The Sagging Middle

Here we are half-way through NaNoWriMo. For those of you toughing it out, how is your middle going? I find mine lagging a bit so I went online for some encouragement. Here’s what I found:

Richard Harland says: For me, there’s always a moment, 10-15,000 words in, when the tight opening sequence of scenes runs out. Suddenly, everything is possible and nothing is necessary. So many angles to follow—but which one first?

http://www.writingtips.com.au/IV.Story/2.%20Middles/i%29midnovelsag.htm

Alina Sandor suggests trying writing prompts: Maybe you are writing a really great story that at first you were excited about. Now, halfway through, you’re stuck…. Bogging down might mean you haven’t thought your story through enough. Try creating prompts by asking yourself questions about what you want to do with your story.

http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/prompts.shtml

Hilari Bell says writers get bogged down because: they don’t have a big enough problem to drive a whole novel or because their main character is just wandering around while the story happens to them.

http://www.sfwa.org/members/bell/writingtips/winter0708.html

Vicki Hinze uses the metaphor of plot as a bridge and says: Often when writers feel the middle fizzle, they’ll delete conflicts. In short, don’t do it. Instead, beef up the existing conflicts by inserting further complications, new bits of information that the characters learn which alters their perspective and gives them a different view. Information that compels them to continue on in their journey across the bridge.

http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/middles.html

Walter Mosley, author of This Year You Write Your Novel says: You know the characters; you know the circumstances — now you must make sure that the reader is aware of every factor that makes up the tale.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9620861

Alicia Rasley offers advice on how to establish and then multiply the purpose of the scene. Then she shows how to “structure the middle for power”: The middle can, however, be deepened and strengthened by following this advice: Have three purposes at least for each scene. One should be “advance the external plot”.

(Then she gives a list of 16 more purposes! You really just have to go read this one yourself.)

http://www.sff.net/people/alicia/artmid.ht

And, in case it is YOU who are sagging and not your middle, here’s a fun blog from Katrina Stonoff talking about how it feels as an author to go through a sagging middle!

“… I’m talking about the Sagging Middle of one’s personal journey to write a book.”

http://jeannieruesch.com/wordpress/?p=745