internal conflict extremely relevant to the outer conflict.

Wow that’s amazing it’s almost like a conflict sandwhich! I like this intrinsic view of the character arc. I’m assuming this is one the most core elements of a story. Would you say this mirror moment is the most critical versus actually defeating the antagonist? Without it he couldn’t defeat him.

Yes and no. Yes, in that it’s one of the biggest revelations in the story. But, no, in the sense, that every piece of puzzle is equally important. Remove any piece, and the overall pattern doesn’t work.

I think this gives all conflict a nice target. Not to mention significance and a barometer by which we can measure if something is working.

Any conflict that doesn’t work towards the protagonist moment of truth is pretty much useless isn’t it? Or it won’t bear much weighton the story.

Does every arc have a moment of truth?

Yes, every arc has a Moment of Truth, although the person to whom it is offered will vary, depending on the protag’s arc. In a positive change arc, the protagonist will see the Moment of Truth and be transformed by accepting it. In a flat arc, the protag will already be in possession of the Truth and will offer it to the other characters around him. In a negative arc, the protagonist will encounter the Moment of Truth and ultimately reject what he is offered here, leading to his eventual destruction.

Testing to see if I can subscribe to comments.

Like E. A. Anthony, this post is timely. My MC, a P.I., is asked to find a missing American naval officer who has not reported for duty at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. Only not one seems to want him found, and the P.I. begins to think he’s a pawn being used by forces greater than himself. This is his ‘a-ha’ moment in the 2nd act – and it took me a while to sort that out. Angry that no one is telling him the truth, he sets out to find out what’s really going on.

Sounds like it also marks a great shift from reaction in the first half to action in the second. Good job!

Hello, I have an important question about my story I can’t seem to get answered. I am afraid that I don’t have enough unity because my book is made of six parts–like six stories. Although I have the same main character and over all villain there are many characters and villains that are only in one story. Also I do have a finale climax, but here are also a small climax in each story. Is this something to be worried about. Will the reader feel like they’re reading six mini stories or a complete novel? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

This certainly isn’t an unheard of technique (although I can’t think of any good examples off the top of my head right now). It’s a more complicated structure, to be sure, since you not only have to structure the individual stories, but also the stories within the overall novel. The same basic overarching structure applies to the book as a whole–with the First Plot Point happening in your second story, your Midpoint at the end of the third, and your Third Plot Point in your fifth story. The sixth, of course, would be climactic.

Hi Stephanie, I realize your post is two years in the past. Hope your story has gone well in the meantime. In Conquest Born, by CS Friedman, follows a similar structure. I believe it was published in 1986 and was nominated for the Campbell award, so obviously it was well received by readers. You might want to take a look at it.

This idea is busting my brain. You said: “Ideally, both the plot and character revelations should be the same or at least lead organically one into the other. If they’re too disparate from one another, then you need to consider whether or not your plot and theme may be too different from one another to belong in the same story.”

You’re saying that the wrong theme in a story can cause a mis-alignment of the plot revelation and MC’s Moment of Truth?

So, if my MC’s moment of truth, his internal revelation, doesn’t contribute toward his ultimate goal in the external conflict, then the theme is probably wonky; not appropriate for the story?

Exactly. If you think of plot as an external metaphor for the character’s inner journey, it becomes clear how closely related the two must be thematically. If they’re *not*, then you end up essentially telling two totally separate stories–and the results are obviously less than cohesive.

I just recently stumbled onto your website. This is a fantastic place. So insightful and helpful. I’m learning a lot. I’m a bit of a late bloomer with writing. For years I’ve had lots of ideas jotted down in my field notebooks, but they were basically a big pile of ideas. I was having trouble structuring them. I come from an animation background and I took a screenplay writing course that was very helpful, but your thoughts and ideas are just fantastic. I have learned so much in the last week reading everything on your site. Using films provides such strong easy to follow examples of how to dissect the process. Writing characters has always been the most intimidating part for me. Putting all this out there it is helping me get a handle on my weak spots. I appreciate you!!

Great stuff!!

Welcome aboard! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the site. Makes my day to hear it’s been useful!

Extremely useful! They way you present your information just works for me.

Thanks again and I look forward to reading your books!

LIke so many before me, you have brought clarity to my story and the structure to finish the final third which I hadn’t reached as of yet. This blog was my moment of truth in writing my bock and I’m working my way to fully understanding the truth in my story.

Thank you for being there for us writers. You are amazing.

I like Moments of Truth wherever they land. 🙂 Congrats on your story breakthrough!

Ohhhh, finally I understand Story! I’ve reached my own midpoint… Stories are the search for human Truths.

My protag’s Lie is a little nebulous at the moment, and I can see that this is messing with my plot development. It’s variously ‘everything loved gets lost’ or ‘all change is loss’ or ‘he can’t survive alone.’ I need to decide which and let it slam the little darling in the face.

Do you ever work with the antagonist’s Lies & Truth, create his own arc that twists with the protag’s?

Yes, definitely! The antagonist’s arc–whether a change or flat arc–can be a magnificent contrast and impact point for the protagonist’s arc. Often, I like to give the antagonist a slight variation of the same Lie the hero believes–and watch him succumb to it, even as he tries to tempt the hero into thinking it’s the best course.

Just saw the new Star Trek movie. Imperfect, but I enjoyed it.

Being a student of KMWU I tried to analyse the film as I watched. The theme could be described as a “Purpose Driven Life.” Kirk, Spock and the antag all touch on this same theme. What do they really want to do with the rest of their life? Where do they think they have the most to offer? What happens if you’re really good at what you do and it’s taken away? Kirk & Spock get the positive arc, and the bad guy goes negative. What the villain believes in I actually agree with, but he’s twisted it to a destructive end.

All I want to say with spoiling much!

I saw it the other day as well. My take on the theme was that it was about the importance of unity–which was the reason Kirk and Spock found purpose and made their end-of-movie decisions–and why the antag did not.

Yes, Kirk & Spock each decided their best destiny was together, as a team.

But related questions –

Do we need conflict to stay sharp, or will we become soft and complacent without it? (Kirk asks if Admirals still fly)

What if you do something you love that makes a difference, but it’s taken away and you’re retired to a corner office?

I found it interesting that the movie was co-written by Simon Pegg, the actor who plays Scotty, and see that he had previously written and starred in “Shaun of the Dead”

Yes, made me wonder if that’s why Scotty got more screentime this time around. Not that I’m complaining. 😉

Nice! For my next story I’ll try a similar Lie for antag and protag. Plenty to explore there.

I noticed that as I played with each of my Lie options, the plot wanted to go in quite different directions. This is helpful in doing some of the heavy lifting, I think, but also highlights the importance of having the right one.

Gawd, now it looks like I’ll have to watch Star Trek to compare notes. Simon Pegg is writing Star Trek? That’s so funny – we in UK know him for rather different stuff.

Whether it was due to Pegg or not, this installment was at least better than the last one!

I’m currently in my second round of editing of my novel, and I’m finding your website very helpful!! Just read this article and I’m still trying to identity all the different parts in my book. I think I know where my moment of truth could be, but it’s a little later in the book. Is that alright? Or does it always have to be in the middle?

It’s best if the Moment of Truth aligns with the Midpoint (or shortly after), because it’s what fuels the enlightened actions and growth in the second half. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t have *several* moments in which the Truth hits him between the eyes to varying degrees. For example, the Third Plot Point will be another turning point in which the character experiences a profound revelation that inspires him in the Climax.

Okay, that makes sense. In my novel, my heroine is constantly offered the truth throughout the book, but she refuses it until around 3/4 the way through.

