Write Your Novel From the Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and Everyone in Between

by James Scott Bell

A great novel is the record of how a character fights with death. That's right, death. Somebody has to be in danger of dying, and that someone is the Lead character. Now, before you category romance authors start throwing bookmarks at me, note: There are three kinds of death: physical, professional, psychological. One

The beginning of a novel tells us who the main characters are and the situation at hand (the story world). It sets the tone and the stakes. But the novel does not take off or become "the story" until that first pillar is passed. I call this a Doorway of No Return. The feeling must be that your Lead character, once she passes through, cannot go home again until the major problem of the plot is solved.

Act II is all about "death stakes." That is, one of three aspects of death must be on the line. Physical, professional or psychological death.

The timing of the first pillar should be before the 1/5 mark of your book. In movies, it's common to divide the acts into a 1/4 (Act I) 1/2 (Act II) and 1/4 (Act III) structure. But in novels it's better to have that first doorway happen earlier.

The second act is a series of actions where the character confronts and resists death and is opposed by counter forces.

Then the second pillar, or doorway, happens. It is an event that feels like a major crisis or setback. Or it can be a clue or discovery. The second pillar pushes the Lead character into Act III. It forces the final battle, the resolution. Indeed, makes that resolution possible.

At this point in the story, the character looks at himself. He takes stock of where he is in the conflict and––depending on the type of story––has either of two basic thoughts. In a character-driven story, he looks at himself and wonders what kind of person he is. What is he becoming? If he continues the fight of Act II, how will he be different? What will he have to do to overcome his inner challenges? How will he have to change in order to battle successfully? The second type of look is more for plot-driven fiction. It's where the character looks at himself and considers the odds against him. At this point the forces seem so vast that there is virtually no way to go on and not face certain death. That death can be physical, professional, or psychological.

Virtually all books on the craft approach it as another "plot" point. Something external happens that changes the course of the story. But what I detect is a character point, something internal, which has the added benefit of bonding audience and character on a deeper level.