Still working. As I’ve mentioned, I’m what’s called a seat-of-the-pants writer, if you haven’t been able to tell that by now. I don’t do a lot of plotting, outlining, pre-writing. I have a general idea of the plot, which is helpful, and I always identify the theme and try sticking to that along the way. I also know something about the end.
But I like to leave room for surprises along the way. This can be tricky, since I don’t have time to go off on rabbit trails that lead nowhere, distract me from the main thrust of the plot, or take my characters to places that might be interesting to research but will end up being a dead end. I might not like to do extensive outlining, but I also don’t like to waste time by writing in a direction that won’t serve the story. The worst that can happen along that vein is that I fall in love with a scene that will ultimately have to be cut. Heartbreaking! That’s why identifying—and sticking to—the theme is important.
But occasionally something happens that pleasantly surprises me. With any book, the middle is often the most challenging. Ever hear of sagging middles? That’s when the story slows down, the energy level changes. If the characters are well drawn they can hold up the story a bit, but they must be continually engaged in their goals and obstacles or no one will want to turn the pages, not even me as the project’s very first reader.
I can always tell when something is going well by my interest in getting back to work. If I can’t wait to write the next scene, the next section, I know the story is working. By contrast, the minute I feel a hint of boredom, or just simply aren’t all that keyed up about getting back to that keyboard, I know something is wrong.
So I re-evaluate. In addressing the problem of a potentially sagging middle, the first question I ask is what material can I draw from the story itself that can be used, twisted or capitalized on to “up the stakes” or put my character into even more dire straights. It has to be something within the framework of the story—not an add on or something that appears out of the blue.
For Brother’s All, I was happily writing along when my heroine is unexpectedly attacked by a German soldier (who already revealed himself as a nasty guy). Lo and behold the hero is the one to save her (of course). But he doesn’t get the credit because of the circumstances. I can’t say more because I want you to enjoy it within the context of the story, however it was one of those things that was a reflection of the circumstances drawn by the story. It put my character in greater anxiety, added another challenge to the romantic aspect, all without going off on a trail leading far from the main plot. I knew it worked when Siri read it and told me if she’d been of the nail-biting kind she would’ve had no nails left.
For this seat-of-the-pants writers, a sagging middle was staved off by surprises along the way.
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