Sagging Middles

Talk about life imitating art! Sagging middles describes it all.  Some of you, of a certain age, are nodding in agreement. Others are scratching their heads. Stick with me here.

I’m a runner. Not a competitive one, but one who ties on running shoes when the muse desserts.

This morning, at 8 AM, trying to think up a topic for this blog, I laced up my running shoes. Despite living in far northern Maine, the temps were in the high 70s. It was sticky humid, and the black flies and deer flies were lying in ambush. To compensate for the increased heat and bug induced blood loss, I’d cut my runs from five miles to three. By the time I ran the first mile and started the second, temps were topping the 80-degree mark. You see where I’m headed? Mile two, the middle mile. There I was, forcing one foot in front of the other thinking, I’ll never make it. My hamstring hurts. Is that a pain in my knee? I should stop. That’s when my watch chimed that I’d finished the second mile and was on the home stretch. The last mile. Energy flowed again. Heck, anyone can run a mile! And I had my topic.

Those dreaded middles. Of runs, of age, of stories. Middles are where all the action really happens. The first part of life, runs, and stories is the set up. The inciting incidents. The plans for attack. We don’t yet know exactly what’s going to happen, but the conflict is perking, most of the players have appeared on stage, and the basic story is taking shape. Now we are in for the longer jog. It’s the middle of the tale. The writer’s job is to move it along. Make it a page turner. Keep the reader caring while we bury the protagonist in crises and drop breadcrumbs for the ultimate resolution.

My Running Track

Kind of like life, or a run, there’s a lot of ground to cover in the middle. The middle of a book takes up danged near three quarters of the word real estate and it’s important it narrows to a satisfying ending. The middle is the terrible twos of writing. Everyone clamors for attention. The clues switch partners and dance. The villain laughs and calls the shots. Misdirection is rampant. The protagonist plays out every possible scenario in search of the golden key. Some bring her closer, others, not so much. It’s a balancing act for the writer. Make it interesting. Impart important information, keep the action and the timeline solid. Write, edit, cut, write, edit, cut, polish. In the middle every word has to count, and none of them can be flabby, or indulgent of sore knees,

The payoff? Emerging from the middle with a story that shines. Some writers and readers find the middle the most enticing part of a story. Others are eager for finish line. The end is a sprint. The last eighth or so of the story wraps all that went before into a satisfying finale yet leaves the reader eager for more and the writer bristling with ideas for the next one. Kind of like a runner’s high.

What kind of a reader/writer are you? Do you crave the building conflict of the middle or do you long for the final scene?