Month: August 2020

Write Your Novel from the Middle by James Scott Bell

Since tackling my Work In Progress novel, I wanted to understand the purpose and importance of the middle in storytelling. So I was pleased to find Write Your Novel from the Middle by James Scott Bell.

At 84 pages, the book certainly wastes no space in explaining how to create the middle point of your novel and then writing backwards and forwards from it. Mr. Bell begins by explaining this approach will work for Pam Pantser, Paul Plotter, and Tammy Tweener. The key is the Mirror Moment, and it really is a moment, which come in the middle of the story. The main character (MC) reflects on what kind of person he or she is.

To make this moment meaningful, the writer must write a backstory for the character in the first half of the story and a transformation in the last half. Mr. Bell states that the moment is key because it’s what the novel is “really all about”.

He gives examples of mirror moments from books, like A Christmas Carol, and movies, like Lethal Weapon, Sunset Boulevard, and Moonstruck. The author also goes into details about story structure, like the three-act structure, and the components that make up that act. He also provides ways to ignite inspiration in your writing.

My trouble with his approach is that while I plot out the action of my chapters, a few chapters at a time, I don’t really know what my story is about until I write a large chunk of it.

In my WIP, I included a mirror moment without giving it too much thought. Now that I’ve read this book, I’ve gone back to examine that scene and see how I can improve it.

One thing I’ve learned about myself as a writer is that it’s sometimes hard for me to incorporate advice until I run into a problem. Such as I couldn/t follow Mr. Bell’s advice until I was knee deep in the middle of my novel.

Do you recommend a book for how to tackle the middle of a story? What is it? I’d love to find more books on this topic.

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Her Mirror Moment

I’ve been giving a lot of thought about how to post prompts to inspire the middle of a story. In Write Your Novel from the Middle, James Scott Bell says that a main character should have a mirror moment in the middle, a time to reflect on his or her past and make a decision about the future that’s irrevocable. That decision determines his or her actions through the last half of the book.

I’ll go into more details about Mr. Bell’s book on in my next post. But if this teen or young woman is your main character, and she’s having her mirror moment, what is she facing?

It’s got to be something huge. The wind is tossing her hair, but she’s staring straight ahead, not bothering to brush it aside. She looks a bit scared, a bit determined, concentrating a lot.

Here’s my inspiration for her mirror moment:

This was it. I either trusted God or I didn’t. If I didn’t, I could go back to a life of fear and lies and running.

And if I did? I had no idea. At least the fear and lies and running were familiar. Leaving them behind made me head into a future of complete unknowns.

But He promised to be with me. God wasn’t a liar.

I stared at my so-called friends and my so-called parents, partying like it was any other party, laughing like nothing had changed. They were known, part of my fears.

My stomach crumpled. Unknown and God had to be better.

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The Sea as Writing Inspiration

This month’s “Writing in Time” post was going to be about the beach and the sea as writing inspiration. But I ran into a problem. The beach left me completely uninspired. It’s not as if I haven’t done enough research. My family and I have gone to the North Carolina coast to visit my in-laws for years now. But the beach is relaxing, a giant sandbox for people of any age to enjoy. I’ve discovered I need settings that add tension to my writing, and the beach doesn’t do it for me.

But the sea … since I was twelve and went sailing with my cousin and her husband on their sailboat in Chesapeake Bay, I’ve been in love with ships and the sea. The might and the mystery of the sea fires my imagination. Below is inspiration for using the sea in speculative fiction, mysteries, and adventures.

Speculative Fiction

I’ve only visited the beaches on the east coast of the U.S. where European settlers first arrived, leaving behind four hundred years of recorded history. That history infuses the area, making it perfect for a tale of time travel.

In North Carolina, my family and I stay at Emerald Isle, a barrier island near a maritime archaeology site. Experts believe they are excavating the ship Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard’s flagship. In a speculative story, an archaeologist finds a way to Blackbeard’s time—a portal or some item salvaged from the wreck. Blackbeard discovers the way and travels to our time. The archaeologist has to get Blackbeard back to the 18thcentury.

