Think about it.

He almost made it.

She almost told him why.

He almost got the girl.

She almost saved her.

He almost had a friend.

She almost said it out loud.

He almost destroyed the world.

She almost lost it all.

No other word you can write (or not write, but feel in the words that you do) has that kind of power. A good book is built on a foundation of almosts.

It’s the almosts that make us yearn. It’s the almosts that make us strive. It’s the almosts that destroy us with regret.

Think about your character’s almosts, and use them, written or unwritten. They’re what really tell the story.