The Dreaded Middle

Assemble a handful of writers in one room and ask them what’s the hardest part of the book–beginning, middle, end–for them to write and most of them will probably say the middle.

The beginning is when everything is new and fresh and one’senthusiasm for the story is high.

The end is the wrap-up, the final piece in the puzzle, the part where everything comes together in one amazing finale.

But the middle? Well, that’s the part between the “new and fresh” and the “amazingfinale.”As a result, if it’...