No More Sagging Middle

    

No More Sagging Middle

By Denise Hunter

It’s no secret to my writer friends that my least favorite part of writing happens during the middle of the book. The beginning of a story is fun and exciting, isn’t it? You’re introducing intriguing characters, heightened conflict, and attention-grabbing situations.

And then it happens. You officially arrive at the dreaded middle. There’s nothing happening. Your momentum has stalled, and your characters sit there staring at you, twiddling their thumbs.

They don’t call it the sagging middle for nothing, folks. If you’re not careful, that baby will sag so low you’ll be tempted to Select All and Delete. Or at the very least, whine to your critique partner that you’re in the middle of your worst book ever, and your career is over. (Sound familiar, Colleen Coble?) Sagging middles tend to happen when a writer begins to carelessly string together a series of events.

Tip number one: start your novel with a conflict strong enough to give those dominos a good, hard shove. In Falling Like Snowflakes Eden is on the run with her five-year-old son when her car breaks down in Summer Harbor, Maine—and the first domino falls. When her backpack—along with all her money—is stolen, it sets off a chain of events. Her escape will have to be put on hold. She has immediate needs: a job to pay for the car repairs and shelter from the winter storm. Eden is experiencing serious trouble. She has a child to protect, not a dime to her name, and danger is snipping at her heels.

 Tip number two: don’t just settle for the next scene that comes to mind. Give it some thought. Come up with five or ten ideas, and choose the one that excites you most. The easiest way to prevent the sagging middle is to create a domino effect. It’s just as it sounds. Create a conflict that pushes the next domino down. If the conflict isn’t strong enough to push the next one down, make it stronger or change it altogether. It might be helpful to think in terms of cause and effect. Each choice she makes or each thing that happens to her has a consequence. Think How is this scene going to effect my protagonist? What reaction is this going to cause? If the reaction is daydreaming by a window while sipping Earl Grey tea, it’s not the right scene. You can do better! At the very least, have your protagonist flesh out her feelings in dialogue with someone else. Maybe that friend will say something that pushing the next domino.

Tip number three: don’t give up all the good back-story in the first chapter! Doing so robs the reader of that page-turning frenzy to find answers. And how does this help with the sagging middle? Doling out back-story in careful doses keeps the reader (and the writer) interested. In Falling Like Snowflakes, tidbits about Eden’s past are parceled out like breadcrumbs along a winding path. The reader—and the hero—don’t find out what Eden is running from until almost the halfway point. And when the hero finds out, it changes everything for him. Another huge domino has just been pushed over as he tries to figure out how he’s going to protect Eden.

Think of those dominos all the way through the book. If the conflict isn’t strong enough to rock the next domino, make it worse. Make something happen. Something bad. What is your protagonist’s worst fear? Make it happen. At the worst time possible. Be mean. It’s fiction; you’re allowed. Is there a devastating secret she’s keeping? Is someone she loves keeping a secret from her? Let it come out at the worst possible time.

Keep the conflicts coming. Keep the dominos falling, and your readers won’t be able to turn the pages fast enough. Your protagonist will grow, your reader will experience the vicarious thrill of victory, and you won’t have a middle that sags to the floor. 

GIVEAWAY: 

           Leave a comment for Denise, and we'll toss your name in the hat to win a copy of her latest novel, Falling Like Snowflakes! Here's more about it:

           Eden Martelli is too busy fleeing the clutches of danger to realize she’s running straight into the arms of a new love. Beau will go to the ends of the earth to keep her safe. But who’s going to protect his heart from a woman who can’t seem to trust again?

Read first 5 chapters of Falling Like Snowflakes here: 

https://bookgrabbr.com/books/3546-falling-like-snowflakes

BONUS CONTEST!
Win a $200 Southwest Gift Card! Denise’s new book “Falling Like Snowflakes” is in airport book stores so we’re playing I Spy! If you’re flying in November, play along and have a chance at winning this great prize! Follow the directions in the graphic to be entered.
 

ABOUT DENISE HUNTER:

 Denise Hunter fights her sagging middles in Indiana, the setting of her most recent book Falling Like Snowflakes. She is the internationally published bestselling author of more than 27 books. She has won The Holt Medallion Award, The Reader's Choice Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and is a RITA finalist.

Denise writes emotionally gripping, small-town love stories. Her readers enjoy the experience of falling in love vicariously through her characters and can expect a happily-ever-after sigh as they close the pages of her books.

In 1996, inspired by the death of her grandfather, Denise began her first book, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she’s been writing ever since.