I have one more question haha. This is for a totally different book I’m working on, and I’m kind of confused. So I definitely have a Moment of Truth in the book, and the MC is faced with the Truth, and the realization that the Lie he’s been believing is wrong. I’d say that occurs at around the 65% mark. Problem is….when I started plotting the Climax, I realized the character had already faced the Truth and couldn’t do so again in the climax, or it would have been a repeat scene. Then I realized he was believing another Lie that had been hiding all along. Is it alright for that to be the main focus of the climax and not the original Lie? I have my theme and message worked out, and they tie into the climax as well.

The important distinction here is that although the character recognizes the Truth at the Midpoint, she does not yet reject the Lie. She spends the rest of the Second Act trying to juggle the two, trying to keep them both in her life. Then, at the Third Plot Point (75% of the way through the story), she reaches a low point in which she categorically (and painfully) rejects the Lie. The remainder of the Third Act, then, is about her weighing the consequences of the choice she just made and then entering the Climax, where she finally proves (to herself more than anyone) her absolute devotion to the Truth and unwillingness to return to the Lie.

Amazing, fascinating article, as always!! Your insights into the writing process have been so helpful to me in ways that many other resources haven’t. Thank you! 🙂

The story I’m working on is a tragedy, and so I have a few questions about how the Midpoint might change if the story is a tragedy.

I think I read somewhere else on this site that, in a tragedy, the MC will reject the Truth that he/she discovers at the Midpoint, but what would that look like? After all, in a happy story, the discovery of the Truth enables the MC to take charge. So a rejection of the Truth seems like it fundamentally changes how the story can play out. How, for example, do you think the second half of “Thor” might have played out if he had rejected the Truth?

I’ve also heard that if the story has a happy ending, the Midpoint should be unhappy; and if it has an unhappy ending, the Midpoint should be happy. But it seems to me that I can think of more examples that don’t follow this rule than ones that do. Would you say it’s a rather flexible rule?

Thank you!! 🙂

In a Negative Change Arc, the character’s rejection of the Truth means that he instead grasps an even greater Lie, which even though ultimately destructive, will provide him with tools toward gaining his plot goal. More in this series: How to Write a Negative Character Arc .

Either my Moment of Truth is coming too early, or my protag is realizing only half of it. ‘m around 22k, so I probably have enough room to present Moments of Truth for both protags.

Then again, the supposed bad guy also has an arc, but since he’s supposed to be a minor character at the moment, his Moment of Truth might come in either the second or third book.

What an amazing post.

Ee-gads! No wonder it takes so long to write a novel! There’s always something new to learn, if not about your own characters and story, then about the craft of storytelling itself. When do I quit outlining and plotting and structuring and get down to finishing my first draft?

The right amount of outlining varies from author to author. Some authors (me) like to figure everything out in the outline; others prefer to do the bulk of figuring in the draft itself. Ultimately, the answer comes down to knowing yourself and your process–what will best optimize your creativity.

Phew. My main pov is so far away from this. I’m going to book mark this and comeback later first she needs to get to the midpoint… again I ended up scraping the first attempt as it was a jumbled mess. Definitely something to keep an eye on during future revisions. the moment of truth scenes n movies and books are some of teh best parts where the reader and the characters get their “Ah! Ha”, “Wow”, and “Of course moments” too.sometimes it’s “It’s about time!”

[…] Getting the structural elements of our story correct can go a long way to making revisions easier. Angela Ackerman explains why choosing your setting is so important, Roz Morris discusses whether you really need conflict in every scene and disaster in every act, and K.M. Weiland shows how to transform your story with a moment of truth. […]

[…] How to fix the saggy middle? Check out How to Transform Your Story With a Moment of Truth by K.M. […]

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• Essay Database >
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• Essay on United States

The Moment Of Truth Essay Examples

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: United States , Government , Reforms , Nation , Taxes , Debt , Economics , Crisis

Words: 1600

Published: 03/15/2020

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Members of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform of the United States of America have studied the economic downturn experienced by American families for a long time. They defined the reality of the problem and proposed a solution. They noted that the solution would be difficult and painful. The members consist of people with diverse backgrounds and signify diverse areas sharing a united principle that America’s long-standing financial fissure is indefensible. If the problem continues, the future generation will suffer inevitable poverty in a weak nation. The moment of truth is a document that tackles the economic challenges faced by the nation. The document contains an insistent, reasonable, bipartisan and impartial scheme. The solutions include toleration of some of previously-unwanted provisions to achieve an upright concession. The proposed solution does not contain all the answers but it would involve a dynamic participation of all citizens as the beginning of tackling national issues.

The Debt Crisis

The foremost problem faced by the country is the debt crisis that brings the nation to an indefensible economic trail. There exists an imbalance relationship between spending and revenue creation that sways the country to have a huge loan every year just to balance the problem. There is an overwhelming shortfall. There was a twenty-four percent federal spending of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010. The GDP include the cost of the entire goods and services created inside the financial system of the country. Also, in 2010 the tax revenues rested at fifteen percent of GDP. It was the lowest recorded level from 1950 A bigger fraction of the financial system was allotted to the federal spending throughout the World War II. Moreover, there is less than nine percent budget discrepancy of GDP. The national debt increased from thirty-three percent to sixty-two percent of the GDP in the year 2010, and it has been almost a decade since the financial status of the country was balanced. The war, some economically reckless strategies and a profound fiscal recession influenced the overwhelming discrepancy as the years go by. However the economy improves, the federal expenditure is anticipated to amplify more rapidly than revenues. This denotes that the country needs loans continuously. The continuity of the existing condition will mean that the shortage will stay elevated all through and past the decade. The money owing will coil progressively, getting ninety percent of the GDP in the year 2020 as projected by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Economic revitalization will only allow a recovery of the deficit circumstances for a while as the revenues rise. The federal debt height is untenable. As a result of making it more costly for private sectors and businesses to innovate, lift capital, and generate employments, the mounting debt might decrease per person in the GDP. Every American citizen’s part of the national economy will be decreased to fifteen percent in 2030. It will compel interest rates to go up for the entire borrowers and restrain economic expansion by swarming out private ventures. The debt will deprive the government of the resources required to take action to upcoming emergencies and provide in other precedence. The growing debt will further constrain the government, and the spending is repeatedly exploited to answer to immediate monetary needs like during wars or depressions. The national government may perhaps acquire complexity loaning funds at a reasonably priced interest rate that will further avoid the nation from successful counters to the problems if the national debt increases. The debt crises will also situate the nation in jeopardy because it exposes America to overseas creditors. The foreign creditors presently possess the large part of the communal liability. The interest that the nation is paying the foreign creditors diminishes the nations’ quality of life. China holds the largest part of America’s debt and unfortunately, it does not have similar desires and tactical schemes as America. The inventors have the possibility to mislay assurance to America about its ability to return the borrowed money. This situation calls for the implementation of the most rigorous of austerity procedures. The major concern about the debt crisis is its tendency to be stabilized as just a part of the national economy if it remains rising as the projection of the debts’ exact level that would prompt the crisis is hard. A stable debt is more preferable than a rising debt as far as investors are concerned. The CBO stated that it is not distinguishable for a debt to be identified as impending but it is clear that higher debts means bigger possibility of crisis. Procrastination will only lead to an inevitable booming of the crisis and the possibility of giving the cure will be smaller. Responsible governance requires immediate actions for the debt crisis.

