I plot, so I know what all my big turning points are. I know what my characters want and I know what they need. Yet somehow once I pass that first turning point something happens. I get what I call the messy middles.
The scenes I write leading up to the mid-point (point of no return) get jumbled. My first lot of edits is untangling what I’ve written and putting them in a better order.
I think part of the problem is after the first quarter of the novel other plot threads and characters have come into play and lots has to happen before the event that changes everything happens. Once I’ve hit the PONR it’s relatively smooth sailing to the black moment. Of course black moment to HEA is the easy bit.
What happens in your middle? Does it sag? Does it get messy?
The scenes I write leading up to the mid-point (point of no return) get jumbled. My first lot of edits is untangling what I’ve written and putting them in a better order.
I think part of the problem is after the first quarter of the novel other plot threads and characters have come into play and lots has to happen before the event that changes everything happens. Once I’ve hit the PONR it’s relatively smooth sailing to the black moment. Of course black moment to HEA is the easy bit.
What happens in your middle? Does it sag? Does it get messy?
6 comments:
Oh yes, those sagging middles.
I find it's sometimes because I don't know my characters as well as I thought I did, and I haven't sort out strong enough conflict.
Of course it's all very well saying that. Then I have to go back and check and rewrite. After I've picked myself up off the floor, I carry on pushing through the middle of the book.
But thinking of the characters' motivations etc. often gives me a way to get myself out of the mess - till the next mess comes along.
The middle is the best time to kill someone off or make the hero/heroine do something BIG! That's how I solve my saggy middle - with a major turning point. It's one of the first things I plot so the middle is interesting.
Sometimes when I get to the middle I find that the characters have changed the plot on me. So what I do is follow along and see where it takes me. When it gets too bogged down, I take control again. Does that make sense?
I thought Karel Segers had a lot to say about middles and how to use external and internal conflict at that point.
That's all for editing though. I'm a plotter too but it's right brain for the first draft.
Just plow on through and try to get past it. Try and fix it with editing
I'd love to just have a middle! My WIP is only in the very early stages. Like Lesley, Karel Segers' comments were interesting and hopefully help me when I get to that stage.
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