When the middle of your story sucks

When creating a story, either for comics or novels, the easiest parts to write are usually the beginnings and ends because hell ,they’re the fun bits right? You burst out of the gate, ready and raring to go, your gaze on that sweet, sweet finale but there’s a slight hurdle. Your middle is sagging. So here are some tips you can employ to help you keep your readers motivated and interested!

Do an outline
Your story may change as you go, that’s a given, but before you get too far in, sit down and do an outline. This will give a good idea of where you might need to cut details or put some new ones in to keep it going strong. Plan for ups and downs for your characters and your readers. Plus, it helps prevent that dreaded hiatus syndrome, as you know what direction your headed in!

How’s your narrative structure?
Think about the kind of story you want to tell then do a small bit of research into what narrative structure might suit your idea. Have you set up the world and the characters? What is their problem and how do they begin to engage with that challenge? How many curves balls do you want to throw and in what order? This, along with your outline, will set you up with a strong skeleton and thus a strong story.

Get in there and F@*k it all up
The middle part of your story is where you, as a god, keep throwing the characters further and further down the hill, making sure they hit every bump on the way. It is your job to make it horrible. Of course, to what degree depends on the genre and tone you are writing in, but your characters have to fight tooth and nail every step of the way and this is the opportunity to ensure that they do. So when in doubt, get in there and get very, very dirty until you…

Make the character reach their breaking point
You do not stop making it worse till they are at the bottom of your proverbial hill, crying and cursing your name. When they’re completely broken, that’s when you know you’ve done your job and you can begin to find ways to help them back up. Maybe a friend reaches out to them, or they discover their inner strength. This is a fantastic time to have a pivotal character moment that really makes who they are at their core shine.

Be aware of your subplots
Subplots are there to provide context to the main story and can also help balance out the mood. You can use these as a way to explore the world more and the characters that might be helping the main cast/protagonist. The middle is a great time to get into some smaller side stories and provide some added weight to the stakes.

Move things forward
Still feeling the sag? Then time to get your scissors out and take to it like hairdresser fixing a bad haircut. If you’re creating filler for the sake of it, get rid of it. If you don’t know what it adds to the story, scrunch it up and throw it away. You can also ask some beta readers, (also known as brutally honest friends/fans) to give you feedback of where you can improve or where they think it is going. It can only serve to help you.

Have you ever struggled with the middle of your story? How did you fix the “middle sag”? Tell us in the comment section below!

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