The Proposed Solution

The Moment of truth proposed solutions for the debt crisis. It consists of six parts that will hopefully guide the nation to recovery. The plan intends to recover the nations’ economic health, uphold profitable growth, and defend the most susceptible part of the nation. The plan’s objectives were to attain a debt reduction of about $4 trillion in 2020. This is more than anything compared to whichever endeavor in American history. By 2015, the discrepancy must be reduced to 2.3% of GDP or 2.4% of GDP without the Social Security reform. Moreover, the plan also aims to reduce tax rates instantaneously and put an end to the AMT as well as incise the backdoor tax code expenditures. The plan would also restrict the proceeds at 21% of GDP to acquire expenses fewer than 22%, and in due course restrict the expenditure up to 21%. Stabilization of the debt in 2014 is also an objective of the proposal along with the reduction of debt to sixty percent of GDP in 2023 and forty percent in 2035. The plan consists of six components. These components are discretionary spending cuts, comprehensive tax reform, health care cost containment, mandatory savings, social security reforms to ensure long-term solvency and reduce poverty, and lastly the process changes. The discretionary spending cuts endorse hard-hitting unrestricted expenditure caps to oblige financial plan regulation in legislature. They comprise implementation methods to provide the restrictions emphasis. The cuts on discretionary spending will create noteworthy cuts in both non-security and security expenditures by means of cutting non-prioritized agenda and reforming government procedures. The expenditure trail suggested by the Commission is not just numbers but rather visualization the future that reflects the priorities and values of the American populace. Investing to the future must be constant but must not weaken investments by means of leaving the next generation forthcoming liabilities they cannot pay back. The spending cuts will require a more organized administration that spends intelligently, expends people’s valuable income tax dollars soundly, and is apparent and responsible for every value of the money. Comprehensive Tax Reform immediately widen the foundation, decreases rates, decrease the shortage and abridge the tax code by diminishing the countless tax spending. This reform would make the country more aggressive, and limit income to evade extreme taxation. The present individual income tax arrangement is completely perplexing and problematical. The Commission concluded that the taxpayers knew the present income tax is essentially inequitable, excessively multifaceted, and needs reform. Health Care Cost Containment gives genuine and practical reforms to medical expenditures. Federal health care expenditure is the principal fiscal dispute in many years. The health insurance substitution subventions will cultivate from six percent of GDP to ten percent from 2010 to 2035. The mandatory savings programs are not the major factors of the booming debt crisis but still needs to be in an appropriate path. The goal of the commission for reforming these policies are to defend the disadvantaged, stop extravagant expenditures and search for private sectors. Social Security is the baseline of economic protection and it is more than a retirement plan; it ought to be protected. Social Security Reforms ensures long-standing solvency and decrease scarcity. The sixth component of the plan is the process changes which are about the reformation of the budget procedure to guarantee the stability of debts and control expenditures.

Under the tax reform was the proposed chained consumer price index (CPI). This indexing government benefits aims to guarantee the reflection of transformations in cost of living. But t he present law is not successful in monitoring the inflation. The chained CPI is a closer estimation of cost of living. Approving it for indexation will signify a more precise and efficient action to preserve the value of expenditure programs and tax reforms. If the lawmakers are not able to agree regarding the technical changes to improve the estimation of inflation, the attempt to achieve goals is depressing. The Simpson-Bowles proposals were not lay to a vote in Congress. The failure to control the debt crisis is robbing the people the capability to invest for upcoming needs and challenges. It is critical that leaders from different parties help each other to arrange the fiscal house to aim for unified goals. Parties should move out from comfort zones and embrace changes even if it would be painful in some parts. Stabilization of the debt crisis must be the priority.

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Truth Essay Guide - Importance of a Truth Today

Any topic expressing a particular view of truth is a good idea as it's an all-time relevant issue. While working on a truth essay, you should combine examples from real-life, widely-accepted definitions, and personal experience to identify this phenomenon as accurately as possible.

If this writing guide, we will explain how to write an essay about truth, explore the matter in terms of prompts and topics, and provide you with some simple examples and tips.

What to Write in Your Truth Essay?

An essay on such a specific topic isn't a separate type of academic paper - it's just writing with a different subject matter. Defining it is not that easy. Our beliefs and perception of truth may vary depending on subjective experience and even life values. That is why one of the simplest strategies would be to come up with a definition of truth. There, you don't have to argue that lying is evil, and we should be honest with each other. You can just provide a trustworthy definition to the phenomena and analyze the way the world translates its importance. The main sources one can use for this paper are reliable websites and dictionaries.

And what if you're writing a philosophy essay? This is what is preferred the most amongst the college students because Philosophy offers more self-expression. Here, every opinion may be considered relevant if you provide the reader with reliable evidence and reasonable statements. But don't forget about the coherence. While being immersed in your thoughts, you may forget about the essay structure and start beating around the bush. To avoid that, pay attention to the structure of your truth essay and don't neglect to outline your assignment. Here is an example of how you can start this writing:

"I think that truth is one's perception of beliefs and decisions. The contrasting points of view predetermine the way each of us understands this phenomenon and answer the question, 'What is true or false?'. There is only one thing that unites all possible definitions of truth and makes people agree on it. That is something believed to be accurate while the opposite is wrong."

So, a philosophy essay on this topic is based more on the author's opinion than an official definition from the dictionary.

Master Absolute Truth Essay Writing

We've gone through two most popular assignment types that the students of different schools frequently deal with. But there are truth essays with other purposes that we must consider. Look through the following list with short explanations.

• Descriptive. Involving touch, smell, hear, sight, taste, try to describe what a true is by these means.
• Narrative. Create a narration in which the frankness will be a core idea.
• Compare-contrast. Analyze why people express the same or completely different opinions on truth.
• Cause-effect (problem-solution). Consider the consequences the world actually is facing because of the lie.
• Argumentative. Formulate an idea related to the topic and provide arguments showing your statement is true and valid.
• Persuasive. Convince the reader that a certain statement is/is not the truth.
• Reflective. The way you reflect on being honest or telling lies.

So, when you are assigned to write an essay on truth, you may focus on the purpose that interests you the most (unless the type is assigned)

10 Great Truth Essay Topics

There are many students thinking that truth essays are all about "grass is green" and "the moon has craters" issues. The joke is it's not true - there are many great ideas to write about. It depends on which aspect you wish to focus as well as the type of academic paper you have to turn in. Here are some questions to consider:

• The issue of true words through the history of mankind.
• Locke's theories of truth correspondence.
• The link between truth and honesty.
• The challenges of being sincere.
• The consequences of pretending to be someone else.
• The idea of honesty in "Dear Evan Hansen."
• Lies VS Truth: A never-never-ending battle.
• Importance of being honest as a postmodern thought.
• Situations in which lies could be justified.
• Lying to dear people. How do they know about you being dishonest?
• The correspondence theory of truth in everyday life.
• How lying can distort our sense of reality.

The range of possible topic options is far wider - just decide a knowledge of what life aspect, science, or course you can successfully apply in your assignment.

Essay Thesis Statement

Each paper of this type should have a frankness-related thesis statement. That is the main idea of the entire writing that should appear in the opening paragraph (introduction). In your conclusion, you may paraphrase the thesis from the first paragraph to remind people of what you plan to talk about. However, we advise you to make conclusions more valuable than that and come up with thought-provoking ideas.

Essay about Honesty

Now, we're going to provide several examples, and the first one is an essay about truth and honesty. These two terms are interrelated, and one can barely exist without another. You may start with something like this:

"How is telling accurate things related to honesty? Honesty is one of the best human traits as it refers to always being open, no matter how bitter or sweet it is. Honesty is what makes human beings brave and robust, and that is why it is one of the most significant traits of candidates to become a president and other ruling authorities. It can lead to certain problems, but people tend to sympathize with those who are honest. It's an integral part of morality, which is the best policy in relationships; it's a significant building block."

