So I’m slowly finding out that middles are hard, and apparently I’m not alone. In fact, it seems most writers seem to stop at the middle of a book and give up. Muddling through sagging-middle syndrome is hard.
At the start, we sprint out the gate on our projects with exuberant enthusiasm and start strongly. We pick up speed and think how this book is the greatest thing we’ve ever written. Then suddenly we slowly lose momentum. It begs that nagging question of what now.
The middle doesn’t feel right. Either it’s slow and meandering, or perhaps boring. Maybe it doesn’t feel like it’s excitingly building up to the end.
Some call this the sagging-middle syndrome. It’s where the center of the story doesn’t sufficiently build up to the climax. Jerry Jenkins refers to this as the marathon of the middle, but regardless of what you call, it sucks, and this seems to be a common problem among writers.
So I’ve written this article intending to discuss how’ve addressed writing through it, and what experts say to fix it. I’ll admit I don’t have all the answers, so I also want the comments open for anyone to share how they’ve fixed their sagging middle.
Make the Middle Matter
This is probably the best point I’ve heard for guidance. This is the section of the story where you lay your set-ups, establish your characters, and they fight for their goals. The middle is the rising action where the journey gets harder along the way.
How does it get harder? What challenges must your character face? How can you increase tension? Make the character’s struggle more difficult. What are the stakes? What matters most to them? What would they hate to lose? And how they fight for it to achieve their mission?
If it’s not contributing to anything, why is it there? The faster it meaningfully gets to resolution the better. If you take anything from this article, latch on to this for a start and you’ll be on be on your way to nipping sagging-middle syndrome in the bud.
The Advice I Didn’t Want to Hear…
As a young rebellious teenage out of school for four years now, the last thing I want to hear is structure. I’ve done my time. I don’t want to go back.
Honestly, I detest outlines. In my opinion, it makes writing feel like a chore or equation instead of a fun escape. But I do see their point.
Organization helps trim the fat that’s unnecessary to the plot and guide your thoughts. It makes the story coherent, and meaningful to read.
So while I am a pantzer at heart, I loosely follow the five milestones. Especially during the editing process. So if you’re at a loss, I think this is one of the easiest models to follow.
Five Milestones:
Milestone One: Introduction and Setup
Milestone Two: Inciting Incident
Milestone Three: The First Slap
Milestone Four: The Second Slap
Milestone Five: Climax and Resolution
It’s that simple. So the middle would be the two slaps. These are where your character is making gains and suddenly brought back to zero. The second slap is different though in that it’s harsher than the last, but there’s hope. If the main character can do one thing, there’s a chance they can still meet their goal.
But there are other schools of thought. Some say that the middle has three crucial scenes to address: The complication, the crisis, and the breaking point.
Jenna Moreci has a good video on this linked at the end for a more thorough explanation.
But here’s a quick overview.
The complication- This creates an obstacle for the character to overcome. It can be simple or complex. Usually this is where the struggle introduced from the beginning gets worse. In the five milestones, I’d classify this as the first slap.
The crisis- I’m notably terrible at this one. The crisis is where your character must choose. The conflict’s so unrelenting that they have to take action, and their decision determines the climax where they have to deal with the consequences. It seems the time between the two is relatively short. In five milestones speak, this is the second slap using brass knuckles.
The breaking point- This is your character at their lowest of lows. They lose hope, and it devastates the character and possibly the reader. Usually this happens alongside the crisis, but not necessarily.
Now there are other plot models like the three act structure and the hero’s journey, but the idea’s the same. These give us a roadmap to follow and a scalpel for the scenes that don’t.
So outlining the story can help guide the story’s path, but structure and organization go further than that.
Discipline
Setting aside a routine and a benchmark can push you through the crunch of writing the middle. It can be discouraging when things aren’t working, but sometimes we have to push through it and possibly revise some sections.
Personally, I’ve found having a word count goal or a scene I’m craving to write keeps me going through places of the story aren’t ready yet.
Also, deadlines make some pressure to make progress on a story, but use with caution. Check that they are realistic so you don’t overstress or burn yourself out. I’ve found myself in that camp, and I put off seeing a doctor for some things to finish my book. Writing would have been ten times more enjoyable if I had.
On the other hand, I finished essentially the first draft of two books in 97 days, so these tools work. I set aside my times to write and stuck to them. If I missed my quota, I made it up at the end of the week. Just don’t take on more than you can handle.
It was around the thirty-five thousand word threshold I struggled to push forward, but I stuck with my routine.
And in the end, I went back to fix where I veered off course with my sagging middle. First drafts are always messy, but stick with and you’ll be rewarded. After all, it’s the marathon middle.
Practical Fixes for Sagging-Middle Syndrome
I wanted to name this section quick fixes, but let’s be honest. There’s no such thing. So here’s a short list of five ways to engage your audience with your middle.
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Up the tension- show your character actively struggling towards their goal. It can be a time limit, a formidable enemy, or unbearable odds; your story lives or dies on uncertainty.
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Meaningful subplots- create a subplot that entices the reader to invest in the characters and serve as an obstacle or aid tied to the main plot. If it bogs down the pacing, or hogs center stage, cut it.
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Character economy- craft characters that liven up your world and don’t grind the story to a halt in larger numbers. They should directly affect the story if they are worth mentioning and by all means reel us in.
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Break his legs- This comes from Jenna Moreci. If you’re at a loss about structure, just make the character’s life miserable as he’s trying for his goal. Only don’t make it feel contrived.
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Scenes are on task- Almost every scene the character should work for his goal either failing or succeeding in some capacity. How does your character work for the climax? Cut mundane or dead time.
Don’t loose steam
I don’t want to downplay this issue. I mentioned before I struggled with structure too. The judges’ feedback from the short story contest said I needed “the crisis” moment, and it pains me knowing how close I was. All this to say, I’m not perfect.
Middles are hard. Accomplished writers admit that they struggle with these. It takes a lot of discipline to push through and revise it. But it’s not impossible. I hope this helps as a good starting place.
Now go out and tuck that tummy into a stone cold six-pack.
Until next time,
Keep Writing 😉
Antonio
Sources for Extra Research
For a pep talk:
More on complications, crisis, and breaking point
For more on the discipline mindset even though it’s for a different marathon: