I am really looking forward to getting back to our series on crafting a novel and “growing an author,” as Shannon so artfully put it. It’s been a while—since May, to be specific—so let’s review what I’ve covered so far in my story crafting process.
I started the year by talking about how to create space and time for writing.
Next I talked about going from story spark to story blurb, using my upcoming release Within These Lines as an example.
Then, how to effectively and efficiently do research for your historical novel.
I also covered ideas for how to organize your research notes, and I released a free e-book about writing historical and historically inspired fiction. You can get that for free by signing up for my author emails.
Then, I turned the attention toward main characters and shared three questions you need to answer about your main character before you start your novel.
Next, I listed eight keys to opening your story the right way. I often have a hard time with planning much of my story before I have spent a bit of time writing in the characters’ voices, so for me writing those opening chapters is often something I do early in the process.
I also talked about writing a great chapter two, which feels like an often overlooked chapter to me.
Then, I shared ten tricks for rocking your first draft.
I talked about how it is important to understand the way stories work. That’s something I didn’t understand in my early writing days.
I then talked about scene structure in How to Create High-Impact Scenes For Your Story Part One and Part Two.
Lastly I covered how to make sure every character in your story matters, because I am terrible about creating superfluous characters.
Other than a few posts, like about scenes and rocking your first draft, the year has so far been about the beginning of a story. For good reason. It’s hard to overstate how critical it is to develop a good opening to your story. Before you’re published, those are the chapters you use to help hook an agent or an editor. After you’re published, those are the chapters that hook readers.
But it’s easy to over focus on story beginnings when teaching about writing, because there are lots of really good handles to grab hold of. We can talk about opening lines, introducing characters, orienting a reader to your story world, on and on.
Maybe that’s why for so long as a writer I felt lost when I embarked upon the middle. I’m not alone. Every conference I’ve ever gone to has featured classes like “how to deal with your sagging middle” or “how to get the muddle out of your middle.” Clearly, this is a common problem.
I shared on the blog a number of years ago that it occurred to me how strange it was to dislike writing the middle of my stories. The middle is where all the stuff happens. All the staff that I set up in the beginning, and would pay off in the end, it needed the middle for it to work.
While realizing this didn’t make the middle feel easier, it did make it feel more exciting.
Here’s what’s easy to do when you are trying to jazz up your middle: throw conflict at your characters. There’s this often-repeated advice about writing stories, that Act I is getting your character stuck up in a tree, Act II is throwing rocks at them, and Act III is getting them down.
While this is intentionally overly simplified advice, those generic rocks bother me. It isn’t enough to just hurl random conflict and obstacles at your characters. For your book to be good, you must throw meaningful conflict and obstacles at your character.
When you use the, “because of this, now that” method of building your scenes, as I laid out in the two-part series about creating high-impact scenes, establishing meaningful conflict/obstacles becomes easier. You may not nail it out of the gate, but you at least have the structure in place to make sure that random things are not being chucked at your characters.
In the coming weeks, we’ll look at building meaningful plot twists and obstacles and creating a big middle scene, but for today let’s just look at Act II overall.
The first half of Act II
Something that has been helpful for me to understand is that during the first part of the middle of your book, your main character is in a period of reaction. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still active—that’s very important—but they’re reacting to the shift that happened in their world with the inciting incident.
In Within These Lines, the inciting incident is the evacuation of the Japanese Americans. After that happens around 25% of the way through the story, it’s important for the characters to react/mourn/grieve.
Evalina does this by spending time putting together care packages, writing letters to the government and newspapers, and writing letters to Taichi. Even though these are all actions she’s taking, they’re a reaction to what happened to her.
Meanwhile, Taichi has been evacuated and is reacting to what is being done to him. He’s getting hit with (historically accurate) bad thing after bad thing after bad thing. Just like Evalina, Taichi is in a phase of trying to regain his footing after having his world rocked. He has not yet found the inner strength to fight back or push for change.
Now, you should definitely be planting seeds in this 25%-50% chunk of the story that will help the characters grow into who they need to be to create change in their world, but at this point, they are still primarily reacting. (But actively. Just to make it extra confusing for you.)