Essay about Lies

Is life worth lying? In an essay about lies, you may compare and contrast two opposites. It is okay if you think that telling lies is more beneficial than being frank in specific cases. Share some examples and try to prove your position by providing relevant evidence. Here's an example that can inspire you:

"Is there a single person in the world who has never told a lie throughout life? Excluding Jesus Christ and some other saints from the Bible, everyone has experienced lies from both sides - telling and being told. A completely honest person is a myth. It's not because all people are bad and insincere. In my essay, I'm going to prove that telling lies in some situations may save one's life."

Importance of Being Frank in Our Life

Here, you should provide enough arguments against lying. You may recall some episodes from your favorite movies or just depict real-life examples when telling lies ended up dramatically for both sides. One of the good examples could be Evan Hansen from the "Dear Evan Hansen" musical. There, the socially anxious boy pretended to be the friend of his classmate who committed suicide to make friends with his family. Then, he becomes a hero in the eyes of other people. It all resulted in a big confusion, and the boy was left with nothing.

Truth Essays for Kids

Such an essay for kids should explain what the matter of truth is from a childish perspective. Avoid using difficult, complex terms from philosophy or other science as your target audience won't understand the text. Try to explain what each complex term means.

"In human frankness, there is essential and biggest virtue. Sincerity refers to speaking exactly what you think and feel, and an honest man never tells a lie. We should start telling only the true things since our early days, and here, a lot depends on our parents. You might have had these conversations with them already. Lying to parents is the biggest sin, so practice being honest with them and people around. You may tell lies only in sporadic cases, ensuring that no one will suffer from it, but benefit."

Custom Truth Essay for Students

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My moment of truth.

• Word Count: 1025
• Approx Pages: 4
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• Downloads: 19
• Grade level: High School
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                          There's a famous notion that every parent would agreed with and that is: teenagers should be buried in a special place until they reach full adulthood. I say this because throughout my teenage years, I was one of those teenagers who drove my parents insane. The word responsibility never got to my head let alone, post education, a career, or success. Most of the time, I was still trying to figure out how to have fun one day at a time. This conception however, did not last long. My moment of truth occurred this summer, when I was employed as a factory worker doing the most strenuous work for the littlest sum of money. This was when I realized there must be changes made in my life. I further recognized that changes not only have to be active and visible but it must begin within one's mind of frame first.              My realization for change did not come easy. When school ended in June, I was excited because I thought I would be staying home and playing game all day. This did not happen though. By the first week in the summer, my parent was already forcing me to find a job. I typed up a resume and dropped it to all the places that I thought I might like to work at. Unfortunately, none of them reply back so I consoled myself by thinking that maybe it was because I have no experience for "those type" of work and that maybe I belonged else where. A few days later, my uncle asked me if I would to work at his work place for the summer. I had no choice but to agree. My first day came as a big surprise to me. I was not even five feet inside the door and I already can smell the mechanic oil, the flashings of light, people yelling and how incredibly hot and smelly the place was. Before I knew it, I was hired on the spot and my then supervisor explained to me that the factory was producing forklifts and pump truck and all I be doing is assemble pump truck. By the first week, I was not only hot, sticky, tired but fed up.

• Page 1 of 3

Essays Related to My Moment of Truth

1. in search of the truth about truth and honesty.

From the moment we are born, our parents are telling us things; ingraining information into our heads. ... Well I don't know about anyone else, but my best interest is to know the truth. ... Yet I have no choice than to believe what my president tells me is the truth. ... But do my readers? ... Unless I scan a picture of me holding today's newspaper (for the date) and holding up my watch (for the time), showing me wearing my pink shirt, the only thing my readers have to go on is the fact that I say that I am telling the truth. ...

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2. The Eightfold Path And the Four Noble Truths

In Buddhist terms this noble truth translates into Dukkah. ... The second noble truth is "suffering is caused by craving." ... The third noble truth is the 'the extinction of craving'. ... As we learned in class, and from what is present in my notes, nirvana "supreme happiness" comes when all passion, hatred and delusions die out and one's soul is released and there is no need for further purification. ... This fourth truth is the eightfold path. ...

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3. The Bhagavad Gita

In the spiritual sense, Krishna is the Supreme Truth, what all people want to attain during their lifetime. ... By living life selflessly and placing full faith and trust in the Supreme Truth, one will be lead to that higher path. ... Simply, the responsibility of the individual is to submit fully to the Supreme truth, and live one's life righteously in the quest for that truth. ... Arjuna is a classic example at this moment of any man in life who is overwhelmed with life itself. ... The idea that the person who understands the difference between the material body and soul is on the rig...

• Word Count: 854
• Approx Pages: 3

4. MY Epiphany

"My Epiphany" In my sixteen years, I've heard the saying "the truth hurts" more times than I can count. I agree with this statement, for I believe my greatest moment of truth caused me the greatest pain. This is when I realized that my first love was my worst love. ... He was really great; he got along with my entire family and spent almost every single moment of his free time with me. ... Maybe the saying should be "the truth helps," instead of "the truth hurts."...

• Word Count: 629

5. Changing My Character

To tell you the truth, half of the people in California did not even know what the twin towers were. ... Here I thought we were safe, an untouchable nation; but the twin towers falling makes you realize that nothing is for certain, and your life can be took from you at any moment. The events of September 11 did have an impact my life. ... However, the events of September 11 affected my life in a much more positive way. ... There is a difference between someone giving there life and someone getting their life taken and those people in those towers lives were taken, but their bravery is why I...

• Word Count: 352
• Approx Pages: 1

6. My unexpected gift

The moment the scenes where Jesus is being beat started showing I couldn't hold it, I started crying. ... I started thinking about my life and my beliefs, but left like nothing happened, mostly because I wasn't ready to receive the truth. ... The movie was a good experience and I believe that this was a great way of getting me ready to receive my truth. ... Then the moment had come and I received my truth. ... I can't say what exactly the question was because I don't remember since I was about to receive my truth. ...

• Word Count: 1332
• Approx Pages: 5

7. Flannery O'Connor

"The moment of death is the moment of truth." ... In literature as well as famous sayings, "the moment of truth" is discussed as one of the popular themes. ... You're one of my own children!'" ... The grandmother finally reaches at the moment of realization of truth here. ... Sheppard repeats, "I did more for him than I did for my own child" as he realizes bitter truth (O"Connor 360). ...

• Word Count: 749

8. "When you look for truth, do n

From the past to the present and from the present to the future, people are seeking about what is truth and how to find truth. ... Thus, when we are looking for truth, instead of seeking the truth through our eyes, we have to find the truth in our heart. ... For instance, when I was driving on No.3 Road last Saturday, my mom told me that I need more angle to do a left turn. At that moment, I did not believe her because I could not see the consequence. ... Actually, until this moment, no one knows for sure about what the truth is and how to approach the truth. ...

• Word Count: 1172

9. Truths of Humanity in Literature

The truths regarding leadership in human nature are intertwined into Beowulf. ... Though it seems to have a negative connotation, it is shown to hold a level of truth. ... However, having pursued the truth he took everything he had down the path of ruin. ... Later, after Oedipus speaks with Tiresias he begins to believe Creon is attempting to overthrow him, Oedipus says, "When my enemy moves against me quickly, plots in secret, I move quickly too, I must, I plot and pay him back. Relax my guard a moment, waiting his next move – He wins his objective, I lose mine." ...

• Word Count: 1371

Moment of Truth

I was admitted at the hospital for organ failure; one of my kidneys was not functioning well. It was my third week in hospital since I was admitted. The doctors kept me on dialysis while I was on a waiting list.

