It’s something of a cliche when writers talk about the troubles they encounter in the middle of a story. But, like most cliches, there’s a kernel of truth to it. So why is the middle of our stories a muddle? As we kick off this month’s theme of dealing with the middle of our stories, I want to uncover reasons for the muddle, which can be different for each writer.
Too Much Freedom
You’ve written a stunning hook and your beginning has set up the main character, the major characters, and the main problem. Now what?
If you haven’t thought beyond the beginning, your story could be suffering from too much freedom. Since you have no direction at this point, you have too many ways you can develop the story.
There are several ways you can fix that.
Develop Your Ending
This may sound like putting the cart before the horse, but knowing how your story ends gives purpose to your middle. If you’re going on vacation, you have an ultimate destination and that limits the routes you can take. That doesn’t mean you can’t explore side routes or take the longer, scenic route, but since you know your final goal, you know how far off the direct route you can go.
Develop Your Characters
Perhaps you’re stuck because you haven’t developed or don’t understand your characters well enough. Go back and review your notes and what you’ve written in your beginning. When I can’t move on in a scene, I ask myself what is the logical next step for a particular character to take. Often that means more complicated writing for me, but the logic for the character makes the story better.
But may your muddle in the middle is the opposite problem.
Too Little Freedom
If you’re a plotter and have your book outlined, you may reach your notes on the middle and find it isn’t working. Many times, once I begin writing, I throw out my notes because what seemed so good in the outline turns out lousy in the writing. Give yourself permission to make a new outline, based off what you’ve actually written in the beginning. Make several outlines, testing different approaches.
Writers, why do you think the middle of stories is a muddle?
