She thought he was so handsome and charming, full of potential
and strong. The conversation started so well. He had her on pins and needles, having
set up everything with such impending promise. He moved them along with excitement and passion. But then,
while in the mist of thrilling her, he forgot his purpose. She dropped him, throwing the
book across the room, disappointed.
Yesterday, I was talking to a writer friend about that dread
syndrome, the sagging middle. Most writers
know about this and have gone through it a few times. For those who don’t know,
it’s when the prose that fills the large
space between your novel's opening and its climax fails to hold your reader's
interest.
The middle sags often because we've dropped a plot line, or
diminished it to a sub-plot that enters scenes only occasionally rather than
directing the course of the story, which it should be doing. In essence, a
sagging middle is the result of a weak structure.
Try forming an outline for your story, which you can go back
to when you find yourself sagging.
Here are a few tips:
A) The middle is just as important as the Crisis
Make note that a sound plot progresses will go through. Use 4 major events which
correspond :
The inciting incident
The complication
The crisis
The resolution
These four road signs can further be subdivided, so that
each road sign can become one act in a four-act story.
B) Don’t rush. Tension should slowly build toward climax
In the move towards the climax, your characters should face
increasingly bigger obstacles and challenges. Things should get more
complicated – never less. Characters should have more at stake as events
unfold. The emotions should run higher and deeper. And each event should leave
the reader more concerned about what will happen next.
C) Every part of the story should be essential to the whole
story
That means each event should both result from what came
before and cause the next event to take place. Events that are not part of such
a chain only weakens the story and
contribute to the sag.
D) Plan. Sounds simple enough, but when you are in the fifth
chapter the climax can seem so far away. Suddenly things start to get murky as
to how you will get to the all important pinnacle of your story. I advise to add little side notes, or stepping stone to help you navigate through the murk. Map out the path ahead!
While adding road signs,subdivision to your story, decide
early on, on the inciting incidents with that subdivision. That way you will also keep yourself focused on the next event you are working
toward.
Don't forget, the middle is the time of rising conflict,
where the "on-the-brink" situation in the opening chapters gets more
and more intense. So plan ahead, because aimless exploration can get you lost
and sagging.
Copyright © 2013 Glynis Rankin