No one in my family was a match and those who were a match were not prepared to give their kidney to the problematic child, who “had the black cloud hanging over her”. I did not understand what they meant by that. My parents were really heartbroken but they did all they can, they were always beside me. The doctors said I needed a donor quickly otherwise I wouldn’t survive.

One day, the whole family came to visit me. I was asleep since the doctor gave me a sedative but I could feel their presence. Most of them left but my parents and grandmother stayed. They did not notice that I was awake. I heard my grandmother telling my parents to tell me the truth because my survival depended on that. My mother began to cry.

“I can’t tell her, not when she is like this,” my mother said.

My grandmother told her that I deserved to know the truth. I coughed and they all looked at me.

“Oh honey, you are awake,” my mother said.

I could see they wondered if I had heard them talking and I pretended as if I heard nothing. The whole night I could not sleep, thinking about the truth that I was supposed to be told. I thought maybe my parents were getting a divorce but why would they do that, they were happy. There were so many thoughts racing in my head.

In the morning I asked the nurse to give me my phone and I called my boyfriend, Reabetswe. He was the only one who knew how to make me feel better. We talked over the phone for about three hours; we talked about our future, made a lot of promises to each other. I did not want him to visit me at the hospital because I did not want him to see me like that, it was heart-breaking.

Days went by and I was not getting any better. My father came to visit me and he was talking in riddles. He told me how much he loved me regardless of the situation. Now I was really confused. I called my grandmother immediately after my father left.

“Grandmother, I know that the family is keeping a secret from me so I want to know what it is. The curiosity is killing me,” I said.

My grandmother told me in a calm voice, regardless of the tone I spoke to her with, that my mother should be the one to tell me. My condition deteriorated, I was on the verge of death. One day after my dialysis, my mother came to see me and I could see she was upset. She told me that she needed to tell me something important. We sat on a couch in the doctor’s waiting room.

“Keabetswe, you know that we love you so much. I always wanted to tell you but I couldn’t. This is very painful for me,” my mother said in a very distraught voice. She began to cry.

“Mom, what’s wrong,” I asked her not knowing what to do.

She told me that the man I thought was my father is not my biological father. I asked her if she cheated on my father and where my real father was. She cried until there were no tears left.

“Honey, when I was seventeen years old I was raped,” she said.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing right now. I was a child of rape?

I remembered the time when my aunt said that I was a curse to the family; I’m the one who brings bad luck to their family. So this is what she meant by that. I could feel tears boiling in my eyes. I began to cry, my mother tried to comfort me.

“Don’t you dare touch me,” I yelled at her.

I called the nurse to take me to my room. I asked her to not let anyone into the room. I cried the whole night. I was angry at my mother for not telling me the truth sooner. I also felt sorry for her. She had to go through all that at such a young age. I had all these mixed emotions.

I was facing quite a predicament. I asked the nurse to not let anyone in for the whole week. I only allowed Reabetswe in. I told him everything.

He advised me not to write my family off because they did what they did only to protect me. My mother was also the victim so I should meet her halfway. I understood him very well. I did not know whether to forgive my mother or not but I had to forgive her because she gave me love and support since I was born, even though I was the constant reminder of her pain and suffering. It would be unfair to hold it against her. After a week my parents came to see me and I allowed them in. They talked and talked.

“Guys, Can I please talk? You’ve been talking since you got here,” I said.

“Yes honey, you can talk,” my mother said.

“I know that you love me, you kept this from me because you wanted to protect me. Mom, I know this is hard for you too so I’m not going to prolong your pain. I forgive you for not telling me the truth but please, next time, don’t keep any secrets from me,” I said.

They were so happy that I forgave them. They all hugged me.

I felt much better. I don’t know why but I felt like something was lifted off my shoulders. I asked my mother if the person who did that to her was ever found. She told me that it was her close male friend, the person she trusted and loved. She said that she forgave him. I knew that my mother was kind and forgiving but this was being too kind. Forgiving someone who ruined her life, it was something I would never do.

She explained that forgiving someone was like forgiving yourself, setting yourself free from pain. My Dad said that he heard that he was out of prison and living in the nearby town. So they arranged for me to see him.

I was just lying on my bed when my father came with a strange man.

“Keabetswe, this is your father,” my father said.

“No, he is not my father, you are. He might be my biological father but he is nothing to me,” I replied furiously.

“Keabetswe, you are justified to be angry. I know I hurt you and your mother so bad and I’m sorry. I wish you find it in your heart to forgive me,” the strange guy said humbly. And as a token of my apology I’m willing to donate my kidney to you if you will accept it,” he continued.

“Kea, he is a match!” my father exclaimed.

“Your kidney won’t heal the pain you’ve caused to me and mother. It will only remind me every day that I have a kidney from my rapist father,” I said really upset.

There was silence for a while. My father broke the silence when he said that I should think about it and they left. I did not want to accept the guy’s kidney let alone forgive him.

Later that night he came to see me, alone this time. We talked, well he did all the talking while I listened. He told me that he served his time in jail and all he thought about in prison was me and my mother.

He seemed sincere, like a good guy who just made huge mistakes. I forgave him since my mother taught me a lot about forgiveness. I also accepted his kidney, I didn’t have much of a choice since I was dying.

My life was never the same again.

I mean knowing how I was conceived was heart-breaking. I thought maybe my illness was a blessing in disguise. I learnt the truth about how I was conceived, met my biological father and got a healthy kidney. Instead of feeling sorry for myself because I was a child of rape, I used it to my advantage.

I joined We Are The Survivors , a non-governmental organisation for rape victims and children of rape like me called. We talked about challenges we faced on daily basis as rape victims.

It was how it was meant to be, all according to God’s plan. God will never give us challenges without solutions. It was who I was, the child of rape. I learnt to embrace it by inspiring others and motivating them.

Tell us: Do you believe in forgiveness? Why? Why not?

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Should college essays touch on race? Some feel the affirmative action ruling leaves them no choice

CHICAGO — When she started writing her college essay, Hillary Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. About being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana and growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. About hardship and struggle.

Then she deleted it all.

“I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping,” said the 18-year-old senior at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago. “And I’m just like, this doesn’t really say anything about me as a person.”

When the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in higher education, it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions. For many students of color, instantly more was riding on the already high-stakes writing assignment. Some say they felt pressure to exploit their hardships as they competed for a spot on campus.

Amofa was just starting to think about her essay when the court issued its decision, and it left her with a wave of questions. Could she still write about her race? Could she be penalized for it? She wanted to tell colleges about her heritage but she didn’t want to be defined by it.

In English class, Amofa and her classmates read sample essays that all seemed to focus on some trauma or hardship. It left her with the impression she had to write about her life’s hardest moments to show how far she’d come. But she and some of her classmates wondered if their lives had been hard enough to catch the attention of admissions offices.

“For a lot of students, there’s a feeling of, like, having to go through something so horrible to feel worthy of going to school, which is kind of sad,” said Amofa, the daughter of a hospital technician and an Uber driver.

This year’s senior class is the first in decades to navigate college admissions without affirmative action . The Supreme Court upheld the practice in decisions going back to the 1970s, but this court’s conservative supermajority found it is unconstitutional for colleges to give students extra weight because of their race alone.

Still, the decision left room for race to play an indirect role: Chief Justice John Roberts wrote universities can still consider how an applicant’s life was shaped by their race, “so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability.”

“A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination,” he wrote.

Scores of colleges responded with new essay prompts asking about students’ backgrounds. Brown University asked applicants how “an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you.” Rice University asked students how their perspectives were shaped by their “background, experiences, upbringing, and/or racial identity.”

