The Saggy Middle
The saggy middle is a problem most writers have to deal with. It makes sense when you think about it because the beginning is always exciting and new and the end is always anexciting rush to find out what happens. In the middle, though, what are you doing? Getting from point A to point B. That’s it.
I recently had an opportunity to contribute in a small part to a shared blog that was written around the topic of The Saggy Middle. It made me stop and think about what it is I actually do. What are my thought processes once I get past chapter four and all the characters and the world are in place and we know what the goal, motivation and conflict are? How do I get from there to the end without having six chapters of ‘and then this happened’, ‘and then they did this’?
I did one of the things I do best: I made a list.
Stop angsting all over the story. I get stuck and sit and think and then I read, and then I knit, and then I go for a walk, and then I…. For days nothing can happen because I’m in the middle and can’t work out how to make it work. In the end, I still have no clue but I sit myself down and make myself write something, even if it’s a lot of ‘and then’s. You can’t improve on the blank page. WRITE IT. What can go wrong? Is there a part of the plot that can fall apart and make things more difficult for one or more of my characters? Can this thing go wrong right now? What has to happen before it can go wrong? How comfortable can the characters be that ‘the thing’ going wrong will destroy everything (almost) for them? DO IT.Which character has the most to lose at this point and what can go wrong to put that at risk? How will the character react to losing that very important thing? How will that impact on the characters around them? DO IT.Where can I ramp the emotion up? Remember that your characters are living, breathing people. Even if they don’t express emotion very well, they’re going to feel it. They will react to it somehow. What’s happening to their bodies? How are they physically reacting to the action that’s causing them distress or happiness? Go deep. Feel their breathing, how sensitive their skin becomes to the air, what they see, smell, taste and how that’s different now they’re suppressing/feeling emotion. DO IT.Does every chapter, every paragraph, every sentence contribute to the story? Does every word add to the risks the characters are taking? This is really difficult for me. It might be because I don’t plot much, but more probably because I have a tendency to ramble along whatever trajectory takes my fancy. I have such fun writing that it often takes five or six full edits before I remove all the redundancies and repetitions and pare the story down to what’s important. CUT IT.What have you missed? One thing I do prepare fairly well before I begin is my world-building, particularly with my science fiction. I have in my head complete worlds, what the atmosphere is made of, how much of the planet is inhabited, what types of beings live there and how they interact, what animals and birds and plants are there, what’s above ground and below it, what the social structure is. It’s all there in my head—and I assume everyone else can see it as well. Important parts of it never make it to paper—until I get several chapters in and realize I’ve missed out a huge section that will help the reader make sense of the world, so I dump it in the middle. Yes, it’s necessary, but not all in one hit and not all in the middle. BREAK IT UP AND SPREAD IT OUT.
There are more little things I do, but this is what’s made my list. I followed this process when I was writing and editing The Courage to Love which was released by Dreamspinner Press on 23 August 2013. I think it worked: at least none of the reviews have mentioned the story sagging in the middle! ;)
I recently had an opportunity to contribute in a small part to a shared blog that was written around the topic of The Saggy Middle. It made me stop and think about what it is I actually do. What are my thought processes once I get past chapter four and all the characters and the world are in place and we know what the goal, motivation and conflict are? How do I get from there to the end without having six chapters of ‘and then this happened’, ‘and then they did this’?
I did one of the things I do best: I made a list.
Stop angsting all over the story. I get stuck and sit and think and then I read, and then I knit, and then I go for a walk, and then I…. For days nothing can happen because I’m in the middle and can’t work out how to make it work. In the end, I still have no clue but I sit myself down and make myself write something, even if it’s a lot of ‘and then’s. You can’t improve on the blank page. WRITE IT. What can go wrong? Is there a part of the plot that can fall apart and make things more difficult for one or more of my characters? Can this thing go wrong right now? What has to happen before it can go wrong? How comfortable can the characters be that ‘the thing’ going wrong will destroy everything (almost) for them? DO IT.Which character has the most to lose at this point and what can go wrong to put that at risk? How will the character react to losing that very important thing? How will that impact on the characters around them? DO IT.Where can I ramp the emotion up? Remember that your characters are living, breathing people. Even if they don’t express emotion very well, they’re going to feel it. They will react to it somehow. What’s happening to their bodies? How are they physically reacting to the action that’s causing them distress or happiness? Go deep. Feel their breathing, how sensitive their skin becomes to the air, what they see, smell, taste and how that’s different now they’re suppressing/feeling emotion. DO IT.Does every chapter, every paragraph, every sentence contribute to the story? Does every word add to the risks the characters are taking? This is really difficult for me. It might be because I don’t plot much, but more probably because I have a tendency to ramble along whatever trajectory takes my fancy. I have such fun writing that it often takes five or six full edits before I remove all the redundancies and repetitions and pare the story down to what’s important. CUT IT.What have you missed? One thing I do prepare fairly well before I begin is my world-building, particularly with my science fiction. I have in my head complete worlds, what the atmosphere is made of, how much of the planet is inhabited, what types of beings live there and how they interact, what animals and birds and plants are there, what’s above ground and below it, what the social structure is. It’s all there in my head—and I assume everyone else can see it as well. Important parts of it never make it to paper—until I get several chapters in and realize I’ve missed out a huge section that will help the reader make sense of the world, so I dump it in the middle. Yes, it’s necessary, but not all in one hit and not all in the middle. BREAK IT UP AND SPREAD IT OUT.
There are more little things I do, but this is what’s made my list. I followed this process when I was writing and editing The Courage to Love which was released by Dreamspinner Press on 23 August 2013. I think it worked: at least none of the reviews have mentioned the story sagging in the middle! ;)
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