A monster story works so well in the sea because, unlike stories of lake monsters, the unexplored depths of the oceans gives a hint of reality to the idea of giant, undiscovered forms of sea life. A fantastic story based on some fact has always appealed to me. “The Foghorn”, a short story by Ray Bradbury, comes to mind.

Mysteries

The possibilities for this genre are nearly limitless. How many middle grade mysteries have centered around an old lighthouse or sunken treasure? Tons, but that doesn’t mean current authors can’t put a new spin on classic settings.

For adult stories, the episode “Shark Mountain” from the PBS show Nature inspired me. It featured Howard and Michele Hall, a couple who run Howard Hall Productions. They produce and direct underwater films. Michele is also an underwater photographer and logistics coordinator for their expeditions around the world as they travel for their films.

I would love to invent a couple like the Halls. In a foreign country, the couple record or photograph something dealing with a crime but don’t know it. Their boat is searched, a colleague is attacked. When the local police seem unconcerned or corrupt, the couple conduct their own investigation.

To give a mystery an eerie atmosphere, nothing beats a deserted boat. The crew of a fishing boat finds a deserted ship. They can bring it in to harbor and then mysterious events start occurring, like someone following the captain or the fishing boat is vandalized. Or after the crew finds that abandoned boat, another ship begins to chase them and it’s a battle of wits for the fishing crew to reach port safely. That storyline combines mystery and adventure, which leads me to my next genre …

Adventure

When a writer sets a story in nature, she can count on using that element for all kinds of plot twists and tension.

Two of my favorite nonfiction books are The Boy Who Sailed Around the World Alone and Dove, both by Robin Lee Graham. The first is a children’s books, stuffed with photos and the latter is for adults. Both recount the adventure of the author who became the youngest person to solo around the world starting when he was sixteen in 1965 and ending in 1970.

Those books alone provide a host of story elements from falling into the sea while working on the ship, to losing the main mast, to experiencing star-spangled nights on a still sea.

I could incorporate or adapt those real world experiences into a story involving a teen trying to sail around the world in the 21stcentury.

For more ideas about how to use August as writing inspiration, click on my 2019 post and my 2018 post.

How can you use the beach and the sea as writing inspiration?

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WIP Progress

I thought I’d take time today to update you on my WIP progress, a YA Christian mystery with the working title A Shadow on the Snow. It’s the sequel to my short story “A Rose from the Ashes.”

Since I haven’t written a novel in years, I’m discovering what writing habits work best for me. So far, I’ve discovered that I write best when I handwrite five to ten chapters, type them into a second draft, go over them again, then press on with the first draft of the next five to ten chapters.

As of August 2020. I have 57,000 words in very good shape. I need to get another 20,000 to 30,000 down on paper and polished. I believe I’d be further along if I hadn’t spent nine weeks teaching my kids their online lessons. That put our computer time at a premium.

But the story is taking shape nicely. I really enjoy the polishing process, taking out tangents, enlarging minor characters necessary to the story, and making all the elements sync up. For a mystery, syncing up clues and red herrings are critical. Such as if it’s important for my main character to use her self-defense skills in the last chapters, I’d better mention that she has those skills somewhere earlier in the story. Or if the fact that Mr. Delaney is left-handed is a clue, I have to introduce it to readers in a way that they notice it but not too much.

One obstacle I’ve encountered is writing a story set in January, February, and March at the height of summer. If I’m having trouble describing the setting, I can’t go outside and get first-hand inspiration.

I’d love to hear about your WIP progress and your creative process!

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What’s the matter with the middle?

My theme this month is the middle of the story, an area that can cause a lot of writers trouble. My first prompt is to ask you about the middle.

Writers, if you have had trouble in the middle of a story, what was the matter? Character development, plot points? I’d love to hear what your problem was and how you solved it.

Readers, have you read a story and bocame bogged down in the middle? Why? Did the story lose focus, throw in too many characters, or contain pointless plot twists?

Tell me your experiences and we can work together on what’s the matter with the middle.

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