WONDERING IF SCHOOLS 'EXPECT A SOB STORY'

When Darrian Merritt started writing his essay, he knew the stakes were higher than ever because of the court’s decision. His first instinct was to write about events that led to him going to live with his grandmother as a child.

Those were painful memories, but he thought they might play well at schools like Yale, Stanford and Vanderbilt.

“I feel like the admissions committee might expect a sob story or a tragic story,” said Merritt, a senior in Cleveland. “And if you don’t provide that, then maybe they’re not going to feel like you went through enough to deserve having a spot at the university. I wrestled with that a lot.”

He wrote drafts focusing on his childhood, but it never amounted to more than a collection of memories. Eventually he abandoned the idea and aimed for an essay that would stand out for its positivity.

Merritt wrote about a summer camp where he started to feel more comfortable in his own skin. He described embracing his personality and defying his tendency to please others. The essay had humor — it centered on a water gun fight where he had victory in sight but, in a comedic twist, slipped and fell. But the essay also reflects on his feelings of not being “Black enough” and getting made fun of for listening to “white people music.”

“I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to write this for me, and we’re just going to see how it goes,’” he said. “It just felt real, and it felt like an honest story.”

The essay describes a breakthrough as he learned “to take ownership of myself and my future by sharing my true personality with the people I encounter. ... I realized that the first chapter of my own story had just been written.”

A RULING PROMPTS PIVOTS ON ESSAY TOPICS

Like many students, Max Decker of Portland, Oregon, had drafted a college essay on one topic, only to change direction after the Supreme Court ruling in June.

Decker initially wrote about his love for video games. In a childhood surrounded by constant change, navigating his parents’ divorce, the games he took from place to place on his Nintendo DS were a source of comfort.

But the essay he submitted to colleges focused on the community he found through Word is Bond, a leadership group for young Black men in Portland.

As the only biracial, Jewish kid with divorced parents in a predominantly white, Christian community, Decker wrote he constantly felt like the odd one out. On a trip with Word is Bond to Capitol Hill, he and friends who looked just like him shook hands with lawmakers. The experience, he wrote, changed how he saw himself.

“It’s because I’m different that I provide something precious to the world, not the other way around,” he wrote.

As a first-generation college student, Decker thought about the subtle ways his peers seemed to know more about navigating the admissions process . They made sure to get into advanced classes at the start of high school, and they knew how to secure glowing letters of recommendation.

If writing about race would give him a slight edge and show admissions officers a fuller picture of his achievements, he wanted to take that small advantage.

His first memory about race, Decker said, was when he went to get a haircut in elementary school and the barber made rude comments about his curly hair. Until recently, the insecurity that moment created led him to keep his hair buzzed short.

Through Word is Bond, Decker said he found a space to explore his identity as a Black man. It was one of the first times he was surrounded by Black peers and saw Black role models. It filled him with a sense of pride in his identity. No more buzzcut.

The pressure to write about race involved a tradeoff with other important things in his life, Decker said. That included his passion for journalism, like the piece he wrote on efforts to revive a once-thriving Black neighborhood in Portland. In the end, he squeezed in 100 characters about his journalism under the application’s activities section.

“My final essay, it felt true to myself. But the difference between that and my other essay was the fact that it wasn’t the truth that I necessarily wanted to share,” said Decker, whose top college choice is Tulane, in New Orleans, because of the region’s diversity. “It felt like I just had to limit the truth I was sharing to what I feel like the world is expecting of me.”

SPELLING OUT THE IMPACT OF RACE

Before the Supreme Court ruling, it seemed a given to Imani Laird that colleges would consider the ways that race had touched her life. But now, she felt like she had to spell it out.

As she started her essay, she reflected on how she had faced bias or felt overlooked as a Black student in predominantly white spaces.

There was the year in math class when the teacher kept calling her by the name of another Black student. There were the comments that she’d have an easier time getting into college because she was Black .

“I didn’t have it easier because of my race,” said Laird, a senior at Newton South High School in the Boston suburbs who was accepted at Wellesley and Howard University, and is waiting to hear from several Ivy League colleges. “I had stuff I had to overcome.”

In her final essays, she wrote about her grandfather, who served in the military but was denied access to GI Bill benefits because of his race.

She described how discrimination fueled her ambition to excel and pursue a career in public policy.

“So, I never settled for mediocrity,” she wrote. “Regardless of the subject, my goal in class was not just to participate but to excel. Beyond academics, I wanted to excel while remembering what started this motivation in the first place.”

WILL SCHOOLS LOSE RACIAL DIVERSITY?

Amofa used to think affirmative action was only a factor at schools like Harvard and Yale. After the court’s ruling, she was surprised to find that race was taken into account even at some public universities she was applying to.

Now, without affirmative action, she wondered if mostly white schools will become even whiter.

It’s been on her mind as she chooses between Indiana University and the University of Dayton, both of which have relatively few Black students. When she was one of the only Black students in her grade school, she could fall back on her family and Ghanaian friends at church. At college, she worries about loneliness.

“That’s what I’m nervous about,” she said. “Going and just feeling so isolated, even though I’m constantly around people.”

The first drafts of her essay focused on growing up in a low-income family, sharing a bedroom with her brother and grandmother. But it didn’t tell colleges about who she is now, she said.

Her final essay tells how she came to embrace her natural hair . She wrote about going to a mostly white grade school where classmates made jokes about her afro. When her grandmother sent her back with braids or cornrows, they made fun of those too.

Over time, she ignored their insults and found beauty in the styles worn by women in her life. She now runs a business doing braids and other hairstyles in her neighborhood.

“I stopped seeing myself through the lens of the European traditional beauty standards and started seeing myself through the lens that I created,” Amofa wrote.

“Criticism will persist, but it loses its power when you know there’s a crown on your head!”

Ma reported from Portland, Oregon.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .

How Beyoncé Fits Into the Storied Legacy of Black Country

Randall is an award-winning professor, songwriter, and author of My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music's Black Past, Present, and Future

O n March 16, 1983, the Country Music Association (CMA) celebrated its 25th anniversary, and I was invited. Buddy Killen, the song publisher who pitched “Heartbreak Hotel” to Elvis Presley, thought “the Black girl from Harvard” might just be the second coming of that hit’s songwriter, Mae Boren Axton. He put me on the guest list and paid for the tickets.

It was a complicated night. The event was held at the DAR Constitution Hall, built by the Daughters of the American Revolution, an infamous venue whose management had refused to allow Black opera star Marian Anderson to perform on its stage in 1939. I took special pleasure in seeing guitarist and singer Charley Pride stride onto that stage—in a building named to honor the U.S. Constitution, but run to exclude Black artists—and stake his claim as part of that “We the People” that document claims to represent.

At one point in the ceremony, singer Roy Acuff announced that “country music is a family.” Then he proclaimed Jimmie Rodgers “the father” of that family. But he did not mention Lil Hardin Armstrong, the pianist who played on Rodgers’ hit “Blue Yodel No. 9.” Acuff nodded to Will Rogers, the comedian, but shamelessly omitted DeFord Bailey , the Grand Ole Opry’s first superstar.

My idea to name and spotlight the First Family of Black Country was conceived in that moment. It was nurtured in the silence of missing names. Quiet as it was being kept, country had Black founders. I knew it; Buddy Killen, who arrived in Nashville playing bass for a blackface comedy act on the Grand Ole Opry, knew it; Roy Acuff, who had played on stages with Bailey, Ray Charles, and Pride, knew it. And more than four decades later, Beyoncé knew it when she broke the internet on Super Bowl Sunday by surprise—releasing two country songs and announcing an album, Cowboy Carter , which has her devoted fans in the Beyhive buzzing about line-dancing into the summer of country.