The second half of Act II
After the midpoint scene (which, again, we’ll cover in the coming weeks) our characters have gained something that enables them to more proactively engage with the conflict.
Think about Katniss in the Hunger Games. The first part of her time in the arena is spent removing herself from the conflict, versus the second half where she fights back more directly against the Capitol.
In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, it’s around the midpoint that Harry and Ron become friends with Hermione, after they battle the mountain troll in the bathroom. At this point in the story, Harry shifts into from having things happen to him, to proactively taking on Hogwarts.
This migration to proactively working for change will be what locks your character into the climax of your story for Act III.
What are your thoughts on writing the middle of your story? Hard, easy, or somewhere in-between?
I’m looking forward to this series! I actually enjoy the middle of the story, since that is where the bulk of the story lies, but that doesn’t mean those saggy spots don’t appear. I’ll take all the advice I can get!
I think it’s great that you already enjoy writing the middle, Ryana! Hopefully the other posts I have planned will help give you a few more tools to help fix the occasional sagging spot.
Heavens above, you make this plotting/structuring stuff SO. EASY. I loved this post, Steph—especially since I’m going back to plotting/writing in a few weeks. Help! XD
ALSO: love the new site (especially since it’ll let me comment on posts again! Blogger doesn’t like me…)
A few people have mentioned that Blogger didn’t like them. I had mentally prepared myself that it could take a while before people started to leave comments, but I feel like comments actually increased when we moved. I’m glad it’s fixed an issue for some who couldn’t leave comments on Blogger!
Hopefully the next few posts will help spur some ideas as you get back into your next book. We’re with you!
Yes! I’m so excited!
That explains so much! Thanks you, for giving those percentages. My brain needed that for organization.
Same here!
So excited to get back into this series, and I LOVE the new website.
I have a love hate relationship with the middle of my stories. It’s definitely the most fun when things are going right. But when I hit a rut in the middle, it seems like it’s the hardest to get out of.
Thanks for the compliments, Maddie!
YES, my biggest writing blocks always happen in the middle. It helps to have gone through the process a few times so that you can recognize what’s happening. “Oh, I’m stuck because I just finished writing the big middle scene, and I’m not quite sure how to get my characters going again. This happened to me once before.” At least then I know I’ll eventually work my way out!
Great post, Steph!
Thank you, friend!
I struggle with soggy middles because a lot of my outlines feature ‘and then this stuff keeps happening’. People keep sighting that mysterious monster, and the town becomes tenser and tenser. The main character and her boyfriend keep getting into arguments, their relationship growing ever more fractured. That secret the main character has been trying so hard to keep is threatening to spill out, and incident after incident push it ever-so-slowly towards the light. Then, when it comes to actually writing those sections, I struggle to keep them lively and not repeat similar scenes over and over or jump long periods of time.
My critique partner and I have a running joke when we’re sharing new story ideas with each other. We will spend 10 minutes detailing the character’s backstory and how the book opens, and then lapse into, “And then … well, you know. Plot stuff happens.” We’ll talk about the issues you brought up (not repeating scenes and jumping long periods of time) in future posts!
Whenever I come up with a story idea, I always know how the beginning and the end will play out. I write down my awesome beginning and then I don’t know what to put in the middle. A lot of times my stories end up with a very short middle because I am excited about the end and want to get to it.
I think it’s so interesting that you know the ending when you start! I hope these next few weeks of posts will help you come up with scenes for the middle that are so cool, you’re just as excited about writing it!
A perfect breakdown for this writer who is struggling to get back at it. 🙂 Thank you!!!
I have been struggling too, Katie! It’s no fun.
Yes! Middles do seem to be harder. I’m currently doing a bit of rewriting on my middle and am being reminded how difficult middles can be for me! ?
I’m glad the timing works out so well!
I really enjoyed the summer panels, but I’m so excited to be coming back to this series. I think middles are somewhere in-between for me.
Thank you, Ashley! We’re excited to be back to it.
This was a great post! I always struggle getting the middle written, just because I’m an incurable pantser. I know where I want my story to go and all about my characters… but other than that it’s touch and go. Hopefully this will help me! 😉
I hope so too, Sarah!