Read More: Beyoncé Has Always Been Country

That evening back in 1983 was constructed to be country’s coming-out party as a musical genre worthy of exceptional respect because it was a reflection and celebration of America at its best. And that best was being defined as a family having only white founders—and not a single Black woman in sight. It was a fallacy that could only last so long.  

The way I see it, modern Black country was born on Dec. 10, 1927, when Bailey, descended from enslaved Tennesseans, lifted his harmonica to play “Pan American Blues” on the Nashville radio show Barn Dance. Fast forward to July 16, 1930, in Los Angeles, where Armstrong made country music history as the first Black woman to play on a hillbilly record that sold a million copies. And Lil didn’t just play on the session—her piano drove the session.

Country is not as many have posited: a genre with Black influence but without Black presence. Black women have been present since the earliest days of country’s existence as a recorded and commercially marketed music form. But a custom of cultural redlining has not only kept Black women out of country writing rooms, off country airwaves, off rodeo stages, off the country charts; it has also worked to keep the few Black women who managed to evade the gatekeepers off the entertainment pages, and out of the history books.

This would change. Nobody sitting in the room that night knew it, but there was a little girl toddling around a two-story house in Houston who would bring the long era of -erasing Black country sounds and stories to an abrupt end. The calculated erasure that began at one large public party with expensive tickets in 1983 ended during another, Super Bowl LVIII, when Beyoncé released “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages.”

Along with “Daddy Lessons” off of 2016’s Lemonade, these songs have established Beyoncé as heir to a Black country musical tradition that dates back to the 17th century, when the first banjo was strummed by Black hands on American soil. Like DeFord Bailey’s, Beyoncé’s country songs are grounded in aural rural realities: the screech of the passing train, the sound from the local bar where folk are dancing. Like Lil, she understands the power of a costume and a trumpet. Like Ray Charles she brings a whiff of the Black cosmopolitan. Like Charley Pride she exudes a radiant Old Testament Song of Songs sexuality that is at once hot and holy. Like Herb Jeffries she embodies the cowboy who stays close to nature and guns.

The erasure did not end just because Beyoncé Knowles Carter became the first Black female artist to top the country charts, though she did that, on Feb. 24. And there are many others who have laid the groundwork for this catalytic moment: Linda Martell, the Pointer Sisters, Rissi Palmer, Rhiannon Giddens, Mickey Guyton, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, and O.N.E the Duo, to name just a few.

The erasure ended when she started a sustained national conversation, getting America to talk about and celebrate neglected Black country legacy. The question of “Who can be in country music?” often masks a deeper query about “Who can be a real American?” Beyoncé’s was a loud announcement of a reality long denied, that she was “We the People.” And so were people who looked like her.

I’ve often said that country music is three chords and four truths: life is hard, God is real, whiskey and roads and family provide worthy compensations, and the past is better than the present. That last truth is one of the places where country often experiences a racial split. In much of white country, the past that is better than the present exists in a longed-for and lost mythical Dixie. In Black country, the past that is better than the present exists in a longed-for and lost Africa before colonization.

Country music is commonly defined as American folk music with Celtic, African, and evangelical Christian influences. My ancestors come from Cameroon, Nigeria, and Mali, from Scotland, England, and Ireland. I am country music, embodied. I started songwriting sitting under a Motown cherry tree, about the age of 5, in 1964. I would eat candied cherries, watching a sea of cars flow by on the John C. Lodge Freeway, and let country songs—from my grandmother’s lips, my mother’s radio, my aunt’s -stereo—roll ’round my head. I started off singing other people’s words then one day I started singing my own, the auspicious beginnings of a career that would land me in the top spot on the country charts.

Read More: Black Artists Helped Build Country Music—And Then It Left Them Behind

My daddy hipped me to the fact that it was Lil Hardin on Jimmie Rodgers’ biggest hit, and that there were probably a lot more Black folks passing for white on country records. He would look at some sheet music or hymnal, then ask, “What you bet Traditional was a colored girl?” 

I write country music because it is a way to make what is too hard to bear somehow bearable. Beyoncé in “Texas Hold ’Em” does this same work, squaring off against tornadoes, heat waves, and lovers losing courage, as DeFord had squared off against a sense of being relentlessly pursued in “Fox Chase.” Both songs transform hardship into a particular flavor of playful and hopeful joy I recognize as country.   

To close out the CMA anniversary show, Ray Charles sang “America the Beautiful.” Listening to the man behind what has been called the greatest country album, 1962’s Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, it struck me how entwined he was in the legacy of Black country. This was Armstrong and Bailey’s genius child. Next to him was country-as-corn-bread Pride, a spiritual love child to Bailey. On the other side of the family tree, Herb Jeffries, who wasn’t present in the auditorium but should have been, was Armstrong’s stepchild. 

Among a sea of white people, including the President and Vice President of the U.S. and the presidents of every major country-music label, I had an inkling I was the only person in that room worried about singing Black cowboys, worried about Jeffries, wondering why he wasn’t there.

Now Beyoncé has changed that room entirely. Cowboy Carter is poised to be a brilliant new beginning and a culmination. As I see it, Beyoncé is the genius child of Ray Charles. The daughter who eclipses the father. The reflected light of her triumph makes visible both the lineage from which she aesthetically descends and the reality that Black country is a big tent with many entry points: from banjos, harmonicas, and cowboy songs to movies and Motown cherry trees. Beyoncé raises this question: If country owes a significant debt to Black culture, what in America doesn’t?

Adapted from My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music’s Black Past, Present, and Future . Copyright © 2024 by Alice Randall. Reprinted by permission of Black Privilege Publishing, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC.

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The best new science fiction books of April 2024

There’s an abundance of exciting new science fiction out in April, by writers including The Three-Body Problem author Cixin Liu, Douglas Preston and Lionel Shriver

By Alison Flood

1 April 2024

The last remaining free city of the Forever Desert has been besieged for centuries in The Truth of the Aleke

Shutterstock / Liu zishan

There are some huge names with new works out this month: Cixin Liu and Ann Leckie both have collections of shorter writing to peruse, plus there’s a dystopic future from the award-winning Téa Obreht and a world where woolly mammoths have been brought back from the bestselling Douglas Preston. I also love the sound of Scott Alexander Howard’s debut The Other Valley , set in a town where its past and future versions exist in the next valleys over, and of Sofia Samatar’s space adventure The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain . So much to read, so little time…

A View from the Stars by Cixin Liu

This is a collection of short works from Liu, the sci-fi author of the moment thanks to Netflix’s new adaptation of The Three-Body Problem , ranging from essays and interviews to short fiction. I love this snippet from an essay about sci-fi fans, in which he calls us “mysterious aliens in the crowd”, who “jump like fleas from future to past and back again, and float like clouds of gas between nebulae; in a flash, we can reach the edge of the universe, or tunnel into a quark, or swim within a star-core”. Aren’t we lucky to have such worlds available to us on our shelves?

3 Body Problem review: Cixin Liu's masterpiece arrives on Netflix

Cixin Liu's novel The Three-Body Problem has been turned into an eight-part series for Netflix by the Game of Thrones team. There is much to admire so far, but will the adaptation stay on track, wonders Bethan Ackerley

Lake of Souls by Ann Leckie

Leckie is a must-read writer for me, and this is the first complete collection of her short fiction, ranging across science fiction and fantasy. On the sci-fi side, we will be able to dip back into the Imperial Radch universe, and we are also promised that we’ll “learn the secrets of the mysterious Lake of Souls” in a brand-new novelette.

The Morningside by Téa Obreht

In a catastrophic version of the future, an 11-year-old girl arrives with her mother at The Morningside, once a luxury high-rise, now another crumbling part of Island City, which is half-underwater. Obreht won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2011 for her debut, The Tiger’s Wife .

The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar

Samatar won all sorts of prizes for her first novel, A Stranger in Olondria . Her latest sounds really intriguing, following the story of a boy who has grown up condemned to work in the bowels of a mining ship among the stars, whose life changes when he is given the chance to be educated at the ship’s university.

A boy grows up working in a mining ship among the stars in The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain

D-Keine/Getty Images

Extinction by Douglas Preston

This is set in a valley in the Rockies, where guests at a luxury resort can see woolly mammoths, giant ground sloths and Irish elk brought back from extinction by genetic manipulation. But then a string of killings kicks off, and a pair of investigators must find out what’s really going on. This looks Jurassic Park -esque and seems like lots of fun. And if you want more mammoth-related reading, try my colleague Michael Le Page’s excellent explainer about why they won’t be back any time soon.

Mania by Lionel Shriver

The award-winning author of We Need to Talk About Kevin brings her thoughts about so-called “culture wars” to bear on her fiction, imagining a world where a “Mental Parity Movement” is in the ascendent, and “the worst thing you can call someone is ‘stupid’”.

The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard

This speculative novel is set in a town where, to the east, lies the same town but 20 years ahead in time and, to the west, the same town but 20 years behind, repeating endlessly across the wilderness. The only border crossings allowed are for “mourning tours”, in which the dead can be seen in towns where they are still alive. Odile, who is 16, is set for a seat on the Conseil, where she will be able to decree who gets to travel across borders. I love the sound of this.

The best new science fiction books of March 2024

With a new Adrian Tchaikovsky, Mars-set romance from Natasha Pulley and a high-concept thriller from Stuart Turton due to hit shelves, there is plenty of great new science fiction to be reading in March

What If… Loki was Worthy? by Madeleine Roux

Many will question whether the Marvel superhero stories are really science fiction, but I’m leaning into the multiversal aspect here to include this, as it sounds like it could be a bit of fun. It’s the first in a new series that reimagines the origins of some of the biggest heroes: here, Thor died protecting Earth from one of Loki’s pranks and, exiled on our planet, the Norse trickster god is now dealing with the consequences.

The Truth of the Aleke by Moses Ose Utomi

The second book in the Forever Desert series is set 500 years after The Lies of the Ajungo , following a junior peacekeeper in the last remaining free city of the Forever Desert, which has been besieged for centuries. It was actually out in March, but I missed it then, so I’m bringing it to you now as it was tipped as a title to watch this year by our science fiction contributor Sally Adee.

Anomaly by Andrej Nikolaidis, translated by Will Firth

It is New Year’s Eve on the last day of the last year of human existence and various stories are unfolding, from a high-ranking minister with blood on his hands to a nurse keeping a secret. Later, in a cabin in the Alps, a musicologist and her daughter – the last people left on Earth – are trying to understand the catastrophe. According to The Independent , Nikolaidis “makes Samuel Beckett look positively cheery”, but I’m definitely in the mood for that kind of story now and then.

Martin MacInnes: 'Science fiction can be many different things'

The author of In Ascension, the latest pick for the New Scientist Book Club, on why he wrote his novel, cultivating a sense of wonder and the role of fiction in the world today

Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton

In this techno-thriller, Mal is a free AI who is uninterested in the conflict going on between the humans, until he finds himself trapped in the body of a cyborg mercenary and becomes responsible for the safety of the girl she died protecting.

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Trump Gets Bond Deal to Ward Off $454 Million Judgment, for Now

The guarantee means that New York’s attorney general will not be able to pursue Donald Trump’s assets and bank accounts until Mr. Trump’s appeals are settled.

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By Ben Protess

Former President Donald J. Trump averted a financial disaster on Monday, reaching a deal that will spare him from paying a $454 million judgment in his civil fraud case while he appeals the penalty.

The lifeline came in the form of a bond that will prevent New York’s attorney general, who brought the lawsuit that led to the judgment, from collecting the $454 million until Mr. Trump’s appeal is resolved. The attorney general, Letitia James, accused Mr. Trump of fraudulently inflating his net worth by as much as $2 billion, and a judge ruled in her favor.

Mr. Trump secured the bond after an appeals court last week granted his request to lower the bond amount, setting it at $175 million and staving off a financial crisis for Mr. Trump. He otherwise would have had to post a bond for the full $454 million, which his lawyers declared a “practical impossibility.” Had he failed to do so, Ms. James could have frozen his bank accounts.

The clock had been ticking. When the appeals court ruled last week, it gave him 10 days to line up the bond, making Thursday the deadline.

The $175 million bond came from Knight Specialty Insurance Company, a California company that handles such deals. In providing the bond, which is a legal document, not an actual transfer of money, the firm essentially promised New York’s court system that it would cover a portion of the $454 million judgment against Mr. Trump if he loses his appeal and fails to pay.

Many details of the deal are private, but the former president most likely had to pay the company a fee and pledge cash and other liquid investments as collateral.

It was the collateral that prevented Mr. Trump from securing a bond for the full $454 million. Although Mr. Trump measures his net worth in the billions, much of that is drawn from the value of real estate, which bond companies typically don’t accept as collateral. While Mr. Trump had more than $350 million in cash and other liquid investments as of early this year, a New York Times analysis found, that was short of what he needed to secure the bigger bond.

His lawyers, after being spurned by more than 30 bond companies, recently cited “insurmountable difficulties” in obtaining the full bond.

Even to secure the $175 million bond, Mr. Trump probably had to dig deep into his reserves.

The terms may be costly, but Mr. Trump had little choice. Absent a bond, Ms. James could have moved to collect at any moment, freezing bank accounts and potentially starting the long, complicated process of seizing some of his marquee New York properties. She has suggested she would pursue Mr. Trump’s office tower in Lower Manhattan, at 40 Wall Street, a short walk from her office.

A spokeswoman for Ms. James, a Democrat, declined to comment.

Ms. James filed the lawsuit against Mr. Trump and his family business in 2022, accusing the former president of manipulating the value of properties to obtain favorable loan terms from banks.

The judge overseeing the case — there was no jury — ruled in Ms. James’s favor and came down hard. The judge, Arthur F. Engoron, imposed a $355 million penalty, which climbed to $454 million with interest added.

In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday morning , Mr. Trump vented angrily. “It’s supposed to be the other way around — you appeal before you pay,” he wrote.

Alina Habba, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, said in a statement that the former president “looks forward to vindicating his rights on appeal and overturning this unjust verdict.”

Mr. Trump had recently posted a separate $91.6 million bond in a defamation case brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll. The collateral he pledged to the bond company in that case was off limits for the civil fraud bond. Few people, even wealthy ones like Mr. Trump, need to come up with bonds this big, let alone two at once, and it was unclear whether he would be able to secure both before time ran out.

The bond, for now, clears one major liability from Mr. Trump’s legal docket, but many more problems remain. Mr. Trump, once again the presumptive Republican nominee for president, faces four criminal indictments in four different cities, the first of which is set to go to trial in two weeks in Manhattan.

In that case, Mr. Trump is accused of covering up a sex scandal during and after the 2016 presidential campaign.

Kate Christobek contributed reporting.

Ben Protess is an investigative reporter at The Times, writing about public corruption. He has been covering the various criminal investigations into former President Trump and his allies. More about Ben Protess